Федеральное агентство по образованию
Государственное образовательное учреждение
высшего профессионального образования
«Челябинский государственный университет»
АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК
Методические рекомендации по написанию аннотаций
для студентов 5 курса
факультета Евразии и Востока
Челябинск
Издательство Челябинского государственного университета
2010
Одобрено учебно-методической комиссией факультета Евразии и Востока ЧелГУ.
Представленные в данных рекомендациях материалы направлены на формирование, развитие и совершенствование навыков составления аннотаций.
Предназначены как для аудиторной, так и самостоятельной работы студентов 5-го курса факультета Евразии и Востока, изучающих английский язык.
Составитель преподаватель Подолько А.С.
Рецензент
Annotation and rendering.
Annotation and rendering have become important in providing people with an ability to exchange information quicker. They help specialists to reduce time spent on data processing. The essence of annotation and rendering is that they contract the volume of information. The basis for such contraction is the redundancy of language and absence (lack) of univocal correspondence between the content of idea and the form of its representation in speech. Rendering preserves the content essence not taking into account everything that is secondary and illustrative. Annotation and rendering are to provide the reader with the most important and necessary information. If the reader gets interested in annotation or rendering he can be guided by bibliography and find the primary source(s) where he can get information at full length. Thus the function of annotation and rendering is very important: to familiarize the reader with the sources of information needed.
Annotation and rendering are the secondary documentary sources. They are the documents that give information about primary sources.
Though the function of annotation and rendering is the same there is some basic difference between them. Annotation just enumerates the issues discussed in the primary source not explaining the content of issues. Rendering, on the contrary, not only enumerates all the issues but also informs about the essential content of each one. We can say that annotation informs what the primary source is about whereas rendering informs about what is written on every issue discussed.
Annotation shows the way to the primary source(s) of information and it can not substitute it (them) whereas rendering can substitute the primary source as it gives the essential content of the material.
Annotation
An annotation is a brief description of a book, article, or other publication, including audio-visual materials. Its purpose is to characterize the publication in such a way that the reader can decide whether to read the complete work or not. Annotations vary according to their intended use and their content. There are two types of annotations: descriptive and critical.
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.
When you write an annotation do not retell the content of the article, book or document (conclusions, recommendations, facts). Try to minimize the use of complex turns of speech, personal and demonstrative pronouns.
Annotation can be divided into 3 basic parts:
1. Introductory part – complete bibliographic entry.
2. Main body – basic issues discussed in the article (book, document). Include some or all of the following:
a. 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..."
b. Scope and main purpose of text. Do not try to summarize the whole work. e.g. "Discusses the positive impact of Medicare on the psychiatric profession."
c. Any bias that you note.
d. 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."
e. The relation, if any, of other works in the field. "This corroborates the findings of George Brown's Revolution."
3. Summary comment. e.g. "A popular account directed at educated adults."
General requirements to annotations are the following:
The volume of annotation is from 500 to 2000 printed characters.
Logical structure that can be different from that of an article (book, document).
Language (linguistic) peculiarities of annotation should be observed. That is:
basic points of the primary source should be given in a simple, clear and brief way;
any repetitions, including the title of the article (book, document) should be avoided;
the unity of terms and abbreviations should be preserved;
generally accepted abbreviations should be used;
adjectives, adverbs and parenthetical words irrelevant to the content should not be used;
impersonal constructions (e.g. it is said that…) and passive voice should be used.
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.