An annotated bibliography is a list of academic sources put together by a researcher or student. Each of the sources in the list has annotations which summarise and evaluate the content and main arguments of the source.
A good annotated bibliography will demonstrate that you know your subject and that you can:
Make sure you understand what you are being asked to do. Pay attention to the instructions you have been given.
Use good sources. Depending on your assignment you may need a combination of journal articles, books, policy documents, and professional organisational publications. Search for them using Findit@Bham, Bibliographic Databases appropriate to your discipline and Google Scholar. To find the key academic sources for your discipline see our relevant subject guide.
Read a range of your sources sources which have a variety of view points. Write a short summary and evaluation of each one. Your annotations could include the author's background and credentials, the scope, main argument, intended audience and comparisons to the other sources. See also our guide Evaluating information.
Make sure your citations are accurate, consistent and in the required style. For information on how to reference and the i-Cite Guide and Good Academic Practice: A Guide We recommend Cite Them Right Online as a good source of examples.
An annotated bibliography is a list of academic sources put together by a researcher or student. Each of the sources in the list has annotations which summarise and evaluate the content and main arguments of the source.
The terms, ‘Reference List’ and ‘Bibliography’ are often used interchangeably, giving the impression that they are the same thing. In reality they have different functions.
There are two main differences – the length and the purpose
A ‘Reference List’ tends to be shorter – it’s a detailed list of items that you have found, read and cited or quoted in your work
A ‘Bibliography’ is much longer - It is a systematic list that includes all the works that you have found or read that are cited in your text as well as those that you found but did not cite in your text. The citations that appear for inclusion in a Bibliography are for suggested or further reading.
In this short video our academic skills team explain the key differences between Reference Lists and Bibliographies and how they relate to your university work.
An abstract is a concise description of an article written by the author of the article.
In a literature review the sources are evaluated and discussed in relation to each other by themes instead of being listed alphabetically.