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How to write an annotation. Two types of Annotations. Sample descriptive annotation. Sample critical annotation. Ex. 1. Answer the questions.
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How to Write an Annotation
1. Begin with the complete bibliographic entry.
2. Include some or all of the following:
- Authority and qualifications of the author, unless extremely well known. e. g. " Based on twenty years of study, William A. Smith, professor of history at XYZ University... "
- Scope and the main purpose of the text. Do not try to summarize the whole work. e. g. " Discusses the positive impact of Medicare on the psychiatric profession. "
- Any bias that you note.
- Audience and level of reading difficulty. Such a comment warns readers of writings that are too elementary or scholarly for their purposes. e. g. " Swift addressed himself to the scholar, but the concluding chapters will be clear to any informed lay person. "
- The relation, if any, of other works in the field. " This corroborates the findings of George Brown's Revolution. "
- Summary comment. e. g. " A popular account directed at educated adults. "
3. Do not repeat the words of the title, give the same information in different phrasing, or offer information that an intelligent person could readily infer from the title.
4. Be concise.
Two Types of Annotations
Annotations vary according to their intended use and their content. Descriptive Annotations describe the content of a book or article and indicate distinctive features. Critical Annotations, in addition to describing the contents, evaluate the usefulness of a book or article for particular situations.
SAMPLE DESCRIPTIVE ANNOTATION
London, Herbert. Five Myths of the Television Age. Television Quarterly 10(1) Spring 1982: 81-89.
The author explains how television contradicts five ideas commonly believed by most people, using specific examples seen on television, such as the assassination of John Kennedy, to demonstrate his points. His examples contradict such truisms as " seeing is believing", " a picture is worth a thousand words", and " satisfaction is its own reward. " London uses logical arguments to support his ideas, and doesn't refer to any previous works on the topic: the article is his personal opinion.
SAMPLE CRITICAL ANNOTATION
London, Herbert. Five Myths of the Television Age. Television Quarterly 10(1) Spring 1982: 81-89.
Herbert London, a Dean at New York University and author of several books and articles, explains how television contradicts five ideas commonly believed by most people, using specific examples seen on television, such as the assassination of John Kennedy, to demonstrate his points. His examples contradict such truisms as " seeing is believing", " a picture is worth a thousand words", and " satisfaction is its own reward. " London uses logical arguments to support his ideas, and doesn't refer to any previous works on the topic: the article is his personal opinion. His style and vocabulary would make the article of interest to any reader. The article clearly illustrates London's points, but does not explore their implications, leaving the reader with many unanswered questions.
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Ex. 1. Answer the questions.
1. What is the purpose of an abstract? And of an annotation?
- How would you translate the two words into Russia n? Think about such Russian words and collocations as реферат, конспект, аннотация, краткое изложение содержания, резюме.
- What types of annotations do you know? What is the difference between them?
Ex. 2. Which of these statements are true? Correct the false ones.
| TRUE | FALSE | ||
| An abstract is a summary in your own words, of an article, chapter, or book | |||
| An abstract is evaluative and must include your personal opinions. | |||
| The purpose of an abstract is to give a reader sufficient information for him or her to decide whether it would be worthwhile reading the entire article or book. | |||
| An abstract should aim at giving as much information as possible. The number of words is unlimited. | |||
| Normaly, we write an abstract about a document written by somebody else. | |||
| Annotations, unlike abstracts, are protected under copyright law. |
LANGUAGE TRAINING
Ex. 1. Fill in the correct word from the list. Then choose any item and make up a sentence:
short, thorough, level of, electronic, distinctive, collected, primary, concise, unanswered, publicly, sectioned, complete, commonly, verified.
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Ex. 2. Fill in the correct preposition.
To take advantage ……. smth; to be proposed ………. smth; to be concerned ………. smth; in favor……… smth; to depend ……… smth; due………. smth; to be based……….. smth; in order………do smth; to be directed ………… smth; in addition ………… smth; to refer ………smth.
Ex. 3. Fill in the gaps using the words from the list:
criteria, in conformity, summary, outline, scope, provide, conclusion, dissertations.
An abstract is usually a 1)…………… provided for a specific purpose in an academic context. For example, at most universities students submitting 2)…………….. have to provide an abstract, too. This has to conform to specific, given 3)……………. Similarly, when scholars and scientists send papers to scientific periodicals they are often required to 4)…………… an abstract, again 5)……………… with specified criteria. An abstract should give an 6)……………… of the hypothesis and the 7)…………………. and should indicate the 8)……………… of the dissertation or article[12].
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Ex. 4. Fill in the table with an appropriate verb from the list:
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