An annotated bibliography is similar to the reference list provided at the end of your paper. However, each reference or source is also paired with a short paragraph, known as an annotation. The annotation summarizes what the source is about and discusses how useful or reliable it is for your research paper. 

An annotated bibliography practices your synthesis and analysis skills.

There are two main parts to an Annotated Bibliography:

1. The reference, and
2. The annotation

The reference should be provided in the style and format specified by your professor (APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian).

The annotation can be written as one or two paragraphs. The annotation should include:

• Summary: a general overview of what you read, including key points.
• Credibility: information on what makes the article credible and any potential biases you noticed
• Usefulness: your opinion on how useful this article is to your research and why. 

Annotated bibliographies follow the same formatting guidelines of a student paper. Check with your professor on which style you should be using. You can learn more about using APA, MLA, and Chicago/Turabian formatting using the library's Citation Guides!

In addition: your bibliography should use indentation to indicate when you are including a citation and when you are writing your annotation. 

• Indentations:
  • All references should have a hanging indent of 0.5 inches.
  • The entire annotation should be indented 0.5 inches.