What is an annotated bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources such as books, periodical articles, Web pages and so on, with an accompanying description and evaluation of the sources’ contents. This is a general guide; individual professors may have course-specific requirements. Check with your professor.

First, the citation gives the precise information needed to locate the material, for example, the citation for a book would include the author(s), title, place of publication, the publisher, and the year published. The citation must be in an accepted bibliographic format.

An annotation is a paragraph in your own words that explains, describes, and evaluates the contents of the material. For example, an annotation for a book will summarize a book; evaluate the book’s contents as related to a specific need (such as: "Is this a good source for my paper?"); or criticize the book. Annotations are usually less than 150 words.

After examining the book’s table of contents, index, preface or introduction, and arrangement, plus scanning a few pages, you should be able to produce an annotation with no problems. If you’re looking at an article or web page, look at how it’s arranged, describe what the source is about, and ask yourself the following questions:

Who:
“Who wrote the book/article/web page?”
“What are his/her/their credentials? Looking at the credentials of the author, do I trust
him/her to tell me the truth?”
“Who was this written for? Who would read it?”

What:
“What’s in the book/article/web page?”
“What subject or topic does it cover?”

When:
“When was the book/article/web page written?”
“When was it last updated?”
“Is this information up-to-date enough for my topic?”

Where:
“Where did I find the reference to this information? From the Library Catalog? From a
database? From a web site?”
“Where did the author(s) get their information?”
“If the book/article presents factual information, where did that information come from?”
“Does the author cite his/her sources?”

Why:
“Why was it written? Was it written to inform and educate? Or persuade..? For some
other reason?”

How:
“How does this relate to what I know already? As far I can tell, is the information
accurate? Does it make sense in light of other information I know about this topic?”
“How did the authors find their information? Are they reporting on a study they did, or
are they describing something someone else found?”
“How is the material organized? Is it in chapters or sections? How many?”
“Does it have a table of contents? An index?”
“Does it have a bibliography at the end, or is the citation information at the end of each
section or chapter?”

Evaluation:
“Does the book/article/web site actually help me get the information I need?”
“What doesn’t this book/article/web page do that I need it to?”
“Can I read this book? Or is it way over my head? Will it make sense to me and
therefore help me become more knowledgeable about the topic?”
“Is this really a good source for my project? Why or why not?”

“But what is an annotated bibliography actually used for?”
To review in-depth the literature on a particular subject.
To provide examples of the types of information sources available on a certain topic.
To describe additional books on a topic that may be of interest to your reader.
To initially explore a subject for future research.
To remind yourself of the sources you have found and used, so you remember which was
which.