Citation and Writing Guide

The purpose of an annotated bibliography is to describe the cited material, whether a book, article or other type of source. It is a brief, descriptive note that should provide sufficient information so that a determination can be made as to whether the source should be examined further for use. Annotations help to clarify each source, and they will often provide evaluative information as well.

Always check your assignment and ask your professor if you have any questions! 

Length of annotations depends on assignment requirements. Annotations may only be a few lines, or take up half of a page.

• Purpose - Why are they writing the article or doing the research?
• Author - Who is the author? What is their occupation/position, education, experience? Is the author qualified?
• Author Bias - Does the author make assumptions upon which the rationale of the article or research rests? What are they?
• Source Content - What method of obtaining data was employed? Is the source based on personal opinion or experience? Interviews or library research? Experiments or tests? Etc.
• Intended Audience - Is this intended for the general public, scholars, or someone else? Is this reflected in the author's style of writing/presentation?
• Author Conclusion - At what conclusion does the author arrive?
• Significant Attachments - Are there appendices such as charts, maps, bibliographies, photos, tests, or questionnaires? If not, should there be?
• Justification - Does the author satisfactorily justify the conclusion from the research or experience? Why or why not?
• Relationships to Other Works - How does this study compare to similar studies? Are there specific examples with which this source agrees or disagrees?

An annotation should:

• Briefly describe the cited material
• Provide more guidance to the reader in determining the usefulness of a work

• NOT be a book review or abstract

Annotated Bibliography Resources

The Writer's Handbook: Annotated Bibliography (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Annotated Bibliographies (Purdue OWL)