Annotated Bibliography: APA Format

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Some assignments require students to create annotated bibliographies. These are simply entries in reference list format with descriptive or evaluative comments attached. The APA has no position on the formatting of such bibliographies, and in a recent exchange they commented that their approach to composing annotatated bibliography entries in the Publication Manual "does not constitute a standard or guideline" and noted that "APA style omits general rules explained in widely available style books"; they suggested that writers of such documents "consult another style manual" (APA Style Expert, personal e-mail, October 9, 2002).

Unfortunately, the approach the Publication Manual actually uses is significantly different from that specified in other style books. The best approach might be to rely partly on the standard for APA reference citations and partly upon the block quotation format described in the Chicago Manual of Style. This is the approach I have taken, and I have been careful to point out the differences between this method and the actual practice of the APA Publication Manual.

Annotation Content:

The annotations indicate

1. the authority and qualifications of the author

2. the subject, scope, theme of the work

3. biases, omissions, or limitations

4. the intended audience

5. special features (graphs, charts, photographs, illustrations, statistics, etc.)

Annotation Style:

The comments vary in length and style.

1. Length of annotations: 30-150 words

2. Syntax: either complete sentences or fragmentary notes omitting introductory words and phrases, articles, and unnecessary modifiers. Be consistent; use one style throughout the bibliography

Annotation Format:

1. Hanging indents: these are now required for citations in the bibliography: the first line of the citation starts at the left margin and subsequent lines are indented. The annotation begins on a new line and is indented by TWO tab stops.

2. Tab settings: the Manual suggests that indentations should be "five to seven spaces or ½ in." (p. 289), although its own annotated bibliography entries (pp. 368-374) use indents of four, then two spaces.

3. Line spacing: APA sample entries use double spacing throughout, with no extra lines between entries.

4. Arrangement of entries: use alphabetical ordering (by author) in each section; some annotated bibliographies have separate sections for primary/secondary material or books/articles.

Sample Entry:

Fowler, H. R., Aaron, J. E., & McArthur, M. (2001). The Little, Brown handbook. (3^rd Can. ed.). Toronto: Addison Wesley Longman.

Well-organized grammar and composition workbook. Includes many useful exercises and examples and good sections on APA, MLA, and CSE formats. Inexpensive and widely available undergraduate text which also makes a useful general reference work.

Notes: The second and third words of this book title (Little, Brown) are proper nouns: they are capitalized because they are names and not because they are elements of a book title.

Sample Entry 2 (long annotation):

University of Chicago Press. (1993). The Chicago manual of style (14^th ed.). Chicago: Author.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association

Notes: This long annotation (161 words) consists of two paragraphs, which have additional indentations. Again the margins have been narrowed artificially to make the levels of indentation clearer.

Created by: Richard Spacek, 9 OCT 02