A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, websites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for researching a topic. Bibliographies are sometimes called "references" or "works cited" depending on the style format you are using. A bibliography usually just includes the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.).
An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation.
Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may include one or more of the following types of writing:
Your annotated bibliography may include some of these, all of these, or even others. If you're doing this for a class, you should get specific guidelines from your instructor.
Information taken from the Annotated Bibliographies created by the OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab.
Abstracts are descriptive summaries that present the main points or focus of specific works (e.g., articles, books, conference proceedings). They normally do not include a critique or evaluation of the work. Abstracts usually appear at the beginning of scholarly journal articles and in the library databases (e.g., article search results list and database article records). An abstract's purpose is to help you decide whether an article is relevant to your research.
Annotations also cover specific works (e.g., articles, books, conference proceedings) but they can include descriptive summaries, evaluative summaries, or a combination of both. A descriptive annotation summarizes the scope and content of a work whereas an evaluative annotation provides critical comment. Annotations usually appear in an annotated bibliography. Many instructors will include both an annotated bibliography as well as a research paper as part of a course's required assignments. You will typically complete an annotated bibliography assignment before you begin work on a research paper. Completing an annotated bibliography first will help you organize and write your research paper.
University of Maryland Global Campus Library
Examples taken from Research Strategies: Annotated Bibliography created by Oviatt Library, California State University Northridge:
MLA Style - Print Book:
Ontiveros, Randy J. In the Spirit of a New People: The Cultural Politics of the Chicano Movement. New York UP, 2014.
This book analyzes the journalism, visual arts, theater, and novels of the Chicano movement from 1960 to the
present as articulations personal and collective values. Chapter 3 grounds the theater of El Teatro Campesino
in the labor and immigrant organizing of the period, while Chapter 4 situates Sandra Cisneros’s novel
Caramelo in the struggles of Chicana feminists to be heard in the traditional and nationalist elements of the
Chicano movement. Ontiveros provides a powerful and illuminating historical context for the literary and
political texts of the movement.
MLA Style - Journal Article from a Library Database:
Alvarez, Nadia, and Jack Mearns. “The benefits of writing and performing in the spoken word poetry community.”
The Arts in Psychotherapy, vol. 41, no. 3, July 2014, pp. 263-268. ScienceDirect,
doi:10.1016/j.aip.2014.03.004. Spoken word poetry is distinctive because it is written to be performed
out loud, in person, by the poet. The ten poets interviewed by these authors describe “a reciprocal
relationship between the audience and the poet” created by that practice of performance. To build
community, spoken word poets keep metaphor and diction relatively simple and accessible. Richness
is instead built through fragmented stories that coalesce into emotional narratives about personal and
community concerns. This understanding of poets’ intentions illuminates their recorded performances.