I see students shift uncomfortably in their seats when the words “annotated bibliography” are spoken. I believe they’re simply terrified by hearing technical words and don’t realize that this writing technique isn’t as difficult as it sounds. You start with your sources and list them in alphabetical order by the author’s last name (unless there isn’t one, in which case we refer to citation guidelines for the rules). Whether you’re using MLA, APA, or one of the lesser used style guides, you’ll want to format your citation entries appropriately. Basically, you’re starting with a works cited page or reference page and adding information to it.
Once you have your citation entries, you’ll write summaries of each source, although sometimes you may answer specific questions assigned by your instructor. That’s it. You add a paragraph after each citation entry, and you now have an annotated bibliography. I promise this process is much easier than you imagined.
