Annotated Bibliographies

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, or other sources used for researching a topic, followed by a brief synopsis, or annotation.

Formatting Citations

Format citations according to the writing style for your assignment. If you aren’t sure, check with your instructor. Citations should be listed in the same order as in a reference list or bibliography.

The Annotation

Each citation is followed by a brief summary or evaluative paragraph of about 150 words. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the source.

The annotation should summarize the central theme and scope of the resource and:

• Evaluate the authority or background of the author.
• Comment on the intended audience.
• Compare or contrast this work with another you have cited.
• Explain how this work applies to your topic or helps shape your argument.

The annotations you include in your bibliography should reflect your research project and/or the guidelines of your assignment.

Examples

APA Style

Carney, D. R., Cuddy, A. J. C., & Yap, A. J. (2010). Power posing: Brief nonverbal displays affect neuroendocrine levels and risk tolerance. Psychological Science, 21(10), 1363-1368.

The authors – researchers at Columbia University and Harvard University – study neuroendocrine and behavioral changes to (male and female) participants to confirm their prediction that posing in high-power poses results in elevations in testosterone, decreases in cortisol, and increased feelings of power and tolerance for risk. In short, posing in displays of power caused advantaged and adaptive psychological, physiological, and behavioral changes and these findings suggest that embodiment extends to physiology and subsequent behavioral choices. That a person can, by assuming two simple 1-min poses, embody power and instantly become more powerful has real-world, actionable implications. Previous studies had shown that power generates these displays (power poses), no previous research has investigated whether these poses generate power.

CSE Style

Bingham RA, Ranker TA. 2000. Genetic diversity in alpine and foothill populations of Campanula Rotundifolia (Campanulaceae). Int J Plant Sci 161(3):403-411.

Bingham, a biology professor at Western State College of Colorado, writes that, because of highly effective pollination by bumblebees, some trees do not experience a decrease in genetic variability even when they grow at high elevation. This idea is supported by better research here than in other articles that I found. The research is important to me as I investigate the degree to which hummingbirds mitigate the negative effects of cold, high altitude, environments on the pollination of Apache Paintbrush flowers.

Examples from the YouTube video tutorial How to Write an Annotated Bibliography

Questions & Help

If you have questions on this, or another topic, contact a librarian for help!