What is an Annotated Bibliography?
An annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources from articles, documents, academic studies, and books. Each citation is followed by a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph, known as an annotation.
A standard annotated bibliography comprises 150-200 words.
It contributes to a major part of the research work therefore, it is important to write a perfect annotated bibliography. Most of the students confuse annotated bibliography with the citation of the sources. However, it is quite different.
From book coverings to completing a sentence when doing in-text citations, the change of format in MLA and APA are obvious. Therefore, it requires your complete attention to ensure that you do not make silly mistakes.
Explore the next sections of this writing piece to learn all the details.
APA Annotated Bibliography
Writing an APA annotated bibliography is easy for most students when they are provided with a standard example to follow. Make sure you follow the instructions according to the given sample.
Annotated Bibliography Example APA
Here is a complete annotated bibliography example APA. Read on to get a clear idea of what an annotated bibliography APA style looks like.
Rowling, J. K. (1998). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Scholastic. The main character of this popular fantasy novel, by the acclaimed author J. K. Rowling, is a young wizard named Harry. Harry gets the chance to study at Hogwarts, a school for wizards and witches. During his time at Hogwarts, Harry explores different aspects of his personality. He makes new friends, learns magic, and begins to feel at home at Hogwarts. The most important part of the fantasy novel is that Harry learns about his past, the mystery of what happened to his parents. Though this novel is for children, the author successfully introduced the concepts of good and evil to young children. The author was also able to communicate the destructive nature of fighting and bullying to children. So that they learn to rise up and stand against harmful behaviors when they see them. This fantasy novel is related to the research work because it illustrates that children are more interested in exploring books about mysteries and fantasies. Children are less likely to be interested in mundane life stories. They are more inclined to derive inspiration from characters like Harry as a means to explore their own value and to raise voices against injustice in the world. |
MLA Annotated Bibliography
Writing a correctly executed MLA annotated bibliography will become easy for you if you read the example of annotated bibliography given below.
MLA Annotated Bibliography Example
The annotated bibliography example MLA of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone would be cited in the following manner.
Rowling, J. K. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Scholastic." (1998). Rowling, J. K. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Scholastic." (1998). The main character of this popular fantasy novel, by the acclaimed author J. K. Rowling, is a young wizard named Harry. Harry gets the chance to study at Hogwarts, a school for wizards and witches. During his time at Hogwarts, Harry explores different aspects of his personality. He makes new friends, learns magic, and begins to feel at home at Hogwarts. The most important part of the fantasy novel is that Harry learns about his past, the mystery of what happened to his parents. Though this novel is for children, the author successfully introduced the concepts of good and evil to young children. The author was also able to communicate the destructive nature of fighting and bullying to children. So that they learn to rise up and stand against harmful behaviors when they see them. This fantasy novel is related to the research work because it illustrates that children are more interested in exploring books about mysteries and fantasies. Children are less likely to be interested in mundane life stories. They are more inclined to derive inspiration from characters like Harry as a means to explore their own value and to raise voices against injustice in the world. |
The only difference between MLA and APA format is in the citation. Their bibliographic information format and reference list vary from each other. Some journals and publishers prefer APA while others prefer MLA for the research papers, books, editorials, articles, etc. However, they mention the required style in their terms and conditions before
The sample annotations in the previous bibliography are the same. This is due to the fact that they include a summary of the source, evaluation, and relevance to the research work. This does not get affected due to the change in writing style.
Move to the next section to explore a different annotated bibliography example in the MLA writing style.
Henry, Ossian. The Gift of the Magi. Simon and Schuster, 2014. The American author Henry Ossian wrote the story of Jim and Della. It is about a young couple who made extraordinary sacrifices in order to present each other with Christmas gifts. Jim and Della were poor and had few belongings, yet they valued and loved each other. Each had one precious possession. For Jim, it was a watch, and for Della, it was her hair. For Christmas, each of them decided to surprise the other with a gift. Della bought a beautiful chain for Jim's watch by selling her beautiful hair. Jim bought Della an ornamental comb for her hair by selling his precious watch. When they exchanged gifts, they realized that they were not able to use them anymore. In this story, the author explores the themes of wealth, love, and sacrifice. He uses the sacrifices of Jim and Della to illustrate that wealth and possessions are not as important as the love they share. This story pertains to the research project as it explores the importance of sincerity and sacrifice for others. It also helps to explore the idea that the feeling of love is so compelling that it motivates people to sacrifice their most important possession for the sake of their lover. |
This example of an annotated bibliography MLA writing style depicts the citation, the summary, the evaluation, and provides relevance to the research project.
After completing an annotated bibliography, check if the sources have been correctly added according to the instructed writing style.
Students should take care regarding different parts of the annotation in MLA and APA annotated bibliography. It is recommended to split the parts in different passages. This serves to provide visual clarity for the instructor and may help to avoid any kind of ambiguity.
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