How To: Annotated Bibliographies

It is extremely important that sources, quotes, and intellectual properties are documented properly.

Many instructors use software to scan assignments for instances of plagiarism, so it is especially important that you double-check your work to make sure nothing was forgotten on accident.

For information about what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it, please see the following guides:

• What is Plagiarism?
• Citing Sources
• Citation Generators

If you decide to use a citation generator, like the ones listed on the right-hand side in the guide above, make sure that the citations are complete and correctly formatted. Oftentimes, they produce citations without the proper punctuation or italicization as outlined in the style guides, so double-check.

If your instructor gives you different citation guidelines, follow their instructions instead of the ones listed here.

The Modern Language Association (MLA) citation and format style is most often used within cultural studies, language arts, and the humanities. 

For help with citing sources using MLA, please see the MLA Style Guide for help with:

• Example papers
• In-text citations
• Creating a works cited page

The American Psychological Association (APA) style guidelines are most commonly used within the social sciences.

For help with citing sources using APA, please see the APA Style Guide for help with:

• Example papers
• In-text citations
• Creating a reference page

CMOS is commonly used in research concerning the arts, literature, and historical subjects. It has two documentation styles, Notes-Bibliography (footnotes) and Author-Date (parenthetical, in-text, citations). Be sure to check with your instructor which style they expect you to use.

For help with citing sources using CMOS, please see the Chicago Manual of Style Guide for help with:

• Example papers
• In-text citations (both versions)
• Creating a reference page