how to write an annotation
How to write an annotation
(http://legacy.earlham.edu/library/content/resources/writing/annotations.html)
An annotation is a brief summary of a book, article, or other publication. An abstract is also a summary, but there is a difference between the two. An abstract is simply a summary of a work, whereas the purpose of an annotation is to describe the work in such a way that the reader can decide whether or not to read the work itself.
The following points provide guidance for writing annotations. As appropriate each of these issues might be assessed and commented on in the annotation.
1. Qualifications of the author, unless very well known.
2. The scope and main purpose of the publication (e.g., book, article, web site).
3. The intended audience and level of reading difficulty.
4. The author's bias or assumptions, upon which the work's rationale rests.
5. The method of obtaining data or doing research.
6. The author's conclusions.
7. Comparison with other works on the same subject.
8. Materials appended to the work — e.g., maps, charts, photos, etc.
9. The work's importance or usefulness for the study of a subject.
Not all of these points are necessary for every annotation, and they certainly do not have to be noted in the order listed here, but they at least ought to be kept in mind when writing an annotation.
The following are three annotations from published works:
Davis, Faith. "Sula." HarAdv 107, #4 (Special Issue, 1974): 61-61.
Sula is an "engaging and illuminating book about pain and estangement" (p.61) as those devastating emotions shape the lives of the black community in the Bottom. There the citizens may seem at a glance to be entirely ordinary, but the fiction shows us their complexity and their ability to endure under staggering burdens. The quality of engagement which readers experience through the book is a result of TM's lyrical yet spare and visionary language.
(http://legacy.earlham.edu/library/content/resources/writing/annotations.html)
An annotation is a brief summary of a book, article, or other publication. An abstract is also a summary, but there is a difference between the two. An abstract is simply a summary of a work, whereas the purpose of an annotation is to describe the work in such a way that the reader can decide whether or not to read the work itself.
The following points provide guidance for writing annotations. As appropriate each of these issues might be assessed and commented on in the annotation.
1. Qualifications of the author, unless very well known.
2. The scope and main purpose of the publication (e.g., book, article, web site).
3. The intended audience and level of reading difficulty.
4. The author's bias or assumptions, upon which the work's rationale rests.
5. The method of obtaining data or doing research.
6. The author's conclusions.
7. Comparison with other works on the same subject.
8. Materials appended to the work — e.g., maps, charts, photos, etc.
9. The work's importance or usefulness for the study of a subject.
Not all of these points are necessary for every annotation, and they certainly do not have to be noted in the order listed here, but they at least ought to be kept in mind when writing an annotation.
The following are three annotations from published works:
Davis, Faith. "Sula." HarAdv 107, #4 (Special Issue, 1974): 61-61.
Sula is an "engaging and illuminating book about pain and estangement" (p.61) as those devastating emotions shape the lives of the black community in the Bottom. There the citizens may seem at a glance to be entirely ordinary, but the fiction shows us their complexity and their ability to endure under staggering burdens. The quality of engagement which readers experience through the book is a result of TM's lyrical yet spare and visionary language.