ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 1
Updated 09/2013
APA 6th Edition Guidelines: Annotated Bibliography
An annotated bibliography is the full citation of a source followed by notes and commentary
about the source. The word annotate means critical or explanatory notes and the word
bibliography means a list of sources. Annotations should be critical in addition to being
descriptive.
Format: The format for an annotated bibliography is similar to the References page of an APA
paper with the addition of the descriptive paragraphs. Use one-inch margins on all sides, double
space your entries, and alphabetize each entry. Hanging indents are required for citations. On the
line after the citation, indent two additional spaces and write the annotation.
Hint: Noodlebib is a great tool to use to create your annotated bibliography. Remember to add
an APA formatted title page.
Example of a journal article with DOI:
Calkins, S., & Kelley, M. (2007, Fall). Evaluating internet and scholarly sources across the
disciplines: Two case studies. College Teaching, 55(4), 151-156.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2007.00759.x
This article discusses the problem of unintentional online plagiarism and many
students inability to evaluate, critique, synthesize, and credit online sources properly.
Two case studies from different disciplines, which were designed to foster critical
evaluation of the Internet and scholarly sources, are discussed in detail. The CARS
(Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonableness, Support) checklist for evaluating research
sources is also introduced and applied in these case studies. I found this article useful
because much of the content of these case studies can be easily adapted to fit
assignments in different academic disciplines. One information literacy assignment in
one quarter at college is not enough. If students are expected to use the Internet in a
responsible way, educators must provide guidelines and relevant experience that
allows students to apply those guidelines in practical ways.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 2
Updated 09/2013
For annotated bibliographies, use standard APA format for the citations, then add a brief entry,
including:
2 to 4 sentences to summarize the main idea(s) of the source.
o What are the main arguments?
o What is the point of this book/article?
o What topics are covered?
1 or 2 sentences to assess and evaluate the source.
o How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography?
o Is this information reliable?
o Is the source objective or biased?
1 or 2 sentences to reflect on the source.
o Was this source helpful to you?
o How can you use this source for your research project?
o Has it changed how you think about your topic?
Example of a journal article when DOI is not available:
Calkins, S., & Kelley, M. (2007, Fall). Evaluating internet and scholarly sources across the
disciplines: Two case studies. College Teaching, 55(4), 151-156. Retrieved from
http://www.heldref.org/pubs/ct/about.html
This article discusses the problem of unintentional online plagiarism and many
students inability to evaluate, critique, synthesize, and credit online sources properly.
Two case studies from different disciplines, which were designed to foster critical
evaluation of the Internet and scholarly sources, are discussed in detail. I found this
article useful because much of the content of these case studies can be easily adapted
to fit assignments in different academic disciplines. One information literacy
assignment in one quarter at college is not enough. If students are expected to use the
Internet in a responsible way, educators must provide guidelines and relevant
experience that allows students to apply those guidelines in practical ways.