“To annotate” means to make critical or explanatory notes or comments about a

source. The notes, which are added to the standard bibliographic information,
are called annotations. The two types of annotations are descriptive and
evaluative.
An annotated bibliography provides a brief account of the available research on
a given topic. It is a list of research sources that includes concise descriptions
and evaluations of each source.
An annotated bibliography may be a component of a larger project or it may be a
stand-alone assignment. While an annotation can be as brief as one sentence,
the standard annotated bibliography consists of a citation followed by a short
paragraph.

DEFINITION
An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents.
Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and
evaluative paragraph, the annotation.
ANNOTATIONS VS. ABSTRACTS
Abstracts are the purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of
scholarly journal articles or in periodical indexes. Annotation are descriptive and
critical; they may describe the author’s point of view, authority, or clarity and
appropriateness of expression.
PURPOSE
The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy,
and quality of the sources cited.
Depending on specific assignment, an annotated bibliography might:
 Review the literature of a particular subject.
 Demonstrate the quality and depth of reading that have done.
 Exemplify the scope of sources available – such as journals, books, web
sites and magazine articles.
 Highlight sources that may be of interest to other readers and researchers.
 Explore and organize sources for further research.
CONTENTS OF AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
An annotation may contain all or part of the following elements depending on
the word limit and the content of the sources that are examining.
 Provide the full bibliographic citation
 Indicate the background of the author(s)
 Indicate the content or scope of the text
 Outline the main argument
 Indicate the intended audience
  Identify the research methods ( if applicable)
 Identify any conclusions made by the author’s
 Discuss the reliability of the text
 Highlight any special features of the text that were unique or helpful
( charts, graphs etc. )
 Discuss the relevance or usefulness of the text for your research
 Point out in what way the text relates to themes or concepts in your course
 Present your view or reaction to the text.
STEPS IN WRITING ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Step 1: cite your source in proper APA, MLA, or other required citation etc.
Step 2: summarize the source – a summary explains the main ideas of the
source.
Step 3: evaluate the source.
SOME LANGUAGE FOR TALKING ABOUT TEXTS AND ARGUMENTS:
it is sometimes challenging to find the vocabulary in which to summarize and
discuss a text. Here is a list of some verbs for referring to texts and ideas that
you might find useful:
account for clarify describe exemplify indicate question
analyse compare depict exhibit investigate recognize
argue conclude determine explain judge reflect
assess criticize distinguish frame justify refer to
assert defend evaluate identify narrate report
assume define emphasize illustrate persuade review
claim demonstrate examine imply propose suggest
TYPES OF ANNOTATION
 1. SUMMARY
ANNOTATIONS

TYPES 2. COMBINATION
ANNOTATIONS
3. EVALUATIVE
ANNOTATIONS

1. SUMMARY ANNOTATIONS
The following are the main features of summary annotations:
 they show a summary of the source content
 they highlight the arguments and proofs/ evidence mentioned in the work
 they sometimes describe the author’s methodology and any theories used
 they offer the conclusion of the source
 they do not evaluate the work they re dixcussing.

a) Informative annotations
 This type of annotation is a summary of the source. An informative
annotation should include the thesis of the work, arguments or hypothesis,
proofs and a conclusion.
 Informative annotations provide a straight summary of the source material.
 They summarise all relevant information about the author and the main
points of the work.
 To write an informative annotation, begin by writing the thesis; then
develop it with the argument or hypothesis, list the proofs, and stte the
conclusion.

b) Indicative annotated bibliographies

 Indicative annotations do not provide actual information from the
source.
 They provide overall information about what kinds of questions or
issues are addressed by the work, for example through chapter
titles.
  In the indicative entry, there is no attempt to give actual data such
as hypotheses, proofs etc.

2. EVALUATIVE ANNOTATIONS
 This type of annotations assesses the sources strengths and
weaknesses, in terms of usefulness and quality.
 Evaluative annotated bibliographies do more than just summarizing,
they provide critical appraisals.
 They evaluate the source or author critically to find any biases, lack
of evidence, objectives, etc.
 They show how the work may or may not be useful for a particular
field of the study or audience.
 They explain how researching this material assisted your own
project.

3. COMBINATION ANNOTATIONS
 Most annotated bibliographies contain combinations.
 This type of annotation will summarize or describe the topic, and
then evaluate the source’s usefulness and a summary.
 Usually also includes a detailed analysis on the reason the article
was written.

FORMATS OF WRITING ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES

Annotated bibliographies contain two main sections; the

bibliographic information section and the annotations section.

The bibliographic information

The bibliographic information is written before the annotation using
the suitable referencing style. The information is normally identified
using a hanging indent.
Generally, though, the bibliographic information of the source ( the
title, author, publisher, date, etc.) is written in either MLA or APA
format.
The annotations
The annotations for each source are written in paragraph form.
The lengths of the annotations can vary significantly from a couple
of sentences to a couple of pages. The length of the annotation
should be between 100 to 200 words. When writing summaries of
sources, the annotations may not be very long. However, when
writing an extensive analysis of each source, more space may be
needed. A few sentences of general summary followed by several
sentences of how you can fit the work into your larger paper or
project can serve you well when you go to draft.
 Obirikorang Y, Obirikorang C, Anto EO, Acheampong E, Batu
EN, Stella AD , et al. Knowledge of complications of diabetes
mellitus among patients visiting the diabetes clinic at Sampa
Government Hospital, Ghana: a descriptive study. BMC Public
Health. 2016 Jul; 26(16):637.

Available from:
https://www.ncbi,nlm,nih,gov/pmc/articles/PMC4960830/

The researchers conducted a questionnaire-based descriptive study

on a total 630 patients visiting the Diabetes Clinic at the Sampa
Government Hospital. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain
information such as socio-demographic and knowledge on
complications of diabetes. Non-probability sampling technique was
used to recruit six hundred and thirty (630) type 2 Diabetic patients
visiting the diabetic clinic. Structured questionnaires were used to
obtain information from all study respondents. The pre-test or pilot
study was conducted among twenty (20) diabetics to ascertain the
contents and clarity of the questionnaire. The research findings
show that out of a total of 630 participants, 325 (51.5%) knew
diabetic foot as the most common complication followed by
hypertension 223 (35.4%), neuropathy 184 (29.2%), hypoactive
sexual arousal 160 (24.4%),arousal disorder 135 (21.5%), eye
diseases 112 (17.7Z%), Heart disease 58 (9.2%), and renal disease
34 (5.4%). The researchers concluded that the participants knew
the individual complication of diabetic mellitus but lack an in-depth
knowledge of the complications.

Gulabani M, John M, Isaac R Knowledge of diabetes, its treatment and

complications amongst diabetic patients in a tertiary care hospital. Indian
journal community Medicine. 2008 Jul; 33(3): 204-206.
Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2763678
The researchers conducted a cross-sectioned survey using a structured
questionnaire. The subjects were diabetic patients attending the integrated
diabetes clinic in Christian Medical college, Ludhiana ( a university affiliated
teaching hospital ). The researcher’s findings from the study shows that only 52
(51.5%) patients actually knew the symptoms of hypoglycemia. However , 77
(76.2%) patients knew that they should consume sweets if they had experienced
an episode of hypoglycemia. So the researchers concluded that the patient
knowledge about the treatment and complications of diabetes is limited,
especially with regard to preventive aspects. There is a definite need to
empower patients with the knowledge required to help them obtain maximum
benefit from their treatment for diabetes.
M. Daly Jeanette, J. Hartz Arthur, T. Levy barcey, A. James Paul, L.
Merchant Mary and E. Garrett Robert. An assessment of Attitudes,
Behaviors, and Outcomes of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes, Journal of The
American Board of Family Medicine. 2009 May-June; (22)3: 280-290.
Available from: http://www.jabfm.org/content/22/3/280.full
The researchers conducted a cross-sectional study of linked medical record and
self-reported information from patients with type 2 diabetes. A randomly selected
sample of 800 clinic patients was mailed an investigator -developed survey. The
study sample consisted of 253 (55%) individuals who had measured glycosylated
haemoglobin (HbA1c) within 3 months of the survey date. The study findings
show that the barriers to each diabetes self-care behaviour differed. Cost was
the most common barrier to the 4 self-care behaviours. In a multivariable
regression model, the belief that type 2 diabetes is a serious problem and
depression were strongly associated with higher HbA1c levels. Lower HbA1c
levels were significantly associated with being married and greater self-reported
adherence – satisfaction with taking medication and testing blood glucose. The
study expanded earlier research by focusing on 4 specific self-care behaviours,
their barriers, and their association with HbA1c. Barriers that were significantly
associated with HbA1c were specific to the behaviour and varied across
behaviours.
Tawalbeh L. and Gharaibeh B. Diabetes knowledge among University
Nursing Students in the North of Jordan. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition.
2014; 13(12): 728-734.
Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271730147
The researchers conducted a cross-sectional study to assess the diabetes
knowledge among nursing university students in the north of Jordan. A convenient
sampling technique was used to recruit 134 nursing students. Diabetes knowledge
Test that contained two subscales; insulin-use and general knowledge subscales
was used to collect the data from the participants. The results indicated that the
mean of the diabetes knowledge was (M=46.10%, SD= 14.4). Paired t-test showed
there was a statistically significant differences t (133) =3.50, p=0.001 between the
students’ knowledge of insulin-use (M=43.10, SD=18.27) and general knowledge
about diabetes (M=48.29, SD=15.15). Regression analysis revealed that gender and
Grade Point Average significant (p<0.001) predictors of diabetes knowledge. Grade
Point Average significantly predicted 8% of the variance in diabetes knowledge
among university nursing students. The researchers concluded that the Diabetes
knowledge among university nursing students in the north of Jordan was poor. More
focused educational programs should be adopted in nursing curriculum in Jordanian
universities to help improve nursing students’ diabetes knowledge.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Annotated bibliography. Available
from:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annotated_bibliography#Types_of_annotati
ons
 Writing an Annotated Bibliography Available from:
https//advice.writing.utoronto.ca/types-of-writing/annotated-bibliography/
 How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography: The Annotated Bibliography.
Available from: https://guides.liberary.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography
 How to Write an Annotated Bibliography. Available from:
https://www.kibin.com/essay-writing-blog/how-to-write-an-annotated-
bibliography/
 What is an annotated bibliography? Available from:
https://student.unsw.edu.au/annotated-bibliography.