Q. What is an annotated bibliography?

An Annotated Bibliography is a list of sources that include annotations of each source. Each annotation is made up of three parts:

1. Citation: this is in either APA or MLA format; you include one citation for each source you found in your research
2. Summary: a short summary of what is included in your source, which may be composed of the reasoning behind their research, research methods, and conclusions reached
3. Evaluation: a short evaluation of the source from your point of view; would you be able to use it for your paper? Why or why not?

To learn more about annotated bibliographies or see examples of citations and annotations, see the annotated bib section of our Citation Guide.