What is an annotated bibliography and what does it do?
Answered By: Stormye Hendrix
Last Updated: Aug 16, 2021

What Is an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is an well-organized list of sources (can include a variety of materials, books, documents, articles, web sites, DVDs, etc.) with a paragraph or two that describes, explains, and/or evaluates each entry in terms of quality, authority, and relevance.

What Is the Purpose of an Annotated Bibliography?

  • An annotated bibliography may serve a number of purposes, including:
  • Provide a review of the literature on a particular subject
  • Provide examples of the types of sources available
  • Describe other items on a topic that may be of interest to the researcher/reader
  • Identify areas for further research

An annotated bibliography may be selective or comprehensive in its coverage. A selective annotated bibliography includes just those items that are best for the topic while a comprehensive (or exhaustive) annotated bibliography attempts to identify everything available on a subject or topic.