An annotated bibliography provides the reader with a summary of the research sources that have been used in any research paper or essay. An annotated bibliography is written in an alphabetical order of the research sources, where it provides both the bibliographic data of the author of the research source as well as a brief summary of the materials contained in the sources, which is referred to as the annotation. The annotated bibliography generally comprises of a short evaluation or analysis as well as a brief summary of the materials or contents found in the research source and used to prepare the final research paper. An annotated bibliography may require the researcher to critique, analyze, summarize, reflect, or evaluate the research sources.
The rationale for annotated bibliography is to offer the reader with a brief summary and analysis of the research source. A successful annotated bibliography essay must be written as a concise summary of the research source and illustrate the author’s central idea to provide the reader with a broad idea of what the research source material contains, as well as how it is relevant to the writer’s research paper.
Annotated bibliography essay should include the entire bibliographic data for the research source. The bibliographic information include an explanation of the author’s qualifications and authority of writing the research source, the scope and main content of the source, target audience, as well as a summary comment. An annotated bibliography should be approximately 100 to 200 hundred words or at least one paragraph.