A step-by-step guide on how to structure an annotation with an example.

1. 1
Annotated Bibliographies
Middle School
Villanova Libraries

2. What is the purpose of an Annotated
Bibliography?
2
Review the
literature on a
subject
Explores and organises sources
for further research
Demonstrates the
quality and depth of
reading you have
done
Highlights the scope
of sources available:
journals, books,
sites …
Informs the reader of the
relevance, accuracy and quality
of sources

3. Parts of the annotation
3
4 Parts to an annotation …
Provide the full bibliographic
citation.
Summarise the main ideas presented
that are relevant to your assignment
topic.
Explain how reliable you believe the
source to be.
Reflect on how you used the source in
your assignment.
4 Reflection
3 Evaluation
1 Citation
2 Summary

4. 4
Bibliographic Citation
List all sources in alphabetical order (according
to surnames) and include the annotation under
each source.

5. 55
Summary
Use the structure of the source to
structure your annotation and
introduce your summary.
Eg. This chapter focuses on three
issues which are …
Eg. This article details how …

6. 66
The Evaluation
Evaluate the source’s reliability.
Look for evidence the author may have used to
support his or her ideas.
Consider the journal’s reputation, author’s resume. You may need
to conduct a search of the author to determine this information.
eg. The author supports this claim with statistics from the World Health
Organisation.

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The Reflection
How useful was this source in my research?
Did it add to my understanding of the topic?
Was it easy to read?
eg. Although the information on this website was quite detailed, it was
written in plain English and clearly explained how the earth’s crust is made
up of numerous tectonic plates.
eg While the focus of this chapter was very broad, the authors supply some
useful references for readers to pursue for more specific information.

8. 8888
Example
[Citation] Trevor, C. O. 2004. “Employee turnover and job performance:
monitoring the influences of salary growth and promotion”. Business
Review Weekly, vol. 113, no. 1. pp 56-64.
[Summary] In this article Trevor reviews the influences of pay and job
opportunities in respect to job performance, turnover rates and employee
motivation. [Evaluation] The Journal is a well respected Australian journal.
Although some of the language was technical the structure was easy to follow.
[Reflection] The article is useful to my research topic, as Trevor suggests that
there are many reasons for employee turnover which helped me generate
more inquiry questions to research.

9. 9
✔ used the referencing style specified.
Checklist: I’ve …
✔ provided a brief overview of main ideas, using the
features such as the structure.
✔ commented on whether the source was useful.
✔ evaluated the source for its reliability.
✔ checked spelling, grammar and punctuation and my
writing is set out in a logical format.

10. 1010
Keep it concise. Remember this is a summary. Keep
to one paragraph.
Final Points
Write in full sentences using academic vocabulary.

11. 1111
References
Queensland University of Technology. 2012. “Writing an Annotated
Bibliography” Accessed May 29, 2012.
http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/annotatedbibliography.jsp
University of New South Wales. 2010. “Annotated Bibliography’ Accessed
May 29, 2012. http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/annotated_bib.html