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How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography

Leslie J. Savage Library

Western State College

____________________________________________________________________________________________

How to Prepare an

Annotated Bibliography

 

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

 

Citations to books, articles, and reports that focus on a central theme or topic.  Each

citation is followed by a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph to inform the reader of the

relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.

 

Identifying Works to Include in an Annotated Bibliography
 
  • Locate and record citations to books, articles, and reports that may contain useful

information and ideas on your topic. 

  • Examine and review the actual text of each work. 
  • Choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic.
 

If you have located your citations by searching a periodical database you may find

that the database includes an abstract or summary of the article.  This abstract may

help you select the most appropriate articles.

Do not confuse "abstracts" with "annotations".  An "abstract" is just descriptive; an

"annotation" is descriptive and critical.
 
  • Critically evaluate each work to determine if it is suitable for your topic. 
  • Cite the book, article, or report using the appropriate style.

Writing Annotations  

An annotation, by nature, is brief; approximately 150 words.  It summarizes the central

theme and scope of the book, article, or report.  First, include one or more sentences that:
 
  • evaluate the authority or background of the author
  • comment on the intended audience
  • compare or contrast this work with others that you have cited or will cite
  • explain how this work relates to your theme or topic

Sample Annotations  

The following examples use the MLA (Modern Language Association) format for a journal

citation and a magazine citation:

 

   Doe, J. T. and Williams, W. R.  "Parental supervision of television viewing and aggressive

behavior in children." Journal of Television and Violence 51 (1996), 534-540.

 

The authors, researchers at Western State College, collected data from a group of 8 year

olds to test their hypothesis that the amount of violence children saw on television relates to the

aggressiveness of their behavior.  They found that children who were allowed to watch evening

police dramas and "made for TV" specials with abusive situations demonstrated increased

aggressive behavior over children who were not permitted to watch these programs.  The

researchers did not find a connection between aggression in children and television violence as

displayed in cartoons and news programs.  Another study, conducted by Smith and Wesson,

showed that the amount of television violence viewed by children does correlate with aggressive

behavior.  Smith and Wesson, however, do not consider the type of program viewed.  The article

by Doe and Williams is one of the few studies examining aggressive behavior as it relates to

different types of television programs.

 

 

Bush, W. G.  "Marijuana: No Medicinal Value."  'Just Say No' Monthly  June 2003:  8-10.

 

According to Bush, Executive Director of the organization "Just Say No To Drugs,"

scientific evidence proves that marijuana is not effective for medicinal use.  He states that his

claim is based on results of a survey conducted by his organization, and public opinion supports

his position that marijuana should continue to be banned.   The author does not provide

references for the survey and for his statement on public opinion.    An article by Dr. Gerald

Garcia discusses the effectiveness of marijuana in treating patients with glaucoma and includes

references to research studies.  Bush's article is an editorial expressing his views and those of his

organization and does not contribute any documented information to the literature on this

controversial subject

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