Annotated Bibliography Instructions
Form/Design
Use Standard MLA Formatting: The entire assignment should be typed, double spaced in 12 point,
standard font. It should include your heading within the margin on the upper left corner of the first page
and your header (last name and page number) above the right margin on every page, not within the body
of the assignment. You should include a title that includes your research topic in the main title and the
subtitle letting us know this is an annotated bibliography, like this: Vitamin Supplements: An Annotated
Bibliography. Please dont give your title any special treatment such as bolding or italicizing or
enlarging. Just center it. The entries should be in alphabetical order using hanging indents the same way
they would appear on a works cited list in MLA 8 format.
Audience
The audience for your annotated bibliography has not read the articles you are summarizing and
responding to. You will have to give them enough information so that they will understand why you
have selected these articles, what these authors are trying to convey, what limitations their views might
have, and how these articles begin to answer your research question.
Instructions
The annotated bibliography is an important steppingstone for writing your next assignment, a research
synthesis essay in which you will ask an original, essential question and gather useful information from
credible experts that helps you attempt a complex, satisfying answer. Before you can do that, you need
to know background information about your topic and consider more than one perspective or an
opposing viewpoint.
A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, Web sites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for
researching a topic. Bibliographies are sometimes called References or Works Cited
depending on the style format you are using. A bibliography usually just includes the
bibliographic (citation) information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.).
An annotation is a summary and analysis of an article, essay, book, etc..
Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes both the citation information as well as a
summary and analysis of each of the sources. You might think of it this way: If you were
explaining to another person what this source said that was important, what would you tell them?
For this assignment, you need to include two rich paragraphs, each 4-6 sentences of annotation for each
source. Shoot for at least 60-100 words per paragraph. Each source needs the following annotations:
1. Summary paragraph: Briefly summarize the main findings of the source including any relevant
facts and/or conclusions reached by the author(s). This paragraph should tell us basically what
the source is about, focusing on the most important highlights. I encourage you to keep the They
Say/I Say concept in mind as you summarize. By briefly capturing the background conversation
on this topic (what they say) as well as the authors main claim and supporting examples (his or
her I say) you will end up with brief but accurate summary annotation.
2. Analysis paragraph: Briefly discuss the qualifications and perspective of the author and any
other experts the author includes, especially if you think you would want to quote or paraphrase
