A-Z Guide to Preparing an Annotated Bibliography

You have just been given to write an annotated bibliography. But how to do an annotated bibliography — that is the real question.

To start with, you first need to know what an annotated bibliography is. Although quite like a summary of a publication, annotation dishes out more than basic information to the readers that lets them decide whether to read the complete work or not. While an abstract is descriptive, annotations are evaluative and critical about a publication. An annotated bibliography is drawn up as an organized list of sources which is followed by a paragraph of 100–200 words as an annotation.

Here is everything you need to know about an annotated bibliography template.

Types of annotated bibliographies

1. Descriptive or Informative

Such an annotated bibliography describes why a source is useful for researching along with its distinctive features. It also summarizes the main arguments stated by the author. However, students need to keep in mind that an informative annotation does not analyze the author’s conclusions.

2. Analytical or Critical

As the name suggests, a critical annotation analyzes what is being said by the author in a publication. It stresses on the strengths and weaknesses of the author’s work and criticizes the author’s research.

How to do an annotated bibliography?

Follow these three steps to write up the perfect annotated bibliography.

· Choose your sources

Before writing the bibliography, choose your sources. Like any other project, you will have to research to locate materials that apply to your topic.

· Review the items

The next step would be to review the actual sources and choose the items that provide a broad scope of perspectives on your topic. You can go through article abstracts and examples of an annotated bibliography to get the required information.

· Write the citation and annotation

Before you write the annotation, you would need to create the citations first. Make sure that the citations are done as per the style recommended by your college. Depending on the kind of annotated bibliography that you are writing, you should include the following:

1. The purpose of the work

2. A summary of the content

3. The audience the publication is catering to

4. Relevancy with the topic

5. Unique features of the material

6. Strengths and weaknesses of the material

In the end, keep in mind that annotated bibliographies can be arranged either alphabetically or chronologically. So, check with your professor to see what he/she prefers and stick to the mentioned style.

Summary: Annotated bibliography can be difficult to draft if you do not know the basics. This article covers all the essentials relating to an annotated bibliography and elaborates on the types and norms of it.