An annotated bibliography is a bibliography (a list of sources arranged according to a particular citation method) that contains summaries or analyses of each source.
An annotated bibliography usually serves as a collection of related sources intended to provide readers with an overview of a given topic.
1. Choose a citation method. Most history professors prefer either Chicago or Turabian. Always consult your teacher if you are unsure.
2. Arrange your sources according to your chosen citation method. Each citation usually includes the following information: author's name, title of source, date, publisher, and place of publication. If you're citing a journal article, you will have to include the title of the article as well as the title of the journal.
Example of a citation: Burns, Grant. 1998. Librarians in Fiction: A Critical Bibliography. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company.
3. Provide a summary or analysis of the source. Usually, each description should include (1) a summary or evaluation of the source, (2) an explanation of the source's relevance to the topic, and (3) its relation to other sources in the bibliography. Annotations typically are the length of a paragraph. Information provided in an annotated bibliography can vary depending on its main purpose.
Example of an annotation: This exhaustive endeavor compiles citations and annotations of 226 books, 103 short stories, and 12 plays. Although positive images abound, Burns concludes that the picture of librarians falls easily on the negative side by relying heavily on caricatures and stereotypes. These depictions may convey the authors’ own attitudes or they may indicate acquiescence to what sells.
4. Put together, here is what a single entry in an annotated bibliography would look like:
Burns, Grant. 1998. Librarians in Fiction: A Critical Bibliography. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company.
This exhaustive endeavor compiles citations and annotations of 226 books, 103 short stories, and 12 plays. Although positive images abound, Burns concludes that the picture of librarians falls easily on the negative side by relying heavily on caricatures and stereotypes. These depictions may convey the authors’ own attitudes or they may indicate acquiescence to what sells.
For more information, including additional examples, please consult the following sources: