How to Write an Annotated Bibliography in APA

An annotated bibliography is a list of sources or cited works written at the end of a research paper that includes a summary or evaluation of each source. Annotations may be used to summarize the topics and arguments used in each work, assess the source information and its objectivity, and describe how the source plays a role in your research. An annotated bibliography is usually written in either MLA or APA style. APA is a style created by the American Psychological Association used for research papers in the social sciences.

Things You'll Need

  • Research paper
  • List of references
  • Computer with word processor
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Instructions

    • 1

      Open your word processor of choice. You can choose to write your bibliography before or after you complete your research paper.

    • 2

      Begin on a blank page. Add the reference list on a new page at the end of your research paper. Type "References" in 12-pt. Times New Roman font, double-spaced. Center the title and leave it in plain text.

    • 3

      List each reference entry alphabetically by author's last name. Each entry should include basic bibliographical information such as author, year published, title of article, title of book or journal published, volume and page numbers. Use Purdue OWL: Annotated Bibliographies for additional formatting information.

    • 4

      Create a 1/2-inch indent on each line after the first line of each entry.

    • 5

      Capitalize only the first word in a title and subtitle of a work unless it is a journal. Capitalize only major words in journal titles. Italicize titles of books and journals, but don't italicize titles of essays and articles.

    • 6

      Type an annotation underneath each entry in paragraph form. The length of each annotation will depend on the types of annotations you are required to do. If you are only writing summaries, you may only need a few sentences for each, but analytical annotations likely will take more space. To start out, write a few sentences to summarize and several sentences to reflect on the source.

    • 7

      Save the document.

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