An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the following.
Summarize: Some annotations merely summarize the source.
- What are the main arguments?
- What is the point of this book or article?
- What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say? .
Assess: After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to evaluate it.
- Is it a useful source?
- How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography?
- Is the information reliable?
- Is this source biased or objective?
- What is the goal of this source?
Reflect: Once you've summarized and assessed a source, you need to ask how it fits into your research.
- Was this source helpful to you?
- How does it help you shape your argument?
- How can you use this source in your research project?
- Has it changed how you think about your topic?
-via 'Purdue Writing Lab'