Read the study, then write the annotation
AMA Annotated Bibliography with a Worked Example and Checklist
Work through an original annotation of an open research paper, with each sentence's purpose explained and a checklist for your course rubric.
An AMA annotated bibliography puts a short discussion after each formatted reference. Explain what the researchers found, assess how they studied the question, and show how you would use the evidence in your paper. We checked Liberty University's AMA 11 sample and read the full PACE-UP walking trial to build the example below. Follow the writing process, then adapt the entry to your assignment's rubric.
Read the assignment before choosing the structure
Set your research question and check which sources the course accepts. If the assignment requires original research, choose papers reporting their own data. A review can help you find those studies, but it may not count toward the required total.
The University of Illinois writing guide explains that annotations vary with the assignment. Some summarize a source; others also evaluate it or explain its role in a larger project. Check which tasks your instructor expects and how long each annotation should be.
Liberty's sample includes a numbered reference list followed by a separate annotated section. Its AMA guide also specifies a title page for a standalone bibliography in Liberty coursework. Those are local requirements. For your submission, confirm entry order, numbering, indentation, spacing, and any title page. A standalone assignment needs its own ordering instructions because it may have no manuscript to establish the usual AMA order of first citation.
Separate the reference from the annotation
The AMA annotated bibliography format separates two jobs. The reference lets a reader locate the work; the annotation discusses it. For a journal reference, verify the authors, title, abbreviated journal name, year, volume, issue, and pages or article identifier. Include the DOI when available.
The PACE-UP paper has 18 authors, so AMA's rule for more than six authors gives the first three followed by et al. Its identifier, e1002210, belongs where pagination would normally appear. Keep the journal abbreviation in italics. The reference below is a single teaching entry; add numbering according to your assignment.
AMA journal reference for the worked example
Harris T, Kerry SM, Limb ES, et al. Effect of a primary care walking intervention with and without nurse support on physical activity levels in 45- to 75-year-olds: the Pedometer And Consultation Evaluation (PACE-UP) cluster randomised clinical trial. PLoS Med. 2017;14(1):e1002210. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002210
The author order and publication fields were checked against the publisher and Crossref records. Keep reference punctuation when adapting this example.
Write a summary, evaluation, and relevance statement
Read the full paper and take notes on the question, study design, comparison groups, outcome measure, and follow-up period. Use the abstract to locate the main finding, then read the methods and discussion to check what it can support.
Summarize in your own words, keeping enough detail to explain the result. For the evaluation, name a strength or limitation and explain its consequence. A sentence calling the paper reliable because it is peer reviewed tells the reader little about how this study was conducted.
For this demonstration, the proposed paper asks whether primary care can increase adults' walking through mailed materials. The relevance statement therefore explains how this trial would help compare delivery options. Change that statement when your own question changes.
Original AMA annotated bibliography example
Harris and colleagues tested a 12-week walking program in 1,023 adults aged 45 to 75 recruited through seven London practices. Households were randomized to usual care, mailed pedometer materials, or the same materials with nurse consultations. At 12 months, accelerometer results showed adjusted increases over control of 642 daily steps for postal delivery and 677 for nurse support. Objective measurement and household randomization strengthen the comparison, although recruitment of only about 10% of eligible invitees limits generalizability. The trial supplied a pedometer, handbook, and diary together, so it cannot isolate the pedometer's contribution. For a paper on primary care walking programs, I would use it to compare delivery options. Its activity findings support a discussion of walking behavior; this analysis does not establish that the two delivery methods are equivalent.
This original teaching annotation draws on the full study. Your rubric determines the required length.
What each annotation sentence contributes
The numbers below follow the sample's seven sentences. These labels explain the writing choices; include labels in your assignment only if the rubric asks for them.
| Sentence | Function | Reason to include it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Summary | Identifies the intervention and study population. |
| 2 | Summary | Shows allocation and the comparison groups. |
| 3 | Summary | Reports the measured outcome and time point. |
| 4 | Evaluation | Links design strengths and recruitment to confidence and applicability. |
| 5 | Evaluation | Explains why one component's effect remains uncertain. |
| 6 | Relevance | Names a specific role in the proposed paper. |
| 7 | Evaluation and relevance | Keeps the planned comparison within the result's limits. |
Check the example against your rubric
Notice that the annotation identifies mailed materials as a package. A claim about a pedometer alone would overlook the handbook and diary. It also avoids turning a nonsignificant difference into proof of equivalence. These choices come from reading beyond the abstract and checking what the comparison actually tested.
- Does every source meet the required type, date range, and topic?
- Have you read enough of each source to explain its methods and limitations?
- Does each reference identify the exact work you discussed?
- Have you paraphrased the findings without copying the abstract?
- Can you explain how a named strength or limitation affects your use of the evidence?
- Does the relevance statement connect to your research question?
- Does the document follow the rubric's length, ordering, and layout requirements?
Can an AMA citation generator write the annotation?
AMA Cite can help prepare the reference record from a DOI or PMID lookup, or from manual entry. Review the returned fields against the source. The tool does not read the paper for you, evaluate research quality, or write your annotation.
Draft the annotation in your document with your reading notes nearby. You should be able to trace each statement to the paper and explain why you included it.