MLA Citation Guide (9th Edition): Annotated Bibliography

Comments

An annotated book list contains citations of books, articles, or other sources that are relevant to a certain topic. An annotated Bibliography is similar to a Works Cited, but it includes annotations after each source. An annotation can be a summary or a critical evaluation of the source. Annotated books can be part a bigger research project, but they can also be an independent report.

Types Of Annotations

The summary annotation answers the questions who wrote the source, what it discusses, where and when the source was created, why and how it was made public. Description is the focus.

An evaluative comment includes not only the summary but also a critical evaluation of the work’s accuracy, relevance, or quality. You can use evaluative annotations to learn more about your topic. They will also help you develop a thesis, determine whether a particular source is useful for your project, and decide if the information provided by that source is sufficient. Focus is on evaluation and description.

Write an Evaluation Annotation

1. Cite your source in MLA format.
2. Identify and explain the audience.
3. Explain to the reader what expertise and biases an author may have.
4. Compare with other sources that are on the topic you have cited. This will show any similarities or differences.
5. Explain how each source relates to the topic you are researching and why it is relevant.
6. Compare the strengths of each source.
7. Identify what the author has observed or concluded.

Remember that annotations are descriptions you write after you have read the document. In your research, you may come across articles in journals that include a brief summary of the article at the start. This article’s abstract is very similar to an annotation summary. The abstract can be used to help you create an evaluative note, but it is not plagiarism to simply copy the text or substitute some words for synonyms.

Basic tips on writing and formatting

• Each annotation is one paragraph long and should have between three-six sentences (150 to 200 words).
• Start using the format used for a Works Cited page.
• Double-space all lines. Add no extra space between the citations.
• You can group your citations by topic if they are particularly long.
• If you have an opinion, explain it.
• Use the third or second person to avoid using first person.

Sample Evaluation Annotation

London, Herbert. “Five Misconceptions About Television.” Television Quarterly, vol. 10, no. 1, Mar. 1982, pp. 81-69. Herbert London explains the five ideas that are commonly held about television. He is Dean of Journalism of New York University. His points are illustrated by specific television events, such as John Kennedy’s assassination. His examples are chosen to contradict adages such as “seeing and believing”, “a thousand-word picture” or “satisfaction” London’s ideas are backed up by logic and his own opinion. He makes no reference to previous writings on the subject. London’s style, vocabulary and writing would be interesting to anyone. London’s arguments are clearly illustrated in the article, but their implications are not explored. This leaves many unanswered question for the reader.