The content of this guide was modeled after a guide originally created by the University of Connecticut Library and has been adapted for the NWP Learning Commons in September 2020. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 International License.
Annotated Bibliographies
An annotated bibliography is a "list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.”
Cornell University Library. (n.d.). How to prepare an annotated bibliography: The annotated bibliography [LibGuide]. Retrieved September 23, 2020,
from https://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography
Writing a Good Annotated Bibliography
To write a good annotated bibliography you need to be:
Concise: Get to the point of what the book/article is about, summarize as briefly and clearly as you can.
Evaluative: Determine the author's identity, expertise/relationship to the topic, and how reliable the information presented is.
Critical: Reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the work, what is missing, what could be explored further, etc.
Comparative: Describe how the source compares to other similar works.
Questions to Consider
Keep these in mind while you are writing your annotated bibliography:
Did the author refer to other scholars' research?
Does the source show any intended or accidental bias?
What was the thesis of the research, the opinion of the book, or the conclusion of the study?
Was there a hypothesis, method, and/or conclusion?
Does the source suggest areas for further research?
Finally, how will this source relate to your topic?
Examples
APA Style
Meier, E.S., Lischke, H., Schmatz, D.R., & Zimmermann, N.E. (2012). Climate, competition and connectivity affect future migration and ranges of European trees. Global Ecology & Biogeography, 21(2), 164-178. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2011.00669.x
Plant species have adapted to altering climate conditions, but it remains unclear if species will be able to keep pace with recent and future climate change. The goal of the study is to assess the influence of changing macroclimate, competition and habitat connectivity on the migration rates of 14 tree species. To predict future species ranges from the models, researchers applied three migration scenarios: no migration, unlimited migration and realistic migration. The study concludes that Migration rates depend on species traits, competition, spatial habitat configuration and climatic conditions. As a result, re-adjustments of species ranges to climate and land-use change are complex and very individualistic, yet still quite predictable.
MLA Style
Bergeron, Yves, et al. "Response of Northeastern North American Forests to Climate Change: Will Soil Conditions Constrain Tree Species Migration?" Environmental Reviews, vol. 18, no. 1, 2010, pp. 279-289.
At the continental scale, climate plays a major role in determining plant distribution, while at the local and regional scales vegetation patterns are more strongly related to edaphic and topographic factors. Considering the broad tolerance of most tree species to variations in soil factors, soils should not represent a major constraint for the northward shift of tree species. Locally or regionally, soil properties may constrain species migration.
Additional Resources
Check out these resources for more information on how to write an annotated bibliography:
How to Create an Annotated Bibliography
Please note this PDF does not have an updated APA Citation
How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography (Cornell University Libraries)
Very easy to follow explanation on how to create an annotated bibliography
Purdue OWL: Annotated Bibliographies
An excellent site that explains the in and out of annotated bibliographies