Annotated Bibliographies [section 5.132 of MLA Handbook, 9th Edition]
"Style a source in an annotated bibliography just as you would one in a list of works cited, and then append an annotation to the end of the entry, indented an inch from the start of the entry (to distinguish it from the half-inch hanging ident of entries composed of more than one line).
Annotations describe or evaluate sources or do both. They should not rehash minor details, cite evidence, quote the author, or recount steps in an argument. Annotations are generally written as succinct phrases.
EXAMPLE 1
But annotations can also be given as complete sentences.
EXAMPLE 2
In an annotated bibliography, the annotations should generally be no more than one paragraph. If however, you need several paragraphs, indent each one but do not add an extra space between paragraphs. Follow your instructor's guidelines on the use of phrases or full sentences and the length of annotations.
The list should be titled Annotated Bibliography or Annotated List of Works Cited. Writers may organize the bibliography alphabetically by author or title (as for normal list of works cited), by date of publication, or by subject."
If your instructor has different guidelines than those outlined above, follow your instructor's requirements.
With MLA style, you must include a Works Cited page at the end of your paper. A Works Cited page is an alphabetical listing of the resources cited in your paper. Below are some examples of MLA style citations. Note: Some instructors may require access dates for websites or other pieces of information. Please check with your instructor if you have any questions.
| Material Type | Works Cited |
|---|---|
| A book in print |
Card, Claudia. The Atrocity Paradigm: A Theory of Evil. Oxford UP, 2005. |
|
eBook |
Gaither, Milton. Homeschool: An American History. Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. SpringerLink, doi-org.pitt.idm.oclc.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95056-0 |
| An article in a print journal |
Doggart, Julia. "Minding the Gap: Realizing Our Ideal Community Writing Assistance Program." The Community Literacy Journal, vol. 2, no. 1, 2007, pp. 71-80. |
| An article in an electronic journal |
Sherrard-Johnson, Cherene. "'A Plea for Color': Nella Larsen's Iconography of the Mulatta." American Literature, vol. 76, no. 4, 2004, pp. 833-869, doi: 10.1215/00029831-76-4-833. |
| An encyclopedia entry |
“Patanjali.” Benét’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, edited by Bruce Murphy, 4th ed., HarperCollins Publishers, 1996, p. 782. |
| A government publication |
United States, Federal Maritime Commission. Hawaiian Trade Study: An Economic Analysis. Government Printing Office, 1978. |
| An interview you conducted | Brandt, Deborah. Personal interview. 28 May 2008. (Note: List the interview under the name of the interviewee) |
| A film or DVD | Note: This depends on the focus of your work. Please see the MLA Style blog for a detailed explanation. |
| A page on a website with no author |
"Stunning Lakeside View on Lake Erie." VisitPA, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 7 June 2018, www.visitpa.com/article/stunning-lakeside-views-lake-erie. |
| A page on a website with an author |
Del Castillo, Inigo. "How Not to Kill Your Houseplants, According to Botanists." Apartment Therapy, 29 Jan. 2020, www.apartmenttherapy.com/houseplant-tips-botanists-36710191. |
| Artwork accessed from a website |
Sherald, Amy. Former First Lady, Michelle Obama. 2018. National Portrait Gallery, npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2018.15. |
| Material Type | In-Text Citation |
|---|---|
| Author's name in text | Magny develops this argument (67-69). |
| Author's name in reference | This argument has been developed elsewhere (Magny 67-69). |
| Two authors' names in reference | The most notorious foreign lobby in Washington is the "Sugar Mafia" (Howe and Trott 134). |
| Quotation found in indirect or "secondhand" source | The philosopher Alain states that "admiration is not pleasure but a kind of attention. . ." (qtd. in Magny 66). |
These examples provided with permission from the University Library System, University of Pittsburgh.