Annotated Bibliographies

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.

Annotations vs. Abstracts

Abstracts are the purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles or in periodical indexes. Annotations are descriptive and critical; they expose the author’s point of view, clarity and appropriateness of expression, and authority.

The Process

Creating an annotated bibliography calls for the application of a variety of intellectual skills: concise exposition, succinct analysis, and informed library research.

First, locate and record citations to books, periodicals, and documents that may contain useful information and ideas on your topic. Briefly examine and review the actual items. Then choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic.

Cite the book, article, or document using the appropriate style.

Write a concise annotation that summarizes the central theme and scope of the book or article. Include one or more sentences that (a) evaluate the authority or background of the author, (b) comment on the intended audience, (c) compare or contrast this work with another you have cited, or (d) explain how this work illuminates your bibliography topic.

Critically Appraising the Book, Article, or Document

Critically appraise and analyze the sources for your bibliography.  For information on the author’s background and views, ask at the reference desk for help finding appropriate biographical reference materials and book review (http://guides.library.cornell.edu/bookreviews) sources.

Style for Annotated Bibliographies

When you write an annotated bibliography for a course or in preparation for a thesis advisor, consider that the professionalism of the product is a direct reflection of the quality of the paper that will result. Therefore, be stylistically conscientious, following these tips:

  • Begin by listing complete bibliographic information (author, year, source name, publisher, etc.) just as you would on the References page at the end of a paper.
  • Provide a sentence or two describing the contents of the source.
  • Summarize the various relevant topic areas that the source discusses.
  • Avoid vague phrasing and empty sentences. Weed out any generic sentences such as “This source is very useful because it has tons of really good information.”
  • Use present tense and future tense verbs to facilitate the immediacy of the information and the actual future use of sources.
  • Discuss the exact way that you will use the source (e.g., for background information, data, graphics, as a bibliographic tool).
  • Carefully judge the value of the source, considering, for example, its level of detail, bias, or the timeliness of its data.
  • Note if the source’s text or bibliography will lead you to other sources.
  • Comment on anything that you find especially noteworthy about a source—is it controversial? definitive? political? new?
  • Format the annotated bibliography so that each description is clearly associated with the proper source.

Sample Annotated Bibliography Entry for a Journal Article

MLA Example

This example uses the MLA format for the journal citation. NOTE: Standard MLA practice requires double spacing within citations.

Waite, Linda J., Frances Kobrin Goldscheider, and Christina Witsberger. “Nonfamily Living and the Erosion of Traditional Family Orientations Among Young Adults.” American Sociological Review 51.4 (1986): 541-554. Print.

The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living.