The document provides guidelines for creating annotated bibliographies in APA style, including formatting citations correctly, writing annotations that summarize key points in a few sentences and evaluate the source, and organizing sources by topic with descriptive section titles. It also includes sample annotated bibliography entries and a standard reference list for comparison. The guidelines are intended to supplement more thorough style guides and be tailored based on any specific assignment directions.

1. Creating APA Style
Annotated Bibliographies, 6
th
Ed.
Annotated bibliographies are not specifically addressed in the
Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association, 6
th
ed. We have taken the example given online at the
OWL at Purdue
1
as the basis for formatting. It is a good idea to take careful
note of any
directions given in your assignment, and to check with your
professor if you have specific
questions.
Contents
1. Guidelines
2. Sample Annotated Bibliography
3. Sample Standard Reference List/Bibliography

2. Guidelines
The following is a summary of things to know when creating an
APA style annotated
bibliography:
o Citation in current APA style format
o Annotation
There is not an extra space—
double spacing is used throughout.
several sentences
summarizing the main points or ideas found in the item. It
should then include your
own statement evaluating the quality of the item and/or relating
the item to your own
research topic.
divide into sections or topics,
and to title those sections as seems fitting.
Note: These annotations are for illustrative purposes only and

3. have no relationship to the content of the sources.
The citations are from the sample list found at the end.
1
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/03/
Updated 7/13 WK
Sample Annotated Bibliography
Annotated Bibliography
AICPA sets ethical standards for outsourcing. (2005). Journal of
Accountancy, 199(1), 8.
Retrieved from http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/
This article discusses the new standards for outsourcing
developed by the AICPA ethics
committee. The standards are summarized, and a brief
discussion is included of the
implications going forward for business and international trade.
The authors indicate that
changes to the business community will be relatively minor.
This is a helpful source for
getting an overview of the current ethics standards in
outsourcing.

4. American Management Association. (1996). The AMA style
guide for business writing.
New York, NY: Author.
The American Management Association has created its own
guide for business writing.
Designed as a supplemental text to more thorough style guides
such as APA, this guide
covers topics relating specifically to business, such as citing
financials, formatting of
company reports, and professional approaches to information
integrity in the workplace.
This is an indispensible work for anyone doing professional
business writing.
Barthelemy, J., & Geyer, D. (2005). An empirical investigation
of IT outsourcing versus
outsourcing in France and Germany. Information &
Management, 42, 533-542.
doi:10.1016/j.im.2004.02.005
The authors present an investigation of IT outsourcing based on
the combined results of a
survey administered to IT firms as well as statistical measures
from domestic and French
or German firms. Their data covers a wide range of IT business
unit types. However, the

5. lack of longitudinal data weakens their conclusion that the
slower pace of French and
German IT outsourcing has had a positive effect on business in
those countries long-term.
Sample Standard Reference List/Bibliography
(Here are the same sources, but formatted as a standard
bibliography for comparison)
References
AICPA sets ethical standards for outsourcing. (2005). Journal of
Accountancy, 199(1), 8.
Retrieved from http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/
American Management Association. (1996). The AMA style
guide for business writing.
New York, NY: Author.
Barthelemy, J., & Geyer, D. (2005). An empirical investigation
of IT outsourcing versus
outsourcing in France and Germany. Information &
Management, 42, 533-542.
doi:10.1016/j.im.2004.02.005

6. PART 1: SOCIAL PROBLEM SELECTION. Each student
should select a social problem of interest that will be used as a
point of focus for the remainder of the writing project.
Selections will be peer reviewed in class, and together we will
collaborate to cement your social problem selection into a
working research question.
PART 2: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES. Each student will
submit annotated bibliographies for three (3) sources in one
Microsoft Word document, all in APA format. All three sources
will be relevant to your selected social problem and research
question.
A social problem that I choose is the effect of social media on
society.
Rubric Name: Annotated Bibliography Rubric
Criteria
A
20 points
B
17 points
C
15 points

7. D
13 points
F
11 points
Quantity of sources
Document cites the number of sources outlined in the
assignment.
Document is either one source over or under the required
number of sources.
Document is two sources over or under the required number of
sources.
Document is three sources over or under the required number of
sources.
Document is four or more sources over or under the number of
required sources.
Quality /Reliability of Sources
All sources cited can be considered reliable and/or trustworthy.
Most sources cited can be considered reliable and/or
trustworthy.
Some sources can be considered reliable and/or trustworthy.
Few sources cited can be considered reliable and/or trustworthy.
Little or no reliable and/or trustworthy sources cited.
Variety of Sources
Excellent variety of sources; more than four source
types/publications used.
Good variety of sources; four source types/publications used.
Adequate variety of sources; three source types/publications
used.
Poor variety of sources; two source types/publications used.
No variety of sources; only one source type/publication used.
Writing fluency of annotations
All annotations are thoughtful, complete, and well written.
Most annotations are thoughtful, complete, and well written.
Some annotations are well written but some are lacking in
completeness, thought, and /or writing quality.
Most annotations are lacking in completeness, thought, and/or

8. writing quality.
All annotations are lacking in completeness, thought, and/or
writing quality.
APA and Documentation
Citations are formatted correctly in the document.
There are a few formatting errors in the document’s citations.
There are some formatting errors in the document’s citations.
There are many and/or frequent formatting errors in the
document’s citations.
There is little or no adherence to APA format in the document.
Overall Score
A
90 or more
B
80 or more
C
70 or more
D
60 or more
F
0 or more