A Complete Guide to the Perfect MLA Annotated Bibliography

If you are a college student, you will have to write term papers, or research papers, in your classes. If you are taking courses in the humanities and/or the liberal arts disciplines such as English, literature, visual arts, and theatre, you are more than likely going to use the Modern Language Association (MLA) style. 

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Research papers have various components that you must be familiar with. From the title page to the conclusion, you need to be familiar with all the parts of a research paper. One of the components of a research paper that you must be familiar with is the MLA annotated bibliography. 

If you are new to this publication style this guide is for you. You might be asking now, “What is an MLA annotated bibliography and how do you write one?” Get the answers with this guide to writing the perfect MLA annotated bibliography.

A Complete Guide to the Perfect MLA Annotated Bibliography

To earn a high grade on your research paper, you must make sure that the whole paper is correctly written in MLA style. Once you have completed the body of the research paper, you will need to focus on the MLA annotated bibliography. 

A bibliography is similar to a works cited page. On a works cited page, you make a list of citations of all the sources that you used to write your research paper. This will include a list of books, peer-reviewed journal articles, web pages, as well as all other sources used. If you borrowed an idea from a source, you must include it in the bibliography.

In regard to the annotated bibliography, it requires more than just the citations. In an annotated bibliography, each citation that is included needs to be followed by an annotation. 

The annotation is comprised of a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph that provides important information about the source. Within this paragraph (which is usually 150 words in length and no more than 200 words), one has to provide information so that the reader can understand how the source was used in the research paper. 

The information discusses ideas related to the source, as well as the relevance and quality of the source. In some cases, you may need to write about the theoretical frameworks used by the authors of the sources. The goal is to provide the reader with an explanation of the source.

General Guidelines

As noted, an annotated bibliography is comprised of a brief, yet comprehensive paragraph that provides details about the source that is used in a research paper. The information that is included in this type of bibliography must be written in accordance with the MLA style guidelines. 

The citation is information relevant to the source. Generally, the citation includes the author’s name, the date of publication, and the name of the work. Citations have to be ordered alphabetically by the author’s last name. 

After the citation has been written, you have to turn your attention to the annotation. This is a paragraph that needs to be between three to six sentences long. Just like the rest of the research paper, the annotated bibliography must be double-spaced. There should be no extra lines in between the citations. 

You will need to use hanging indents. The first line of the annotated bibliography has to start on the left margin. Any other lines following the first line do have to be indented 0.5 inches from the left margin (i.e., five spaces).

Keep in mind that with any type of academic writing, you should never use first person (e.g., I, my, me). This is a rule that you will need to adhere to in the annotated bibliography. Per the MLA style, you need to use third person (e.g., he, she, the author). 

Title the page, “Annotated Bibliography”. It must be on a separate page. You can do this by inserting a page break to separate it from the rest of the research paper. To do this use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + Enter.

When in doubt, refer to the MLA Style Handbook. Refer to the 8th edition of the handbook. This is the edition that is currently in use. 

The Process

Now you are familiar with the format of the annotated bibliography, it is time to learn about the process. When creating an annotated bibliography, you will need to use your intellectual skills as you need to find the sources and critically analyze them. 

You need to gather information about the source related to its main idea. You need to summarize the information in the annotated bibliography. Focus on the author’s expertise and point of view. 

Make sure to discuss why the source is relevant to your research topic. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the source. The conclusion outlined by the author needs to be discussed as well. 

The annotated bibliography can be divided into three parts within the same paragraph. The first part should be the summary of the source. The second part is the evaluation/assessment followed by the third part, the reflection. 

Making the Grade

If you have been assigned a research paper as part of your homework and you are required to include an annotated bibliography, you surely want to earn an A. This guide is a great way to earn an A on your research paper. 

Take the time to read this guide. Consider printing it so that you can keep it on your desk to reference it when you write a research paper that needs an MLA annotated bibliography.

If you need more assistance, consider seeking help. You can hire a homework writing service to help you with the annotated bibliography. This type of service will help you with any difficulties that you may encounter when completing an annotated bibliography.

Consider contacting a homework writing service to help write a perfect annotated bibliography in MLA style.