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Annotated Bibliographies

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a written assignment consisting of a series of entries on a single theme, organized either alphabetically (most common), by date, or by topic. Each entry consists of two parts:

  1. A reference to a book, journal article, or other work in a particular citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.)
  2. A brief summary and/or commentary (annotation) of the source in paragraph form

What is the Purpose of an Annotated Bibliography?

Each annotation enables readers to see the relationship of a number of works to each other and in the context of the topic you are studying. Many annotations are both descriptive (summarizing what the source is about) and critical (evaluating its usefulness or importance).

An annotated bibliography can:

  • Present readers with a review of the scholarly works on a specific topic or in a specialized field
  • Provide the writer with a more in-depth understanding of a specific topic or specialized field in preparation for conducting further research

What's Included in an Annotation?

The information and analysis provided in annotations may vary, but some examples include:

  • Academic credentials, qualifications, and/or expertise of the author(s)
  • Research methods the author(s) used
  • A summary of the argument and/or findings
  • Evaluation of the work, such as the logic of the arguments or value of the evidence
  • How the work supports or relates to your own research

Example Annotations

The following example uses APA style. For more citation resources, visit Citation & Reference Management and Indigenous Citation Styles. 

APA Style (7th ed.): Chapter in an Edited Book

Elements of Annotation Reference and Annotation

(1) Reference

(2) Research methods 

(3) Author qualifications

(4) Summary of the argument

(5) Critical evaluation

(6) How it relates to your own research

(1) Battle, K. (2007). Child poverty: The evolution and impact of child benefits. In K. Covell & R. B. Howe (Eds.), A question of commitment: Children's rights in Canada (pp. 21–44). Wilfred Laurier University Press.

(2) Ken Battle draws on close study of government documents, as well as his own research (3) as an extensively published policy analyst, (4) to explain Canadian child benefit programs. He outlines some fundamental assumptions supporting the belief that all society members should contribute to the upbringing of children. His comparison of child poverty rates in a number of countries is a useful wake-up to anyone assuming Canadian society is doing a good job of protecting children. Battle pays particular attention to the National Child Benefit (NCB), arguing that it did not deserve to be criticized by politicians and journalists. He outlines the NCB’s development, costs, and benefits, and laments that the Conservative government scaled it back in favour of the inferior Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB). (5) However, he relies too heavily on his own work; he is the sole or primary author of almost half the sources in his bibliography. He could make this work stronger by drawing from others' perspectives and analyses. (6) Still, Battle does offer a valuable source for this essay, because the chapter provides a concise overview of government-funded assistance currently available to parents. This offers context for analyzing the scope and financial reality of child poverty in Canada. 

The content under "What is an Annotated Bibliography?" and "What is the Purpose of an Annotated Bibliography?" was adapted from Write an Annotated Bibliography by the University of Guelph Library, which is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.