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Annotated Works Cited
The Reason for Annotated Works Cited
"Annotation" or adding notes is a way of recording why you have chosen the sources you plan to
use. According to Cornell University Library’s online research skills website, an annotated bibliography
describes the "relevance, accuracy, and quality" (Engel) of your sources.
The format of an Annotated Works Cited
The format of an MLA annotated works cited is that you write your usual "Works Cited" entry, with the
hanging indent, and at the end of it go straight into your annotation paragraph. Yes, that’s right: don’t indent
at the beginning of the paragraph or start it on a separate line. The paragraph should be 100-200 words long –
at least 5 lines / approximately 100 - 200 words long ("MLA Format for Annotated Bibliographies")
Questions to answer in an Annotation
1. What was the specific format of the source? (Encyclopedia, interview, video, etc.)
2. Where and how did you find this source? (Public library, school media center online resources, home,
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Internet search, etc.)
What is the purpose of this source? (Educate, persuade, inform, entertain, etc.)
What is the content of the source? What topics are covered? In what amount of detail?
To whom is this information directed? Is there specialized and difficult language?
What are the credentials of the source? Is the author/publisher reliable? How do you know?
What information did you find that was important to your project/research?
What did you find difficult about this source?
VOCABULARY TO KNOW
Bibliography: a list of sources on a subject; term no longer recommended; replaced by Works Cited and/or
Works Consulted.
In Text Citation: same as parenthetical documentation; a way to indicate exactly what you have used from
each source and exactly where in that work you found the material. Text citation appears in a brief
parenthetical acknowledgment in your paper wherever you incorporate another’s words, fact, or ideas.
Parenthetical Documentation: an indication in your document that explains exactly where you found the
material for your paper; for example:
Ancient writers attributed the invention of the monochord to Pythagoras in the sixth century BC
(Marcuse 1970).
Primary Sources: original works of a writer found in novels, speeches, eyewitness accounts, letters,
autobiographies, interviews.
Secondary Sources: works about a subject or person including books and articles about a novel, about a
speech or document, or about a scientific finding, etc.
Tertiary Sources: include all textbooks, encyclopedias, almanacs, and other reference works; sources which
“quote the quotes.”
Works cited: a list of all works cited in the text; works cited include not only books and articles but also
films, recordings, television programs, and other non-print sources.
Works consulted: a list of all sources consulted located at the end of the paper; not limited to works cited in
the paper.
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Works Cited
Engel, Michael, Amy Blumenthal, and Tony Cosgrave. “What is an Annotated Bibliography?”
Cornell University Olin and Uris Libraries,
2002. <www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill28.htm.> This university
website contains definitions, a brief guide to the process of assembling an annotated
bibliography, and a sample annotated bibliography from a journal article. It is published
for students of Cornell University and others with a college reading level; for a high
school student, it would need to include more complete explanations. It is recently
written and approved by a respected university.
“MLA Format for Annotated Bibliographies” Cambridge, MA: Lesley University Library,
2003. <http://www.lesley.edu/library/guides/citation/mla_annotated.html> This university
website contains a six-item checklist for formatting annotated bibliography entries, and a
sample of an annotated bibliography. It is written for a college reading level, and was
especially useful for its clear formatting directions. It is recently written and approved by a
respected university with a strong education department.