The purpose of an annotation is to describe the cited material. It should provide sufficient information about the source to remind you of the source's content.
Annotations:
- summarize the source
- assess or evaluate the source
- reflect on the source’s possible uses for the project at hand
Consider Including:
- What you learned from the source.
- The main subject of the source and any key points/findings it presents.
- Why this source is valuable to your research and/or how you might use this source.
- Any points of consideration that you uncovered during your CRAAP evaluation (ie: possible bias, age of source, etc.).
- What type of source it is.
As you summarize the source for the annotation, pay particular attention to these main points:
1) Author
What is the author’s occupation, position, education, experience, etc.? Is the author qualified (or not) to write the article?
2) Author’s purpose
What is the purpose for writing the article or doing the research?
3) Intended audience
To what audience is the author writing? Is it intended for the general public, for scholars, students, policy makers, professionals, practitioners, etc.
4) Author bias
Does the author make assumptions upon which the rationale of the article or research rests? What are they?
5) Methodology
How was the study conducted?
6) Author’s conclusions
Are the conclusions justifiable? Are the conclusions supported by the data?
7) Features
Are there bibliographies, charts, questionnaires, etc. If not, should there be?
