Style a source in an annotated bibliography just as you would one in a list of works cited, and then append an annotation to the end of the entry, indented an inch from the start of the entry (to distinguish it from the half-inch hanging indent of entries composed of more than one line). Annotations describe or evaluate sources or do both. Annotations are generally written as succinct phrases. But annotations can also be given as complete sentences. The list should be titled Annotated Bibliography or Annotated List of Works Cited. Writers may organize the bibliography alphabetically by author or title (as for a normal list of works cited), by date of publication, or by subject.
The following websites will help you to understand and create an annotated bibliography in a variety of styles.
This example uses the MLA format for the journal citation. Note: Standard MLA practice requires double spacing within citations.
Waite, Linda J., Frances Kobrin Goldscheider, and Christine Witsberger. "Nonfamily Living and the Erosion of Traditional Family Orientations Among
Young Adults." American Sociological Review, vol. 51, no. 4, 1986, 541-554.
The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living.
