Annotated Bibliography

What is a Bibliography?

An organized list of sources (books, journal articles, and other documents) which includes information about each listed source (i.e. the author, title, publisher, date).

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

A bibliography which includes annotations i.e. a summary and/or evaluation of each listed source.

What is the difference between annotations and abstracts?

Annotations summarise the scope and content of an item and may include critical evaluative comments, whereas abstracts give an overview but usually do not involve any critical evaluation.

Writing the annotations

Each annotation should be concisely written - approximately 150 words long. It may answer some or all of the following questions:

• What is the main focus or purpose of the work?
• Who is the audience it was written for?
• What is its usefulness or appropriateness to your topic?
• Are there any special features that were unique or helpful?
• What is the author’ background and credibility?
• What conclusions does the author draw?
• What observations or conclusions have you made?

Source: Queensland University of Technology

For more information on how to write an annotated bibliography, check Charles Sturt University's page.