Examples of Annotated Bibliography
If you are writing a term paper or researching a particular subject, it may be necessary to provide examples of annotated bibliography.
An annotated bibliography is much more than a mere list of sources. It combines the source list with what is called an annotation. Not quite an abstract, the annotation is a short paragraph that describes and evaluates the material. It is a very clear, concise expose on the material at hand.
Annotated Bibliography Samples
The basic format of an annotated bibliography is the same as a non-annotated bibliography entry. The difference is that the publication information about the source material is followed with the annotation that reviews and evaluates the material.
Here are the two basic style samples:
APA (American Psychological Association) Style
StyleBaker, T. (1995). Gun control and You. Stevenson Learning Law Review, 45 (2), 180-193. The author researches several federal and state firearms regulations and their effect on the everyday citizen. By testing his hypothesis that firearms regulations have an inherent effect on everyday citizens, findings yield in support of the hypothesis. In contrast, Baker cited in an earlier study the complete opposite findings.
MLA (Modern Language Association) Style
StyleJohnson, Jaime. "Gun Control: Your Only Means of Defense.” Researcher's Special Journal (1999): 254-325. Print. The author researches several federal and state firearms regulations and their effect on the everyday citizen. By testing his hypothesis that firearms regulations have an inherent effect on everyday citizens, findings yield in support of the hypothesis. In contrast, Baker cited in an earlier study the complete opposite.
Creating an Annotated Bibliography
You would do well to research several annotated bibliographies to use as a guide when creating one on your own. Initially, it may prove to be quite a challenging feat.
Some tips for creating a well-annotated bibliography include:
- Write it as professionally as possible.
- Use the third person when writing.
- Review your source list and make a list of the good points and the bad points which the author emphasized as relative to the topic that you were researching.
- Make sure that the sources which you used are aligned or in agreement with your stance on the research issue. This will illustrate how the research source helps to make a stronger argument for your stance on the issue that you researched.
- Consider what writing style is required of your research. One of the things to keep in mind about APA and MLA format is that there is a distinguishing difference. Minor to most people, MLA format is usually double spaced within the citation and between each citation.
In summary, the key to writing a well-scripted and properly formatted annotated bibiography is to review the source material, take detailed notes, select the format to be used for the annotations and write a brief, concise paragraph that describes and evaluates the source material.