How to Incorporate a Website in an Annotated Bibliography Paper

There are two parts to entries in an annotated bibliography: the citation, which contains information so that people reading your work can find the sources you use, and the annotation, which is a summary or evaluation of each source. Formatting for the annotation portion varies depending on the project and circumstances; however, there are standard rules for the citation portion of the entry. Before you start an annotated bibliography, check the project guidelines to see which formatting style you should use.

Instructions

MLA Format

1. Type the name of the author. The author's last name comes first, then the first name. The first and last names are separated by a comma. Put a period after the author's name. If the author's name is not available, start with the name of the website.

2. Type the title of the website, and put it in italics. Put a period after the website title.

3. Type the name of the publisher, or institution associated with the website., followed by a period. If no publisher is given, use "n.p." to indicate that there is no listed publisher.

4. Type the date the website was created. Type the day first, followed by the abbreviation for the month, then the year. If there is no date, use "n.d." to indicate that there is no listed publishing date. Follow the year with a period.

5. Type "Web." to indicate the medium that the source comes from.

6. Type the date you accessed the source in the same format that you would use for the publishing date.

7. Put the annotation for the entry after the reference information. Format the annotation according to the guidelines for your assignment. Different assignments require different formats for the annotation portion of an annotated bibliography entry.

APA Format

1. Type the name of the author, using his last name first, followed by his first name. Put a period after the author's name.

2. Put the date of publication in parentheses. If the website doesn't list the date it was published, use "n.d." to indicate "no date."

3. Type the title of the website. If you're referencing a particular web page, use the title of the page instead. Put a period after the title.

4. Type "Retrieved from" and then put the URL for the website.

5. Consult the guidelines for your assignment to determine the requirements for the annotation portion of the entry.

Tips & Warnings

• For MLA citations, each line after the first in each entry should be indented 5 spaces. For APA citations, each line after the first should be indented half an inch from the left margin.

References

• Purdue Owl; Annotated Bibliographies; Dana Bisignani, et al.; July 2011
• Purdue Owl; MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources; Tony Russell, et al.; June 2011
• Purdue Owl; Reference List: Electronic Sources (Web Publications) Elizabeth Angeli, et al.; May 2011