• Locate necessary sources, then record citations in MLA format.
• Read through your material to determine relevance, quality, authority, bias, argument, etc.
• Cite the material following MLA guidelines in South High's "A Guide for Research Papers."
• Summarize and evaluate the source in 1 or sentences. You may include information on the author, the point of view, how you will use the work, compare it to another cited work, etc.
• Combine your citation and summary/evaluation.
• Follow guidelines for Works Cited page.

The Format

• Your citations should be formated as you would when writing the works cited page.
• Hanging indents are required just as they are for citations in a works cited page. The first line of the citation starts at the left margin. Subsequent lines (including the annotation) are indented.
• The annotation is a continuation of the citation. Do NOT drop down to the next line to start the annotation.
• As with every other part of the MLA formatted essay, the annotated bibliography is double-spaced, both within the citation itself and between citations. Do not skip an extra line between citations..
• As with the MLA formatted works cited page, alphabetize all entries in the annotated bibliography..

Helpful Tips

• In college, the format of an annotated bibliography may vary based upon your teacher’s instructions. For most assignments at South High, follow the guidelines on this page.
• Your annotations for each secondary source must be written in complete sentences and must incorporate properly formatted paraphrases and quotations.

Sources and Links

• See South High's "A Guide For Research Papers" (there is a sample annotated bibliography in the packet).
• The Owl at Purdue
• The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• The University of Maryland: University Libraries
• An Example from The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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