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Getting Started With Library Research: Summarizing Research Articles & Annotated Bibliographies

A how-to guide to covering research and library offerings.

Writing An Article Summary

APA 7th Edition Book

TIPS for Reading & Summarizing Research Articles with Professor Josiah Fehlauer

Annotated Bibliographies

Annotated Bibliography

What is an annotated bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually 150-200 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.  ( Source )

Why write an annotated bibliography?

Writing an annotated bibliography can help you gain a good perspective on what is being said about your topic. By reading and responding to a variety of sources on a topic, you'll start to see what the issues are, what people are arguing about, and you'll then be able to develop your own point of view.

Source: Purdue OWL

Annotated Bibliography - Example

Rules for the Annotated Bibliography

  • The complete citation comes first followed by the analysis or summary (see example)
  • The beginning of each citation entry uses a hanging indent, flush left
  • After the first line of each citation, the rest of the entry is indented 1" from the left
  • Generally summary/analysis should be about 150-200 words but follow your instructor's guidelines
  • Summary/analysis does require in-text citation

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