How to Write an Annotated Bibliography

What is it? An annotated bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, websites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for researching a topic that includes a summary, evaluation, and reflection of each of the sources.

Purpose The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.

Excellent Preparation When you have to write annotations for each source, you're forced to read each source more carefully. You begin to read more critically instead of just collecting information.

Format of the citation MLA style Double space and use the hanging indent. Include a medium designation such as print or web.

Format of the annotation Single space Use the third person – do not use “I..” Use the literary present tense. Examples: “This article discusses…” “In this article the author supports…” “This book gives a detailed view on…” “This article describes…”

Format Citation (with a hanging indent) One paragraph –specifically what was learned that further expanded ideas about a possible thesis or clarified questions about my topic. This should also be a summary of this source. One paragraph – evaluation/reflection of the source – specifically why it was helpful

Source Annotations Draft On pages of your MYP Project Guide, you will find pages titled Source Card Submission. Use these pages to draft the annotations for each of your sources. Remember, you will need two paragraphs for each citation.