An annotated bibliography is a list of books, articles, or other documents, consisting of a citation followed by a brief evaluation of each work listed.
Like any works cited list, an annotated bibliography should be presented alphabetically by the author's last name.
Learn what annotated bibliographies are and how to format them in this four-minute video from CSUN University Library.
CSUN University Library. (2021, July 15). "How to create an annotated bibliography." YouTube.
You can write an annotated bibliography without reading each source in its entirety.
For scholarly articles, review the abstract, methods, and conclusions sections or the first and last page. Review the author's credentials and the sources they cite.
For a book, you should read the introduction and the conclusion. You should also read any notes provided by the author and look carefully at the table of contents and index to see what topics the author covers. Read the author's credentials and any notes he or she provides about the work. Look also at the sources the author uses to draw conclusions.
Research Question:
How was the women’s suffrage movement in the United States inspired by or in conflict with the abolition and African American suffrage movement?
Citation and Annotation:
Spruill, Marjorie Julian. "Race, Reform, and Reaction at the Turn of the Century: Southern Suffragists, the Nawsa, and the 'Southern Strategy' In Context." in Votes for Women: The Struggle for Suffrage Revisited, edited by Jean H. Baker. Oxford University Press, 2002.
Spruill examines southern white suffragists' compromise to, or outright alliance with, white supremacists in the latter 19th century. She argues that southern white suffragists adopted racist tactics to succeed in their goals during a time of poisonous race relations in the United States. The book demonstrates the conflict within the movement, as suffragists intentionally juxtaposed their cause against African Americans' rights to gain white men's support. Southerners argued that more enfranchised whites (even women) would strengthen their supremacy.
Adapted from: Faulkner, Kendall. Sample Annotated Bibliography in History, 2022. (download the word document)
How can individual ecology faculty adjust their lab/research group policies and procedures to be more inclusive and equitable?
Citation and Annotation:
Jimenez, M.F., T.M. Laverty, S.P. Bombaci, K. Wilkins, D.E. Bennett, and L. Pejchar. (2019). Underrepresented faculty play a disproportionate role in advancing diversity and inclusion. Nature Ecology & Evolution 3: 1030-1033.
This article discusses the results of a nation-wide survey of faculty in ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB). Results indicate that minoritized faculty demographics (already known to be underrepresented in EEB) do a disproportionate amount of the work to make departments more inclusive and diverse. The paper notes that such efforts do not count for tenure and promotion (T&P), further disadvantaging these faculty. Readers unfamiliar with academic review and promotion practices may need explained to them the importance of T&P and the significance of major efforts to change academic culture that defines what does not count toward T&P. Otherwise, vocabulary in this paper is broadly accessible. This article will help me develop a digestible, feasible set of recommendations for individual EEB faculty looking to make changes in how they manage their labs/research groups. Evidence based claims in Jimenez et al. 2019 are particularly valuable as even interested EEB faculty (1) may need some convincing that change is possible, and (2) may face resistance in their labs or departments. . Building recommendations based in evidence supports both the recommendations and the EEB faculty who choose to implement them.
Adapted from: Merkle, B.G. (2022). Writing science: Leveraging the annotated bibliography as a writing tool. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 103(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.1936
The following examples of Cal State LA student-written annotations are from Dr. Kidogo A. Kennedy's Ethnic Studies 1010 course in Spring 2023 and are reproduced here with the authors' permission. Examples are in APA Style, and include in-text citations, which may or may not be required by your professor.
Anguiano, B. (2021). Ethnic studies as a vehicle of empowerment: Students of color and their educational journey. McNair Research Journal San Jose State University, 17(5), 27-40. https://doi.org/10.31979/mrj.2021.1705
Anguiano’s central argument is that we should teach Ethnic Studies courses to California high schoolers. By teaching Ethnic Studies courses, we can “inspire better academic performance for high school students” (Anguiano, 2021, p. 27). Anguiano’s argument is persuasive because it establishes how high students who receive an Ethnic Studies education will be able to have an advantage in working in a diverse society. Anguiano’s argument is significant because it shows how an Ethnic Studies education can prepare students to connect what they know about their culture and other cultures to their professional work and the contributions they make to society. Anguiano’s argument applies to my core question about identity development through Ethnic Studies. For Anguiano, having a sense of identity by understanding your history and culture as a person of color motivates you to learn more. Your sense of cultural identity also increases your sense of academic achievement and performance. In other words, your cultural identity is connected to your scholarly identity.
Arneback, E. & Jämte, J. (2022). How to counteract racism in education: A typology of teachers’ anti-racist actions. Race Ethnicity and Education, 25(2), 192–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2021.1890566
This article is about the approaches teachers take to counter racism in their schools. Areneback and Jämte (2022) argue that each approach targets different instances of racism that may surge in educational institutions. This article is important because the measures that teachers take may range from identifying forms of structural racism to individualizing forms of racism. This study is significant because it also describes the anti-racist actions teachers take to suppress those forms of racism. The following quote is used to support my thesis: “[Racist acts] range from social exclusion, ridiculing and othering, to micro-aggressions, threats, fear mongering and violence” (Arneback & Jämte, 2022, p. 197.). This quote supports my thesis by naming how racism means social exclusion, ridiculing, violence, and micro-aggressions, which are situations that schools want to avoid to have a healthy environment for learning.