What is the difference between a bibliography and a works cited page?
Explanation
What is the difference between a bibliography and a works cited page? Both are a list of sources in the same
format. A bibliography is a list of sources that have been consulted, not a list that has been cited. This means
that a bibliography can stand on its own, without a paper. You will write your annotated bibliography before
you write your paper, so it cannot be called a “works cited page.”
What is an annotated bibliography, then? It is (1) a list of sources you have consulted along with (2) text
summarizing each source and (3) text discussing how it is relevant to your upcoming paper. One or two
sentences for the source and one or two sentences for the evaluation is enough.
WARNING: Do not copy text from the source in your summary or your evaluation. You must paraphrase
the source.
When you evaluate the source, you must say whether you agree with the source or describe how you going to
use this particular source. For example, you may decide to use a source for objections to the arguments you
make to support your thesis.
Additionally, your annotated bibliography should clearly indicate which topic you have chosen to write on
(see below), and a tentative thesis statement.
You are required to list at least ten academic sources in your annotated bibliography. Academic sources are
those that have been peer-reviewed.
Page 2 of 4
C. Advice
You may think that ten sources are too many. But if you break them down by how you are going to use them, it
actually is not very many. Perhaps you have two sources for explaining the facts, two sources to use as sources
for arguments in favor of your thesis, two sources to use for objections to the arguments for your thesis, and two
other sources that may be useful for a combination of the above uses. Do not forget that some of the sources
you have been assigned to read in class will be relevant to your topic.
Do not think of sources as burdens, tasks, or enemies. The sources are your friends: they will help you write a
more interesting and compelling paper. You may think to yourself, “I do not know what to say about this.”
That is where the sources come in. Once you have read what other people have to say, your mind is opened to
an entire world of arguments and objections. Many smart people have been arguing about these topics for
years, and there is a wealth of published sources on these topics. Remember that the sources are anxious to help
you write a really good paper. Can you have too many allies? Can you have too many friends?
The point of making you write an annotated bibliography is to, first, get you to think about your topic.
Second, the point is to ensure that you begin research early. Research done at the last moment will probably
only be a superficial addition to your paper. Research done early will direct the whole paper in a more
productive direction. Third, the point is to ensure that your research is broad.
Use APA style.
D. Sample Annotated Bibliography
Beatrice van der Zee
Section X
Annotated Bibliography
Topic: Should Venus be settled by floating colonies?
Thesis: Venus should be settled by floating colonies because Earth may be hit by an asteroid.
Source 1
Guryevich, Vasily. (1999). The probability of collision between Earth and a large asteroid within the next
hundred years. Journal of Paranoid Astrophysics, 25, 286-292. doi: 11.1036/0279-6123.24.0.221
Summary: Using data from the orbital telescope DoomFinder, the author estimates that the probability of the
human race being obliterated by a collision between the earth and an asteroid in the next 100 years to be
between 0.0001 and 0.01.
Usefulness: Guryevich’s estimate, while somewhat dated, is based on sound data that has not been contradicted
by later surveys. I will use Guryevich’s estimate to argue that the risk of Earth being hit by an asteroid is high
enough to justify the cost of settling Venus.
[…and so on for sources 2 through 10]