How to Format an Annotated Bibliography in APA
Preparing an annotated bibliography in the American Psychological Association (APA) format requires a working knowledge of general APA style guidelines. The annotated bibliography provides readers with a summation of the information that you obtained from each source, your evaluation of the credibility and usefulness of each source, and how each source pertains to your research topic in approximately 150 words per entry. Writing an annotated bibliography prior to composing your paper will enable you to become familiar enough with your sources to discard early on any that will not be of use during your research, saving time and energy during the writing process.
Instructions
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Gather all of your sources, or written documentation of such, in front of you.
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Sort your sources by type: books, journal or electronic sources. This step is more important for extensive bibliographies with multiple types and numbers of each source.
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Compose a bibliography of your sources per APA guidelines. If you are unfamiliar with APA style guidelines, click here for more information: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/. The title of the page should be simply, "References."
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Write an annotation, or summation, critique and the relevance, for each source. You'll need to analyze in-depth each source to provide succinct information for each of the three sections of the annotation. The depth and clarity of your analysis will lend credibility to your research. Additional resources for methods of critique can be found by clicking on the resources listed below.
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Add each annotation to your existing bibliography that is written in APA style. In addition to the other style guidelines, the text of your annotation should be indented two spaces in from the hanging indent required by your citations. (Hanging indents refer to the first line of the citation beginning at the left margin with each subsequent lining being indented four additional spaces.) This means that each line of the annotation should be located six spaces over from the left margin. As with the rest of the bibliography, the annotation block should be double-spaced.
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Tips & Warnings
Check with your instructor or other person who will be evaluating your final draft for any specific requirements about the length and depth of the annotations; some annotations will not require more then a simple summation.
