How To – Preparing an Annotated Bibliography.pdf
Purpose of the Annotated Bibliography:
An Annotated Bibliography is a list of citations to books, peer
reviewed 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.
The Process:
Creating an annotated bibliography calls for the application of a
variety of intellectual skills: concise exposition, succinct analysis,
and informed library research.
First, locate and record citations to books, peer reviewed articles,
and documents that may contain useful information and ideas on your
topic.
Briefly examine and review the actual items. Then choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic.
Cite the book, peer reviewed article, or document using the appropriate style.
Write a concise annotation that summarizes the central theme and
scope of the book or peered reviewed article. This portion is typically
three to seven sentences long, or 150 words, but the length can depend
on your professor and the assignment. Include one or more sentences that
address the following:
Main focus of the work (purpose, main argument, etc.)
Background and credibility of the author
Intended audience (students, experts, professionals, etc.)
Special features of the work (illustrations, maps, tables, etc.)
Usefulness or relevance to your research topic
Your own observations or opinions
Choosing the Correct Citation Style
American Psychological Association (APA) style
Length of the Annotated Bibliography:
Minimum seven (7) citations with one hundred fifty (150) carefully prescribed and well composed word annotations each. F
ormatting of the Annotated Bibliography:
The Header: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY (centered, bold, all capitals)
The Font:
Font must be legible. Select a clear/simple font: Aerial, Calibri, Times New Roman, Tahoma.
Font size for text must be 12-point.
Bottom line: Once you have selected a font stick with it for the entire document.
Special Note: Bold the bibliographical data (see example)
The Margins:
Portrait orientation with 1 inch margin on all sides. Only page numbers may encroach on bottom margins.
Justification:
Text must be justified against the left margin, and each paragraph should be indented.
Spacing:
Single-space all text.
The following exceptions are single-spaced: Block quotations (40 words or more in length).
Pagination:
Important Note: The Annotated Bibliography begins on page 1.
Page numbers are located in the bottom footer at center of the pages.
A single sequence of consecutive Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) is required to paginate the text.
Lower-case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.) are used to paginate the preliminary pages.
Title pages are not counted or numbered.
Color:
Text must be in black ink. Black-and-white and color illustrations/figures are acceptable.
Document Submission:
Prepare using MS Word
