If the question "What is an annotation in APA?" pops up in your mind, you're in the right place. An annotated bibliography is an academic task that needs learners to write short summaries of cited sources. Usually, it takes 150 words per one annotation. It helps understand the relevance of sources used for composing a paper. Annotated bibliography writing is very helpful in composing research writings. When students explore gathered sources thoroughly, they learn more about a researched topic and find good arguments to support their claims. However, it is a time-consuming process that forces learners to take a deep dive into every paper to check it in more detail to write a useful and relevant summary. In addition, it has to highlight the importance of a used source.
How to Write an APA Annotated Bibliography
For starters, you need to understand how to compose an annotated bibliography in APA if you want to get top grades for your papers. Feel free to gather all the sources that may become helpful for writing. Review them and pick only the most useful ones for creating an excellent article. Some factors will help you determine if the picked source is right:
- You need to examine if a source reflects your paper's topic.
- Make sure that the information provided in a source answers the questions in your writing.
- Stick to credible ways to get information only.
After this, you need to cite a book, article, or journal, following the APA formatting guidance. On top of the page, you need to specify a running head aligned to the left side. All the letters should be written in uppercase. On the same line, you have to specify a page's number aligned to the right side. Then, you need to write 'Annotated Bibliography' without applying any formatting. After this, cite a source following the APA guidelines and write its annotation below. No special formatting should be applied.
Ways to Write It Fast
This task needs learners to spend a lot of time composing annotations for every source used in their research. Consequently, they may experience a lack of time for composing a top-quality paper. It forces students to look for some ways to get this task done fast. Consequently, they can pay more attention to the central points of their assignments and make them perfect for achieving great academic results. If you want to discover how to write an annotated bibliography fast and save your time, scroll down below and check out the best hints for learners.
Use Online Tools
These days, there are many tools and online services that help undergraduates tackle their assignments faster. Don't be shy about using them to get the task completed faster. For example, you can easily find a citation generator that will help you mention any source in a few seconds. Such tools offer suggestions, helping find a particular book, journal, or site faster. Also, they foresee the ability to set a particular formatting style in one click. After this, you need to write an annotation for a mentioned source.
Having no time, you can use a paraphrasing tool that will update an annotation written by another writer. It will change the structure and replace some words to make your writing original. Notwithstanding, there is still a high chance of getting matched content spotted. Therefore, it's recommended to write unique annotations only. Also, always check the level of plagiarism in papers before submitting them.
There are also a lot of online tools for composing annotated bibliography hassle-free. Such tools are very helpful for those who don't know how to write an annotated bibliography in APA. They have comprehensive functionality that helps generate an APA citation of a particular source and write an annotation in a separate field. Also, it can be imported from a document on your computer. After finishing your annotation, you can get all the information generated, formed, and copied to the clipboard so that you will be able to paste it into your paper.
Improve Productivity
It's also recommended to increase your productivity in case you're short on time. For starters, you need to eliminate all the distractions. Feel free to put your smartphone in a drawer, close all entertainment apps on your desktop, and put on noise-canceling headphones. Getting rid of most distractions, you will be able to surf the Internet and discover how to do an annotated bibliography in APA format fast. Also, you will get more time that can be invested into paper composing. Using the Pomodoro technique, you will manage your time effectively and keep working at a high pace. It requires you to work for 20 minutes with no interruptions. The working sessions should be connected by ten-minute periods of rest.
Wrapping Up
When your annotated bibliography is finished, you have to make it free of any errors and typos. Feel free to use online tools that flag grammar mistakes and offer improvements. They can make your writing free of most errors fast. However, you also need to proofread your paper thoroughly to make sure that it needs zero corrections. You can reach an essay writing service and request professional writers to examine your paper and polish it. Nevertheless, you can always delegate annotation writing to experts if you're short on time or have poor writing skills. Finally, don't forget to check the plagiarism level in your paper before submitting it.