Summarize Sources in an Annotated Bibliography

In addition to complete citation information, an annotated bibliography provides a brief note — two or three sentences long — about each of your sources. Consider your purposes for creating an annotated bibliography, and tailor the content, focus, and length of your annotations accordingly.

An annotated bibliography is a useful tool even if you aren’t required to submit it for a grade. By turning your working bibliography into an annotated bibliography, you can remind yourself of each source’s information, ideas, and arguments and how the source might be used in your document.

The annotated bibliography below provides information that an instructor could use to assess a student’s progress on a writing project.

image
Part of Ali Bizzul’s annotated bibliography