Annotated bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a bibliography that gives a summary of each of the entries. The purpose of annotations is to provide the reader with a summary and an evaluation of the source. Each summary should be a concise exposition of the source's central idea(s) and give the reader a general idea of the source's content.

The following are the main components of an annotated bibliography. It is important to note that not all fields shown below must be used at once in an annotated bibliography. The fields may vary depending on the type of annotated bibliography and special instructions from the instructor in case the bibliography is part of a school assignment.

Annotations may be written with different goals in mind. There are three types of annotations, depending on what might be most important for your reader or according to your professor’s instructions.It is impossible to describe a standard procedure for all types of annotations because one annotation does not fit all purposes. In order to know the best type of annotated bibliography, it is prudent to consult your instructor or follow the instructions. For example, if the assignment states that your annotative bibliography should give evidence proving an analytical understanding of the sources you have used, then you are supposed to write an analytical annotated bibliography which includes evaluation of the sources you are using. The three types of annotated bibliographies are; summary annotations, critical annotations and a combination of the former two.

Summary annotations

Summary annotations are further classified into informative and indicative annotations.

The following are the main features of summary annotations:

Informative Annotations

This type of annotation is a summary of the source. An informative annotation should include the thesis of the work, arguments or hypothesis, proofs and a conclusion.

Informative annotations provide a straight summary of the source material.

They summarise all relevant information about the author and the main points of the work.

To write an informative annotation, begin by writing the thesis; then develop it with the argument or hypothesis, list the proofs, and state the conclusion

Indicative annotated bibliographies

Indicative annotations do not provide actual information from the source.

They provide overall information about what kinds of questions or issues are addressed by the work, for example, through chapter titles.

In the indicative entry, there is no attempt to give actual data such as hypotheses, proofs, etc.

This type of annotation assesses the source's strengths and weaknesses, in terms of usefulness and quality.

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