The purpose of an annotation is to describe the cited material. It should provide sufficient information about the article to determine whether the actual material should be examined further. As you summarize the article, pay particular attention to these main points in an annotation.
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?
