How to Write an Annotative Bibliography in MLA Format

No scholarly article is complete without a list of citations, or bibliography. It can take a number of forms; one of the most commonly used methods of citation is in Modern Language Association (MLA) format. The differences between formats are generally small but can confuse even the most seasoned writer.

Things You'll Need

  • List of sources and key information for each
  • Word processor
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Instructions

    • 1

      Open your word processing program and type "Works Cited" at the top of the page. Center the text. In an MLA formatted work, the bibliography comes in the form of a works cited page at the end of the article.

    • 2

      Set document margins to 1-inch and spacing to double-space.

    • 3

      List your resource in the following format:
      For books:
      Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book (in italics). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of publication. Medium of Publication.

      For articles:
      Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical (in italics) Day Month Year: pages. Medium of Publication.

    • 4

      Write a short (3 to 5 sentence) summary and critique of the resource beginning at the end of the bibliographic information. Include the specific information you used, why you used it and a description of the point of view and credibility of the author(s). Other information that can be included is a description of the intended audience for the source or a comparison of the source to a different one in your bibliography.

    • 5

      Repeat steps 1 through 4 for each resource.

    • 6

      Create a hanging indent for each citation by indenting every line after the first in each citation five spaces.

    • 7

      Organize the citations in alphabetical order by author.

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