Why should I write an annotated bibliography? If you're doing this for a class, you should get specific guidelines from your instructor. Your annotated bibliography may include some of these, all of these, or even others. Was this source helpful to you? How does it help you shape your argument? How can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you think about your topic?
Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the following. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. A bibliography usually just includes the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.).Īn annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Bibliographies are sometimes called "References" or "Works Cited" depending on the style format you are using. DefinitionsĪ bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, Web sites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for researching a topic. This handout provides information about annotated bibliographies in MLA, APA, and CMS. Writing Letters of Recommendation for Students.In a literature review the sources are evaluated and discussed in relation to each other by themes instead of being listed alphabetically. An abstractĪn abstract is a concise description of an article written by the author of the article. In this short video our academic skills team explain the key differences between Reference Lists and Bibliographies and how they relate to your university work. There are two main differences – the length and the purposeĪ ‘Reference List’ tends to be shorter – it’s a detailed list of items that you have found, read and cited or quoted in your workĪ ‘Bibliography’ is much longer - It is a systematic list that includes all the works that you have found or read that are cited in your text as well as those that you found but did not cite in your text. The citations that appear for inclusion in a Bibliography are for suggested or further reading. In reality they have different functions. The terms, ‘Reference List’ and ‘Bibliography’ are often used interchangeably, giving the impression that they are the same thing. Each of the sources in the list has annotations which summarise and evaluate the content and main arguments of the source. Make sure your citations are accurate, consistent and in the required style. For information on how to reference and the i-Cite Guide and Good Academic Practice: A Guide We recommend Cite Them Right Online as a good source of examples.Īn annotated bibliography is a list of academic sources put together by a researcher or student. See also our guide Evaluating information. Your annotations could include the author's background and credentials, the scope, main argument, intended audience and comparisons to the other sources. Write a short summary and evaluation of each one. Read a range of your sources sources which have a variety of view points. To find the key academic sources for your discipline see our relevant subject guide. Search for them using Bibliographic Databases appropriate to your discipline and Google Scholar. Depending on your assignment you may need a combination of journal articles, books, policy documents, and professional organisational publications. Pay attention to the instructions you have been given. Make sure you understand what you are being asked to do. use the correct referencing style accurately and consistently.highlight sources that may be of interest to other readers and researchers.see how you can use the information in the sources.see how the sources relate to each other.recognise important authors in the field.
follow the instructions that have been set.A good annotated bibliography will demonstrate that you know your subject and that you can: