It is obvious that some of the students might be puzzled with an issue of what does annotated bibliography look like.
Annotated Bibliography is a type of academic work that includes the list of references like books, journals, reports, articles, videos, websites, or other publications, used by the student or the professor while completing the research. Each of the references has to be followed by the annotation, a short paragraph, evaluating and describing the mentioned work, informing the teacher or the reader about the relevance and the quality of the sources used. So, it is quite easy to understand what does annotated bibliography look like.
Annotated bibliography is a type of work that includes the list of references like books, journals, reports, articles, videos, websites, or other publications, used by the student, the teacher, or by the professor while completing the research. Each of the references has to be followed by the annotation, a short paragraph, evaluating and describing the mentioned work, informing the teacher or the reader about the relevance, importance, and the quality of the sources used.
The annotated bibliography is a bibliography, that can be defined as a completed list of sources, that usually consists of two main paragraphs, descriptive and evaluative, about the books, journals, reports, articles, videos, websites, or other publications used and cited in the study. These paragraphs are known as the annotations.
It is useful to understand that there are two main types of the annotated bibliographies:
- Descriptive or informative. This type of the annotated bibliography presents the description or the summary of the source, similar to the abstract that also explains if the source appeared to be useful and appropriate for the research of the certain question or topic. In addition to this, this bibliography describes the author’s central claims, facts, or conclusions without the evaluation of the main hypothesis of the work.
- Analytical or critical. This type of the annotated bibliography presents not only the summary of the sources used, but it also includes the analysis of what was being said or explored. This annotated bibliography points out the strengths and the limitations of what was presented in the work as well as paying pays attention to the applicability of the author’s claims to the research conducted.
To put it simply, if the student or the professor needs to create an annotated bibliography, there is a strong need to demonstrate his or her intellectual skills like succinct analysis, informed library research, or brief exposition. First of all, the researcher has to identify and record the citations to the documents, journals, books, or reports that can contain important information or any significant ideas on the necessary topic. Secondly, it is worth examining and reviewing the actual items. Finally, the person has to understand what sources are better and to choose the ones that provide a wide range of perspectives on the topic of exploration. Moreover, it is impossible to forget that citing the articles, documents, or books requires using the appropriate writing style. In fact, the annotated bibliography can be arranged chronologically and alphabetically, depending on the requirements of the professor or the educational institution.
Eventually, the researcher has to complete a short annotation, summarizing the primary theme of the publication.
Besides, it is worth including one or several comments that:
- provide the information regarding the background or the authority of the author;
- provide the comments on the target audience;
- analyze and oppose the mentioned work with other works mentioned in the study;
- describe if this work is appropriate for the required bibliography question or topic.
Finally, one of the facts to keep in mind is that annotated bibliography differs from an abstract. For instance, if an abstract also summarizes the journals, reports, articles, videos, websites, or books, it is completely descriptive. Since the annotations may be also descriptive, they can also explore certain distinctive features about the work mentioned.