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EDDL 796 Research Literacy: Annotated Bibliography

What is an Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations for various books, articles, and other sources on a topic. The annotated bibliography looks like a References page but includes an annotation after each source cited. An annotation is a short summary and/or critical evaluation of a source. Annotated bibliographies can be part of a larger research project, or can be a stand-alone report in itself.

Learn more at University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno: https://guides.library.unr.edu/apacitation/annotatedbib

 

General Guidelines

General guidelines

  • Carefully read the course assignment instructions.
  • If you are still unclear, check with your professor on the type of annotated bibliography that is required for the assignment.
  • Main Types of Annotated Bibliographies:
    • Summary/descriptive – provides a concise overview of the main arguments, evidence presented, and conclusions
    • Critical/evaluative – in addition to providing an overview, analyzes the content; comments on the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments, evidence, and conclusions; explains the usefulness of the source for your research topic.
    • Combination - most annotated bibliography assignments require that you include both an overview and evaluative comments.
  • Most annotated bibliographies organize sources alphabetically by the first author's last name.
  • Consistently follow the rules of the APA style guide instructions; the style guide will detail what information to include for each type of source and how it should be formatted.
  • For more detailed guidelines on writing an annotated bibliography, please refer to the following: