What is annotation? Rules and techniques, examples

In order to quickly get the necessary information about an article, book or author, many use a method such as annotation. This is a kind of process that allows you to make a preliminary idea of ​​an unknown printed material.

What it is?

Annotation is an analytical process of information processing designed to summarize documents, books or articles, disclosing their logical structure. In other words, this procedure is used to obtain a brief description of the content of the publication.

Basically, annotating a text consists of two main parts: a bibliographic description and a text. This method is used in order to obtain information about a scientific source, but not to fully disclose the entire content of the article. That is, annotations allow you to make an objective, preliminary idea of ​​a previously unknown scientific publication. With their help, you can quickly find, organize and remember the necessary information in a fairly short time.

Are abstracting and annotating the same thing?

An abstract is a brief (often free) summary of a scientific publication on a given topic in writing (often in the form of a report), in which, in addition to revealing the main content, there is a personal assessment, as well as the conclusions of the referent. In other words, such a work makes it possible for the reader to understand the most important aspects set forth in an article or a book, thereby relieving him of the need for a complete study of the source.

That is why annotation and abstracting are different. In the first case, only an answer is given to the question of what is written in the original source. And in the second you can find out what is being said. That is, annotation is only answers to questions about what and where it is written, and abstracting makes it clear what exactly is contained in the article or book.

What functions do annotations perform?

They perform the following main functions:

1. Search engine. That is, such annotation is nothing but an information retrieval tool for specific data in the text.
2. Signal, which serves as such a notification of the source. Looking at such an annotation, you can add up the first impression of an article or book and decide whether to read it in its entirety.

Analytical, general, reference and recommendatory annotations

If you classify annotations according to the method of call or functional purpose, then they are:

• Analytical (special), which reveal only part of the content of an article or book.
• General, characterizing scientific publications in full. That is, annotating documents in this way is somewhat similar to abstracting. Based on such work performed, it is also possible to judge the content of an article or book.
• Reference. Such annotations only refer to general information about the author and the content of his scientific publication. But the bibliographic description in these works is completely absent.
• Recommender. Such annotations are intended to attract the attention of the reader, arouse interest in the material and in convincing the reader to read the source.

Abstract descriptive and explanatory annotations

The volume of annotations and the depth of disclosure of the original material distinguish:

• Abstract (answer the questions: "What is written in the original source?" And "What exactly is written there?"). Roughly speaking, in such annotations all the main topics of the article or book are listed, and their contents are also briefly disclosed.
• Descriptive (answer one question: "What is written about?"). Such texts only in general terms reveal the content of the original source and the topics set forth in it.
• Explanatory annotations, which may consist of several words, a maximum of one or two sentences and do not reveal the whole essence of the original article or book.

Other existing classifications

In addition to the above, there are the following types of annotations:

• Monographic, each of which is compiled purely on a specific document. That is, only one article or book on a given topic is annotated.
• Group Similar annotations are compiled on the basis of several sources that are similar in content.

And also there are “manual”, automated, author, editorial and bibliographic annotations. Each of these types of work is compiled both by people and by special programs that automatically seek out the necessary information in the text.

Annotation Requirements

To perform high-quality annotation of an article, you need to adhere to some requirements. For example, you need:

1. Take into account the purpose, i.e., choose an analytical or general, advisory or reference type of annotation. The next item will depend on this.
2. Decide on the volume of annotation. For example, a reference annotation is 500-800 characters. Other types of work may take from one to two pages of printed text.
3. Observe the chronological structure (all events described in the abstract should have the same order as in the original source).
4. Stick to language features.

The last item on the list includes the following annotation rules:

• Simple, concise and clear presentation.
• Undesired use of adverbs and colloquial expressions, if that is not required by the text style of the original source.
• Respect for the unity of terms and abbreviations.
• Avoidance of repetitions (this applies to both the main text and the headings).
• Use only standard abbreviations.
• Avoiding the use of constructs that provide a logical connection between sentences (for example, “as well”, “therefore”, “as a rule”, etc.).
• The use of impersonal verbs.
• Undesirable use of introductory words that do not affect general understanding (for example, “probably”, “maybe”, “at least”, etc.).

Sample annotation plans

General annotation plan:

1. Introductory part, which provides a bibliographic description.
2. The main one, which lists the main events of the original material.
3. Final part. Here you can give a brief description or assessment of the work done.

Plan for writing advisory annotations:

1. Information about the author of the original source.
2. The content of the material.
3. Personal assessment of an article or book.
4. Information about the publication.
5. The target audience of the source.

Reference annotation plan:

1. Information about the author.
2. The source genre.
3. The main theme of the material.
4. Summary of the source.
5. Details of the publication.
6. The audience for which the source material is intended.

Guidelines for quickly finding basic information

In order to annotate literature quickly and easily, you need to be able to use keywords that are more or less scattered throughout the text. For example, you can use the ones in the table below.

Annotation of the scientific text

If, when working with fiction, you should take care of the originality of the design (pay attention to readers' questions, compare material with other books, etc.), then annotating scientific texts does not take much time. Indeed, during the process, you can use the selection of standard formulations, such as: “the author says”, “the publication is intended”, “the article is considered”, etc. The most important thing in such an annotation is to convey the main idea of ​​scientific research to the reader.

In addition, when working with such material, it is necessary to adhere to the correspondence and uniformity of verbs. And also you need to use only standard abbreviations, abbreviations and terminology, which will be clear to the reader.

Annotation Examples

To fully understand what constitutes an analytical method of information processing, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the samples below.

Recommended annotation on the example of the book "Dictionary of Chinese mythology":

The author M. Kukarina talks about charming Chinese myths, diverse, unusual creatures, images and deities. The book mentions the features of ancient China, real historical figures. The work is not an ideal reference book of mythology, but the author tried to tell about all the main creatures and deities of the Celestial Empire.

Examples of general annotation:

• Ed. A.G. Kosilova, R.K. Meshcheryakova. Reference technologist-machine builder. In two volumes - M.: Mechanical Engineering, 1986. - 656 p., Ill. The guide is intended for engineers and workers in the field of mechanical engineering. It is supplemented with new materials for processing parts on machines and state standard specifications.
• Digital photography for dummies. Per. from English. - M.: Publishing House "William", 2003. - 320 p., ill. Book for beginners. The manual details the intricacies of shooting and processing photos on a computer. For ease of use, the book has a reference apparatus in the form of a table of contents, introduction, annexes and an index.

Reference annotation example:

House with the ghosts. American mystical stories. The book was published in 2014 by Eksmo. The book tells of ghost houses by Ralph Adams Krum (short story “Kropfsberg Castle Tower”, 1895), John Kendrick Bangs (“Cook Phantom from Bangletop”, 1892), Leonard Kip (“Spirits in Grantley”, 1878 g.) and others.