Subjects
Writing Annotations
Suppose that the text that you are researching includes on page 57 the phrase "seraphic locks" to describe the hair of the main character.
The OED tells us that "seraphic" can mean the following: "of or pertaining to the seraphim," then "concerned with sublime objects," then "resembling a seraph, either in beauty or in fervour of exalted devotion" and finally "of discourse, actions, appearance: showing ecstasy of devout contemplation."
You check out the dates and find that all those are appropriate for the time period of your text.
So, you move next to "seraphim" (keeping in mind you might need to look at the definition of sublime as well).
Now of course a careful researcher would not trust only one authoritative source, but would see if another source offers additional, supporting, or contradictory information.
Since you need more information than the OED is offering, you decide to use the Encyclopeadia Britannica; here's a direct quotation from the article, "seraph."
"plural Seraphim in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic literature, celestial being variously described as having two or three pairs of wings and serving as a throne guardian of God. Often called the burning ones, seraphim in the Old Testament appear in the Temple vision of the prophet Isaiah as six-winged creatures praising God in what is known in the Greek Orthodox church as the Trisagion ("ThriceHoly"): "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isaiah 6:3). In Christian angelology the seraphim are the highest-ranking celestial beings in the hierarchy of angels. In art the four-winged cherubim are painted blue (symbolizing the sky) and the six-winged seraphim red (symbolizing fire).
So, we know this item falls in the field of religious studies. Therefore, we would check another source in that field--perhaps a dictionary of religious terms or a book about angelology. To identify other sources you might use to verify this information, look at the information I gave you on research sources.
For the purposes of this example, we'll write our annotation from the two sources we have consulted.
Writing and Citing Annotations
For our purposes, provide the page or line number, follow it by a lemma (a short phrase indicating to the reader what is being annotated) then by an open bracket and finally by the annotation.
Here would be an example of a finished annotation:
57 "seraphic locks"] In several religious traditions, seraphs form part of the angelic host which surround the throne of God. In most descriptions they are presented as fiery creatures with multiple wings. Disraeli's comparison seems to allude only to the angelic nature of the seraphim, not their physical appearance.
"Seraph." Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2003. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. 22 Oct, 2003. http://search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=68541.
Follow the annotation with a bibliographic entry citing the source that provided the information.
Nicely the Encyclopaedia Britannica even provided a bibliographic citation in MLA format.
Formatting Annotations
Your annotations should be arranged in the order they appear in the text, indicated as above--much as you have seen endnotes in novels.
Remember to put any quoted words or phrases from the source in quotation marks and provide a parenthetical citation for any sources you get information from.
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Last revised 1.13.06
Questions: contact Dr. Ann R. Hawkins