Montgomery College Libraries, Nursing Academic Tutorial

An annotated bibliography (sometimes called an "Annotated List of Works Cited" in MLA style) is a works cited page as shown previously, except that each citation is followed by a brief (usually 150 words) evaluative paragraph. An annoted bibliography may also be arranged chronologically by date of publication rather than alphabetically by author. The purpose of the paragraph is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the source.

Below is an example of the MLA format of an annotated bibliography citation from Cornell University Library web site "How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography." <www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/skill28.htm>

Waite, Linda J., Frances Kobrin Goldscheider, and Christina Witsberger.
"Nonfamily Living and the Erosion of Traditional Family Orientations Among
Young Adults." American Sociological Review 51 (1986): 541-554.

The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from

the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their

hypothesis that non family living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and

expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their

hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies

of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased

individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an

earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role

attitudes as a result of non family living.