How to Make an Annotated Bibliography

How to Make an Annotated Bibliography - MLA Style

An annotation is a couple of sentences or a brief paragraph that summarizes a periodical article or a book. It is accompanied by a citation to enable the article or publication to be traced.

This is the information you need to complete a bibliographic entry for a periodical article:

author of the article
title of the article
title of the periodical
volume and issue number, if a journal, followed by date, in parenthesis. OR,
day, month, year, if a magazine
number of pages

If an online database is used, you must add the following information:

name of database, underlined.
name of service
name and location of library.
date of access.
URL of database service [NOT the long URL (Internet address) you get after you have finished a search. The correct URL is available at V.V. Library Online Databases homepage]

For examples, see How to Cite Online Databases.

An annotation (or abstract) usually identifies the basic topic and summarizes the article. Sometimes, it may include your opinion of the article.

When writing an abstract, follow this structure:

Start with a sentence to identify the main idea of the article.
Follow with a couple of sentences to explain the main points of the article.
Finish with a sentence stating the major conclusions of the article.
If you are doing an evaluation, close the annotation with your evaluative comments about the article.

Example of:

Wilhoit, Stephen. "Helping Students Avoid Plagiarism." College Training. 1 Sept. 1994. N. pag.
       e-Library Curriculum Edition. ProQuest. E.P.C.C. Library, El Paso. 12 July 2007 <http:\\elibrary.bigchalk.com>.

Plagiarism is a big problem among students, mostly because they don't understand it and because instructors do not help students to avoid it. Examples are shared on how to define plagiarism and help students avoid it. If instructors take time to explain what is plagiarism and guide students in the writing process, plagiarism could be reduced.

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Last Updated: Rev July 2007

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