Annotated
Bibliographies
What are they?
They
are bibliographies that contain additional text that will provide summaries,
evaluations, and sometimes, personal reflections on each entry’s usefulness.
Why write them?
Annotated
bibliographies are useful for learning about a topic, formulating a thesis (by
determining what others are writing or concerned about) and sometimes, to help
other researchers by compiling information that may or may not be published on
a specific topic.
You may be asked to write an annotated
bibliography as part of a larger paper (such as in EN 102).
How are they written?
- Compile the reference entries according to MLA, APA, Chicago, or some other format.
- Add the annotation in paragraph form using complete sentences.
Some suggestions on writing an
annotated bibliography:
- Keep track of your sources by printing out the articles, saving the files on your computer, or creating the reference entries using a citation generator like Noodle Tools or RefWorks (http://libguides.montgomerycollege.edu/citation_tools).
- Make note of which sources you will use in your outline and include an in-text citation. This will help you to save time later when proofreading and revising your rough draft and will help prevent losing track of sources.