An annotated bibliography is simply a References page in which each citation is followed by an annotation ("note") that describes or evaluates the source (or both). Like a regular References page, sources are listed in alphabetical order.
Annotations let your reader get a little extra insight into your sources and how they support your research.
Explain the main points of the work briefly.
Your summary should be original to you -- don't just copy/paste the publisher summary of a book or the abstract from a scholarly article.
The exact details of what to include will depend on your assignment -- number of sources, what to discuss in the annotation, and length of your commentary.
Generally, the annotation should be no more than a paragraph... unless your prof tells you otherwise.
If you must write multiple paragraphs, indent the first line of each additional paragraph an extra 0.5".
You don't need to cite the work as you comment on it, since it's clear from context what source you're discussing. If you compare sources in your commentary, though, you may need to include in-text citations for clarity.
Lone Star College-University Park • Student Learning Resource Center
20515 SH 249 • Building 12, 8th Floor • Houston, TX 77070
This work by Lone Star College-University Park Library is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 