What Is an Annotated Bibliography?

As you begin narrowing your topic for your research essay, it's important to consider the academic sources that you will use to provide evidence for your paper. One way to do this is to assemble a collection of sources for your own use.

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. You've already submitted some practice citation and annotations, but now it's time to assemble a collection based on a single topic.

Writing an annotated bibliography calls for the application of a variety of intellectual skills: concise exposition, succinct analysis, and informed library research. Though you use these skills when writing academic essays, the end result will look different.

First, go to the NCTC library databases and 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 MLA citation style. Sample citations and are in The Hub.

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. It's also a good idea to include statistics, facts, and other handy bits of information that you can use in your paper at a later time.

Your annotated bibliography of five sources will look like this.

Notice how the citations and annotations are formatted. Entries are placed in alphabetical order, based on the first word of the citation. Notice the spacing and heading.

Now is the time to start narrowing a topic and doing your preliminary research.