What is an Annotated Bibliography and How to Write One

As any student likely knows, the process of constructing works cited and bibliographies is indeed very common by the time that one gets to college, or whatever higher institution of learning he or she may choose. However, sometimes a simple works cited is not the best way to understand and gather your sources before research. Sometimes, it is best to use a method that is known as an annotated bibliography.

An annotated bibliography is constructing in much the same way as a regularly bibliography. We create the proper citation, whether it be MLA or APA, and then we simply space down and write a summary. However, the goal here is to write a small summary in two parts. For the first part, we want to write about a paragraph detailing the source and what it is. The second part is simply another paragraph. However. In this paragraph, we attempt to write what component of our paper we will use the source for, and how it will be beneficial.

As can easily be guessed, there are many benefits to constructing a bibliography in this way. When we put out summaries and detail how we are going to use a source, we make it much easier to organize what we are doing. Instead of sifting through source after source and spending large amounts of time trying to piece together different information, we can simply reference the annotated bibliography, knowing precisely where each piece of information is and how it can be used to aid us in our research.

Of course, creating an annotated bibliography can be sort of a strange idea at first, after one has become very used to writing works cited in the traditional way. With that in mind, here is an example of how to write an annotated bibliography simply and effectively:

"Edward Roscoe Murrow." Encyclopedia of World Biography 2nd ed. 17 vols. Biography Resource Center. Gale. Rohrbach Lib., Kutztown U. 21 Mar. 2008 .

The author begins by telling about Edward Murrow's most prominent accomplishment in the radio and television new broadcasting. Then the author tells about Murrow's early years of his life. Then the author talks about the beginning of Murrow's career at CBS. The article delves into detail about Murrow's broadcast that made him a common household name around the world. Then the author describes his television career with See It Now and Person to Person. The article concludes discussing the widespread nature of television commercialism and its need to push news broadcasting off the air. The article describes his initial ill health causing him to retire and passed away shortly after in 1965.

The article offers a brief precise description of Edward Roscoe Murrow's life. The author manages to gives least bit of detail possible while still revealing the high points of Murrow's life. The article is a great source to skim the surface about Murrow's life. Yet, the article lacks the ability to delve into Murrow's true accomplishments with the respect and intricate detail they deserve. (Example Credited: Kristin Cornish)

Remember that in actual bibliography, you are going to want to use double spacing both for the citation and for the paragraphs. With a little time and a little bit of practice, we can learn to construct these very helpful and fairly simple annotated bibliographies, and the benefits that at they can give us for researching and writing a paper is incredibly pronounced.