An annotation briefly restates the main argument of a source. An annotation of an academic source, for example, typically identifies its thesis (or research question, or hypothesis), its major methods of investigation, and its main conclusions. Keep in mind that identifying the argument of a source is a different task from describing or listing its contents. Rather than listing contents (see Example 1, below), an annotation should account for the reasons the contents are there (see Example 2).
Example 1 (only lists contents)
McIvor, S. D. “women’s rights as ‘existing rights’.” (1995)/ Canadian Woman Studies/Les Cahiers de la Femme 2/3: 32-38.
This article discusses recent constitutional legislation as it affects the human rights of Aboriginal women in Canada, the Constitution Act (1982), its amendment in 1983, and amendments to the Indian Act (1985). It also discusses the implications for Aboriginal women of the Supreme Court of Canada’s interpretation of the Constitution Act in R. v. Sparrow (1991).
Example 2 (lists argument, research question, method, and main conclusions)
This article seeks to define the extent of the civil and political rights returned to Aboriginal women in the Constitution Act (1982), its amendment in 1983, and in amendments to the Indian Act (1985). This legislation reverses prior laws that denied Indian status to Aboriginal women who married non-Aboriginal men. On the basis of the Supreme Court of Canada’s interpretation of the Constitution Act in R. v. Sparrow (1991), McIvor argues that the Act recognizes fundamental human rights and existing Aboriginal rights, granting to Aboriginal women full participation in the Aboriginal right to self-government.