What is an "annotated bibliography"?

Annotated bibliographies are a curated list of useful sources on a specific research topic. They pool valuable research information into a list of sources with clear citations with both summary and evaluation of each source. This provides an overview of the body of knowledge the researcher-writer is building or has built (for a paper, a presentation, a book, or any kind of research project). 

Author and editor Karen Babine describes annotated bibliographies as "a mode to gather published work on a topic and organize it into something unique to the writer." Naming them "a staple of scholarly work," she notes "they are included as part of a research process, the work of a writer or researcher understanding that they are entering a conversation already in progress, and using the established work to figure out what new angle they are adding." 

Annotated bibliographies can have different audiences (which can shift their purpose): 

1. the researcher can build one for themselves to track and evaluate sources as part of the recursive process of research; 

2. an instructor might ask you to make one to help structure and check in on your own process; 

3. and/or other scholars (including classmates) might have an interest in the topic and use someone else's bibliography to help them understand what's available and valuable (a kind of jump-start).  

Because scholars use and share them so often, annotated bibliographies are their own genre of academic work, as you can see from some examples here: 

• This search turns up 30,000 different published annotated bibliographies in our college library holdings (wow!). Some of these are only bibliographies, and others have a chapter at the end you can usually identify in the Table of Contents.

• Add the word "feminism" and you'll get more than 1,000 results, including annotated bibliographies on feminism itself, entries on feminism within a particular topic, and many more specific topics that are influenced by women's studies and feminism.

• Alternatively, narrow your search to James Baldwin, and you'll find things like "The Critical Reception of James Baldwin in Japan: An Annotated Bibliography," with very brief annotations of sources organized by year, as well as dozens of other bibliographies that mention Baldwin. 

5. Summarize each source... 

Annotations provide both summary and evaluation. To start, summarize the main idea of the work in broad strokes, providing key information and claims found in it.  

• Pro tip #2: Use our 9 of ❤️ summary template (discusses/argues/wants readers to understand) as the basis of your summary:
  “In the [type/genre of text]  ["Title of Text"],  [creator's full name] discusses _______________.[Lastname or pronoun] argues that _______________. Ultimately, [pronoun/Lastname] wants readers to understand that _______________.

  • You may include “direct quotations” to illuminate the topic in a concise, unique manner, but keep these to a minimum.

  • Don't rely on an "abstract" that's provided. Your annotation should be in your own words based on a review and evaluation of the source, not just an abstract. (Abstracts are useful to help you preview and decide whether to explore a source, just as your annotations here may be for another reader.)

6. ... and also evaluate each source

The evaluative component of an annotation remarks upon your view of the source’s usefulness and/or quality. Address how this text will help us understand a subject, emphasizing points that pertain to your specific research focus.  You do not have to comment on each idea in your evaluation, but consider:

• • Author affiliation, perhaps their credentials and/or ethos

  • Accuracy and currency of the information

  • Comparison with other works

  • The relevance this work has to your own research

  • The significance or importance of this work to the overall discussion of the subject

• Pro tip #3: The PROVEN method (J❤️) will help you focus your evaluation to include information about the author/creator and their ethos as well as the publication. Lateral Reading can help direct you to notable background and context—or even whether the source should be included in your list.

• Pro tip #4: Our 9 of ❤️ template is a good structure to build on, but for evaluation, add more:

  • After the usual sentences, add:
    “This text will be of particular interest to readers who __________________.” 

    • • Who would want to read this text and why? Consider what makes this source more useful than others you have found.

  • And at the end, if you are writing these annotations on your way to drafting a research paper, include a sentence or two that predict how you will use the source in your essay:
    “For this project, I expect I will use [author’s] [ideas/data/illustrations] about _______________ to [illustrate/prove/demonstrate/etc.] _______________ when I discuss _______________.”