Writing an Annotated Bibliography

Writing an Annotated Bibliography – APA style

A bibliography is a specifically organized list of books, journal articles and other sources that were used in the research process. • There are several different styles - MLA and APA are the most common. You will use the APA for this assignment.

We use a bibliography, or as it also known a works cited page, to ensure that credit is given to the authors and that we are not portraying someone else’s work as our own. • Bibliographies lists “citations” that includes such information as author (if given), title, and publication details of the resource consulted

An annotated bibliography is a bibliography with an additional description or evaluation of each source. • Annotation is defined as a critical or explanatory note; a commentary.

The purpose of the annotation is to help the reader evaluate whether the work cited is relevant to the specific research topic or line of inquiry. • Particularly in an assignment such as this one you want to demonstrate that you carefully evaluated your sources

Generally, annotations should be no more than 150 words (or 4-6 sentences long). They should be concise and well-written. • Main focus or purpose of the work you consulted • Intended audience for the work you consulted What the annotation SHOULD include

Special features of the work that were unique or helpful • Background and credibility of the author • Conclusions or observations reached by the author

Conclusions or observations reached by you after consulting the resource • Usefulness or relevance to your research topic (or why it did not meet your expectations)

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/ • http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ • http://www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/index.aspx • The publication manual will be available in the library Monday afternoon APA STYLE

Writing an Annotated Bibliography – APA style