Skip to Main Content

MLA Style Guide

Everything you ever wanted to know about MLA...no really, everything! Think something's missing? Contact the Learning Commons!

Intro to Annotated Bibliographies

The Modern Language Association says that "annotations describe or evaluate sources." 

Before you start your annotated bibliography, you'll need to do three things:

1. FIND your sources
2. READ your sources
3. CONFIRM your professor's directions

  • Your professor might want you to summarize and evaluate
    each source's reliability. Your professor might just want you
    to summarize. Your professor might prefer you to pick a
    relevant quote from each source and use it in your final
    paper. Your professor might not prefer this at all. Your
    professor might want full sentences or just short phrases.
    In short...

**ALWAYS DOUBLE-CHECK YOUR PROFESSOR'S INSTRUCTIONS**

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What kind of annotation are you writing?

If you need to summarize each source, think about how you'd describe the source's content to another person.

ASK YOURSELF:

  • What is the author's intent in having created the source?
  • Is there a conclusion of some kind and if so, what is it?
  • How can I synthesize this information into just a few sentences?

If you need to evaluate each source, think about why you consider the source a trustworthy site of information.

ASK YOURSELF:

  • Is the author considered an expert on the topic and if so, how can I tell?
  • Was this published by a reliable publication or news source?
  • Is this the most current information available on this topic?

NOTE:
Check the author's own reference page if you need more sources to explore


LSC-Kingwood Learning Commons | Ask Us: Kingwood.LearningCommons@LoneStar.edu | Research and Tech Help: 281.312.1693 | Book Support: 281.312.1691 | Tutoring: 281.312.1439 | LIB 100, 20000 Kingwood Drive, Kingwood, TX 77339