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Annotated Bibliography - APA

Formatting Your Annotated Bibliography (APA)

The format of an annotated bibliography can vary, so if you're doing one for class, ask your instructor for specific guidelines.

  1. APA Title Page: Include a standard APA title page with your annotated bibliography.
  2. Standard APA Format: Double space the entire annotated bibliography, and use a standard 12 point font such as Times New Roman.  Use 1 inch margins.
  3. Standard APA Heading: Include a page number in the top left corner of the page.
  4. Title: Title your paper Annotated Bibliography and center it in the middle of the page.
  5. Bibliography: List the APA citations for your sources and arrange them in alphabetical order.
  6. Annotations: Under each citation, write a paragraph about each source that includes:
    • Several sentences summarizing what the source said (yes, you should actually read the source to do this). (Hint: Ask yourself what the main point of this source was and what conclusions the author came to).
    • Then several sentences evaluating the credibility of the source (see Evaluating Your Sources).
    • Finally, a sentence of two about how you are going to use this source to support your thesis when you write your research paper. (Hint: Ask yourself how this work is useful or relevant to your topic? What did you take away from the source that you could use in your argument?)