Skip to Main Content

Library 101: Citations & Annotations

This guide provides research strategies and recommended resources for research in Library 101.

Reflection Annotations

Library 101 research assignments require reflection annotations. Reflection annotations include four parts:

  • The citation for the source
  • A summary of the source, including an overview of its main points, arguments made, research presented, topics covered, etc.
  • An evaluation of the source, including an assessment of its quality, accuracy, objectivity, purpose, thoroughness, etc.
  • A reflection on the source's usefulness for your research, including how helpful it is, how it affects your thinking on the topic, how well it addresses your research question, etc.

Each annotation (not including the citation) should be at least 150 words and must use your own words.

Citation Guidelines

Most library databases include a citation tool that allows you to generate a citation for the source in different citation styles. Always check automatically-generated citations against the citation guidelines to make sure they are accurate. Use the following guidelines for help citing your sources using the MLA citation style:

Formatting Hanging Indents

Citations should be formatted with a hanging indent: the first line of the citation lines up with the left margin, and all following lines are indented one half inch, as in this example:

Adams, Maurianne, editor. Readings for Diversity and Social Justice. Fourth ed., Routledge, 2018.

The following instructions describe how to format hanging indents in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and some other word processing programs:

Annotated Bibliography Guidelines

The Purdue OWL webpages below include information about and examples of annotations.

Tutorial: Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

This tutorial covers the purpose, components, and format of annotated bibliographies.

If you have trouble accessing this tutorial from off campus, try logging into My.SBCC.edu in a different browser tab, then reloading this page. If that doesn't work, follow the direct link above to open the tutorial outside of this guide.