An annotated bibliography is a tool researchers use to organize and summarize their research. It is basically a works cited page that includes a brief summary of the article–known as an annotation–that helps the researcher keep track of what was important and significant in answering their own research questions. You should take notes as you read, recording quotes you might use in your paper, and paraphrasing important information. Always cite the page numbers in your notes so you don’t have to go back to re-read! These notes will be essential when writing the research paper.
Annotations vary in length, but the average length is 250 words. What is important is that you use the annotations to keep track of the following information:
What is the primary thesis of this article?
What arguments does the author make that are significant to my own research questions?
- What evidence does the author use to support their arguments?
- What facts, statistics, or other information might be important to my own argument?
- Does the author make any arguments that contradict other research I have read?
- Does the author mention other research papers that I should read? (This is a super important one for professional research!)