How do I write an annotated bibliography?

Note: The written guidelines below provide general information about creating an annotated bibliography. For the best results, always follow the specific instructions given by your professor for any assignment.

An annotated bibliography is a written summary and evaluation of the collected resources for a research project, such as journal articles, websites, and book chapters/excerpts. Annotated bibliographies are designed to help students and researchers organize their literature research, in preparation for writing. It generally consists of three sections for each reference:

1. Citation - Each annotation is headed by a reference/bibliography formatted according to the citation style required by the assignment, program, or publisher. The three most commonly used citation styles for academic programs are APA, MLA, and Chicago/Turabian. 
2. Summary - Following the citation is a summary of the resource. Written in paragraph format, the summary is an overview of the main points/arguments of the article, including any conclusions determined by the author of the piece. More detailed summaries may also include quotations from the article that the student or researcher wishes to use when writing.
3. Assessment/Reflection - Also written in paragraph format, this section contains the student or researcher's opinions as to the value of the article for their own research. Not simply a vote of whether or not the article is useful, the assessment is a detailed evaluation of the resource, including any support or opposition it provides to the student or researcher's own thesis, and may also address the credibility of the resource.

For a more detailed explanation of annotated bibliographies, including a breakdown of the creation process and samples for each of the three main citation styles, visit the comprehensive guidelines provided by Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL).