Annotated Bibliography Examples in APA and MLA Style

Bibliographies are used to cite sources that are used in a research paper. An annotated bibliography is more than a mere list of sources. It includes:

A summary - includes information that explains what information the source provides
An evaluation - explains why or how the notation is a useful source. It can also speak to the validity of the source in terms of its scholarly nature
An explanation of value - speaks to the relevance of the citation to the research paper

Some annotated bibliographies offer only summaries, while others offer all three components. It is important to assess what the audience of the research paper will be seeking before crafting an annotated bibliography.

open book in front of a pile of books

Annotated Bibliography Format Styles

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.

APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Baker, 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.

MLA (Modern Language Association) Style

Johnson, Jaime. "Gun Control: Your Only Means of Defense.” Researcher's Special Journal (1999): 254-325.

Full 3-Component Format Style

Crohn’s and Colitis - An Annotated Bibliography

Crohn’s and colitis drug effective in trials. (2013). Medical News Today. Retrieved from: http://www.medicalnewstoday.co...

Published on Medical News Today, this article discusses the research findings of two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Vedoluzimab is a drug being tested to help Crohn’s and Colitis patients deal with the debilitating effects of these diseases. The article briefly outlines the research suggesting effectiveness of the drug.

MediLexicon International, the publisher of the article, is a UK-based healthcare publishing company that is dedicated to providing top-notch unbiased content. Publishing since 2003, this reputable company’s articles are reliable for use for research support.

Glover, Sonia B. Coping With Crohn’s, The Pain and The Laughter. Boulder Publications, 2007.

This insightful account of one woman’s struggles with her symptoms and diagnosis of Crohn’s provides valuable personal information for those struggling with Crohn’s.

Published by Boulder Publications, a self-proclaimed “publisher of high-quality books,” this book is a useful tool to understand Crohn’s disease. It is a reliable resource for anecdotal information about Crohn’s disease.

Linking Vitamin D deficiency to inflammatory bowel disease. (2013). Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Journal. Retrieved from: http://journals.lww.com/ibdjou...

A comprehensive scholarly article about the links between Vitamin D and inflammatory bowel diseases, this piece offers scientific information about how Vitamin D works within the body and information from a wide variety of doctors and researchers that supports a link between the vitamin and IBD disorders.

Scientific and evidence-based, this journal article from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundations of America’s journal is a highly useful resource to support the topic of this paper.

No reservations - How to take the worry out of eating out. (2013). Take Charge Magazine. Retrieved from: http://www.ccfa.org/assets/pdf...

An insightful article, this piece gives information to those suffering from Crohn’s and Colitis to help to ease the anxiety and stress of eating outside of the home.

Including information that is research-based, and published by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, this resource is highly reliable and gives a useful context for the information within this research paper.

Creating an Annotated Bibliography

Some final tips for creating a well-annotated bibliography are:

Consider which writing style is required for your research. There are differences between APA and MLA format. Your instructor or publisher will provide guidelines.
Use the third person when writing.
Make a list of the points which the author emphasized as relative to the topic that you were researching.
Make sure that the sources you used are aligned or in agreement with your stance on the research issue. This helps to make a stronger argument for your stance on the issue that you researched.

Your annotation should be succinct, so summarize the content, providing only information that describes and evaluates the source material.