Women's Gender, and Sexuality Studies Research Guide (Atlanta)

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations (references) to books, articles, and documents followed by a brief summary, analysis or evaluation, usually between 100-300 words, of the sources that are cited in the paper.  This summary provides a description of the contents of the source and may also include evaluative comments, such as the relevance, accuracy and quality of the source.  These summaries are known as annotations. 

• Annotated bibliographies are completed before a paper is written
• They can be stand-alone assignments
• They can be used as a reference tool as a person works on their paper

Source: University of Minnesota Health Sciences Library, Annotated Bilbiographies research guide.  

Why write an Annotated Bibliography? 

• To start thinking about the relationships between sources early in your research process
• To help you determine if a source is relevant to your research project
• To help you remember why you may want to include or exclude a source in your final paper or project

The following resources will help you get started on your Annotated Bibliography:

• Purdue University's Online Writing Owl has excellent suggestions for writing annotated bibliographies. 
• Utah State University Libraries offer step by step instructions for writing an annotated bibliography. 

The Emory Writing Center offers personalized one-to-one support for writing assignments. You can book sessions with tutors by appointment or drop-in during walk-in hours.