Learning Skills
Examples of Annotated Bibliographies
As you read through the following examples you will notice considerable variation among annotations. The word count has been included to give you an idea of how it is possible to describe and evaluate a source in few words. APA Style referencing format is followed.
Example 1
| Hart, C. M. W., & Pilling, A. R. (1960). The Tiwi of North Australia. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. |
| This is the standard monograph on the Tiwi comprising the earlier work of Hart on the ceremonies, social organisation, economic system and daily life of these Aboriginal people, and the more recent description of the Tiwi in the 1960s by Pilling. It is particularly useful in providing an insight into the various forms of social control which operate in an island community. |
This annotation clarifies the scope of the work, comments on its value as a source and its place in the literature, and emphasises its particular relevance for this writer. (62 words)
Example 2
| Stoddart, W. S. (1972). Art and Architecture in Medieval France. New York: Harper & Row. |
| This text explores the history of Romanesque and Gothic art, with emphasis on the latter period. It is especially useful for its discussion of architectural techniques. Also included is an analysis of past scholarship of the periods, which was relevant to the question's focus on the interpretation of the word Romanesque. However, much of the discussion is outdated, and its overview of the scholarship needed to be compared with the related material in Calkins. |
This annotation clarifies the scope of the book, its usefulness and relevance to the topic, and compares it with another source on the same topic. (75 words)
Example 3
| Stoddart, W. S. (1972). Art and Architecture in Medieval France. New York: Harper & Row. |
| A history of medieval art and architecture. An informative and useful book. |
This is a very poor annotation. Apart from not being in APA style it is too brief, not evaluative and simply repeats obvious information from the book’s title. (12 words)
Note the use of first person in the next two examples. This is not common practice but some assignments may allow this.
Example 4
| Keefe, F.J. (1996). Pain in arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders. Journal of Orthopedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 2, 279-290. |
| I got all the facts about exercising with arthritis and the different types of exercise from this source. The author is very readable and includes a detailed bibliography. |
The expression would not be considered scholarly. The reviewer has however attempted to inform the reader of the content and relevance of the content to the task, and to evaluate the readability of the text and extent of supporting evidence. The annotation is however likely to be considered too short (28 words) for an academic assignment.
Example 5
| Sewell, W. (1989). Weaving a program: Literate programming in WEB. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. |
| Sewell explains the code language within these pages including certain lines of code as examples. One useful idea that Sewell uses is to explain characters and how they work in the programming of a Web Page. He also goes through and describes how to make lists and a title section. This will be very useful because all Web Pages have a title section. This author also introduces Pascal which I am not sure if I will include in my manual but after I read more about it I can decide whether this will be helpful to future users. This book will not be the basis of my manual but will add some key points, which are described above. |
This is an informative annotation. Information is provided about the overall content of the source including special features. The annotation contains a description of the source but also an evaluation of the usefulness of the source to others and to the writer of the review. (118 words)
Example 6
| Goldschneider, F. K., Waite, L. J., & Witsberger, C. (1986). Non-family living and the erosion of traditional family orientations among young adults. American Sociological Review, 51, 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 non-family 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 non-family living. |
This annotation also provides a comprehensive summary of the article and signals that the findings do not support the findings of an earlier study. (110 words)