Citing Sources in APA 7th Edition: Annotated Bibliographies

An annotation  can contain a short summary describing a source and/or an evaluation of a source. They demonstrate that you have read and understand the sources you have selected.

An annotated bibliography contains annotations for each of the bibliographic entries—called references in APA Style. Thus, in APA Style an annotated bibliography has two parts for each entry—the complete reference and the annotation. 

• Unless otherwise directed by your assignment, title it Annotated Bibliography. If you add more to the title, capitalize every major word.
• The title is in bold, centered at the top of the first page.
• Page numbers go in the upper right corner, as for all APA 7 Style papers. Using the automatic page numbering of a word processing program such as Microsoft Word is highly recommended. 
• In APA 7 the annotation directly follows the reference entry on the next line.
• The entire document is double-spaced. 
• The reference portion follows all the regular rules for how a reference of that type is formatted on a reference list, including the hanging indent required for all references on a reference list. See Reference Examples .
• The annotation is formatted as a block quote ,indented 0.5 inches from the left. Do not indent the first line further. 

Since an annotated bibliography includes the full references, do not add a separate reference list at the end. 

If your professor has requested library permalinks, include these on their own line after the reference and before the annotation. Do not add library permalinks unless directed, as they are not normally a part of APA Style.  

When writing annotations, use the third person narrative voice in the literary present tense (e.g., "The author discusses…" and "This work is…"). Do not use first or second person (i.e., avoid the use of I, me, my, mine, we, our, us, you, and your). Focus annotations on summarizing, analyzing, or evaluating the source, and refrain from quoting the source or other sources within the annotation. To review, the following is a simple list of dos and don'ts for writing annotations:

• Use third person literary present voice.
• Do not use first person (I) or second person (you).
• Focus on summarizing, analyzing, or evaluating the source.
• Do not cite or quote within the annotation.

APA Style does not specify a set a length for annotations. Follow the directions provided by your professor for the assignment. These instructions may have additional requirements for what must be include in your annotation.