Subject Guides: APA Style Guide: 6th Edition: Formatting: Annotated Bibliographies

Formatting: Annotated Bibliographies

An annotated bibliography is a list of useful resources on a specific topic, similar to a bibliography at the end of a paper; however, each source listed must also include an annotation (brief commentary) of about 150 words. Depending on the field of study, an annotated bibliography may contain annotations that are descriptive (tell about a source), critical (give an opinion about a source), or both.

Annotations might include:

a brief summary of the source
a description of its strengths, weaknesses and usefulness to you
a description of how it compares with other research in the field
information about the author's background

An annotated bibliography should help to answer the following question:

"What are the most relevant and useful sources I can find for my chosen topic?"

*For more detailed information, visit our Annotated Bibliographies guide.

Every annotation should begin with a full citation that will be formatted according to the item type. For example, if you are referring to a journal article with a DOI in your annotated bibliography, you will create a citation based on that item type. Click on the referencing tabs to the left to find the appropriate citation format for other item types.
Include a hanging indent when a citation is longer than one line.
Annotations should be written in paragraph form.
Annotations should be 80-200 words or 3-7 sentences long.
Format according to APA standards: 12-pt Times New Roman Font, double-spacing, 1-inch margins, running head, and page numbers.

*If you are in doubt or have questions, check with your instructor!

Source:

EasyBib, Chegg, 2018, www.easybib.com/guides/annotated-bibliographies/