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IAFS 4500 Post Cold War Global Security (Young): Write Your Annotated Bibliography

What is an Annotated Bibliography and Why is it Important?

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

It is an organized, annotated ('with notes') list of resources. It includes all of the books, articles, reports, and other types of resources that you read for your project.

Here is a great handout from the UNC writing center on writing an Annotated Bibliography:

Why Wouldn't I Just Copy/Paste the Abstract?

The abstract of an article or book is just a summary of the contents. For an annotated bibliography, you want to describe the main points and evaluate the content, structure, or conclusions. You may also consider how useful or relevant it is to your research topic.

Why Would I Want an Annotated Bibliography?

Will you remember every detail from the articles, reports, and books that you read? If so, that's great for you! But for the rest of us, it's handy to have a bit of a reminder while we're writing the paper

Annotated Bibliography Elements

Summarize

  • Key points, conclusions, or recommendations

  • Surprising or interesting findings

Evaluate

  • May include questions related to:

    • Author bias, Scope, Structure, Conclusions, Methodology, Relevance, Timeliness

Reflect

  • How does this inform my project?

  • Is it useful? If so, what section of my project is it most applicable?

Example

Tallman, Kathryn. Cite Your Article Here in Chicago Style: Advice about Annotated Bibliographies from Kate. Boulder: University of Colorado Libraries, 2021.

Begin the annotation with an introductory sentence explaining what the resource is; do not copy and paste the abstract. Maybe you can include something about the author’s research methods. Annotations can be 1-3 paragraphs, but the most important thing to keep in mind is that you want this to be useful for you as you continue your research.

Now you can summarize the research and start evaluating the resource. Is it outdated? Is there a clear bias? Does it do an excellent job of organizing the information? Was there something in this study that was particularly interesting or surprising? Do you agree or disagree with the conclusion or methods? Remember that this annotation is for you and your research. When you are in the middle of writing your paper, this bibliography will help refresh your memory and organize your research. Finally, in the last part of your annotation, you could discuss how this specific resource is relevant or useful for you and your final paper.