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Definition of notation
Example sentences.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'notation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback .
Word History
Latin notation-, notatio , from notare to note
1584, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing notation
- positional notation
- reverse Polish notation
- postfix notation
- scientific notation
Dictionary Entries Near notation
Cite this entry.
“Notation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/notation. Accessed 9 Mar. 2023.
Kids Definition
Kids definition of notation, more from merriam-webster on notation.
Nglish: Translation of notation for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of notation for Arabic Speakers
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Annotation Examples Simply Explained

- DESCRIPTION Book with pen and underlined text
- SOURCE Marco Rosario Venturini Autieri / iStock / Getty Images Plus
- PERMISSION Used under Getty Images license
You’ve likely encountered notes in the margins of a book or paper, but you may skip over them or not quite understand why they’re there. Annotations ensure that you understand what is happening in a text when you come back to it, or provide others with valuable information about the text.
Why Use Annotations?
Annotations are used in order to add notes or more information about a topic as well as to explain content listed on a page or at the end of a publication. These notes can be added by the reader or printed by the author or publisher.
Another common use of annotations is in an annotated bibliography which details the information about sources used to back up research. Ultimately, annotations help readers to understand the main text and ensure the reader has all the information they need.
Annotations in Content
Highlighting or underlining key words or major ideas is the most common way of annotating and makes it easy to find those important passages again. You may also find annotations in some texts written by the authors themselves, regarding related topics or expanding on an idea.
Annotations can be used to:
provide reminders
help a reader engage with the text
add context
offer further clarification
How to Annotate
Take notes for a class, prepare for a presentation, book club or any other occasion: You can make your annotations as simple or elaborate as you want. For instance, you can use different color highlighters or sticky notes to color code the text for different things such as:
comments and questions
observations
text you want to quote
use of themes
vocabulary words to look up
Reader Annotations
You can go beyond marking up text and write notes on your reaction to the content or on its connection with other works or ideas. A reader might annotate a book, paper, pamphlet. or other texts for the following reasons:
a student noting important ideas from the content by highlighting or underlining passages in their textbook
a student noting examples or quotes in the margins of a textbook
a reader noting content to be revisited at a later time
a Bible reader noting sources in their Bible of relevant verses for study
an academic noting similar or contradictory studies related to their article or book
Examples of Reader Annotations
In this example, the reader makes notes about the article including their understanding of the material and how they can apply it. Here, the reader asks questions about the text that they want to see answered in the following sections or questions they themselves will address in their own paper.

- DESCRIPTION Notebook With Notes On Margins
- SOURCE ueapun / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Author or Publisher Annotations
Sometimes annotations can be found in the margins of a book, paper, article or other text for various purposes, including:
pronunciation explanations
explanation about a word or information in a sentence
notes from a scholar about the historical context of an event described in the main text
notes from a scientist about the study discussed in the main text
notes made by a realtor on a housing listing
notes from the coroner on an autopsy report
notes in a law book showing related court cases
Example of Author Annotations
Authors, editors, publishers, or others may use annotations to give historical context, explain the meaning of a word, offer insights or highlight information. In this edition of The Art of War by Sun Tzu, annotations are provided to explain the text.

- DESCRIPTION Book with Chapter I. The Art of War, by Sun Tzŭ
- SOURCE Book: artisteer / iStock / Getty Images Plus. / Screenshot: The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Art of War, by Sun Tzŭ
- PERMISSION Under fair use - Screenshot of The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Art of War, by Sun Tzŭ
Annotated Bibliography
Annotated bibliographies should include a brief summary about the source , the value of the source, and an evaluation of the reliability.
The list should be titled Annotated Bibliography or Annotated List of Works Cited. The bibliography should be listed alphabetically by author or title, by date of publication or by subject according to MLA and APA formatting styles .
Examples of Annotations in an Annotated Bibliography
The purpose of an annotated bibliography is to explain how you will use a source and your understanding of the information.
Anxiety Disorder. (2013). NIMH Website. Retrieved from: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health... This is a comprehensive listing of anxiety-related disorders with descriptions of each disorder and narratives from those who have coped with the symptoms. The site discusses how sufferers can get help and what resources are available. There is information about research currently underway to help with these disorders.The National Institute of Mental Health is a renowned organization committed to the education of individuals on mental health issues as well as research and dissemination of information pertaining to all aspects of mental health. This site is a useful tool to understand anxiety disorders and how they affect those suffering from them. Dimeff, Linda, Koerner, Kelly, and Linehand, Marsha. Dialectical Behavior Therapy in Clinical Practice: Applications across Disorders and Settings. Guilford Press. 2007. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, initially created as a means of treatment for those with bipolar disorder who showed suicidal tendencies, is now a more generalized method of treatment, established as effective for many psychological disorders. This book outlines the method and its increased usage. Guilford Press is a publisher of many reputable books, both scholarly and in the self-help genre, that relate to psychology and psychiatry. The authors are highly knowledgeable in their field of practice making the source highly reliable Magnitude of placebo response and drug-placebo differences across psychiatric disorders. (2004). Psychological Medicine. Retrieved from http://journals.cambridge.org/... This article discusses the usage and effectiveness of various drugs in treatment for myriad psychiatric disorders, including anxiety. Six different disorders were studied using placebos to study the effects Published by Cambridge Press, a respected and renowned publication, this scholarly article is highly informative, and the data considered reliable Self Help Publications. (2013). Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Retrieved from http://www.adaa.org/finding-he... This site is a useful tool to find resources to help those dealing with anxiety-related issues, no matter what the disorder. It is useful for various age ranges, giving information for adults as well as how to help teens or young children. Furthermore, the list offers some informative texts that would be helpful to those whose family members, friends, or other loved ones are trying to cope with anxiety-related disorders. Composed by a reputable organization, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, this list is a useful means of locating print resources to learn more about anxiety and how to help oneself, or others. Some treatment methods are discussed in detail in some publications, as well, helping researchers and others to better understand some of the specifics of treatment options.
Annotations are one of the best ways to make easy-to-follow notes. Explore other ways you can create notes for a paper or other document.
Annotated Bibliography Examples in APA and MLA Style
Footnote Examples and Format Tips
Ibid: Examples of Usage
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- What Is an Annotated Bibliography? | Examples & Format
What Is an Annotated Bibliography? | Examples & Format
Published on March 9, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 23, 2022.
An annotated bibliography is a list of source references that includes a short descriptive text (an annotation) for each source. It may be assigned as part of the research process for a paper , or as an individual assignment to gather and read relevant sources on a topic.
Scribbr’s free Citation Generator allows you to easily create and manage your annotated bibliography in APA or MLA style. To generate a perfectly formatted annotated bibliography, select the source type, fill out the relevant fields, and add your annotation.
The Scribbr Citation Generator will automatically create a flawless APA citation
The Scribbr Citation Generator will automatically create a flawless MLA citation
An example of an annotated source is shown below:

Table of contents
Annotated bibliography format: apa, mla, chicago, how to write an annotated bibliography, descriptive annotation example, evaluative annotation example, reflective annotation example, finding sources for your annotated bibliography, frequently asked questions about annotated bibliographies.
Make sure your annotated bibliography is formatted according to the guidelines of the style guide you’re working with. Three common styles are covered below:
In APA Style , both the reference entry and the annotation should be double-spaced and left-aligned.
The reference entry itself should have a hanging indent . The annotation follows on the next line, and the whole annotation should be indented to match the hanging indent. The first line of any additional paragraphs should be indented an additional time.

In an MLA style annotated bibliography , the Works Cited entry and the annotation are both double-spaced and left-aligned.
The Works Cited entry has a hanging indent. The annotation itself is indented 1 inch (twice as far as the hanging indent). If there are two or more paragraphs in the annotation, the first line of each paragraph is indented an additional half-inch, but not if there is only one paragraph.

Chicago style
In a Chicago style annotated bibliography , the bibliography entry itself should be single-spaced and feature a hanging indent.
The annotation should be indented, double-spaced, and left-aligned. The first line of any additional paragraphs should be indented an additional time.

For each source, start by writing (or generating ) a full reference entry that gives the author, title, date, and other information. The annotated bibliography format varies based on the citation style you’re using.
The annotations themselves are usually between 50 and 200 words in length, typically formatted as a single paragraph. This can vary depending on the word count of the assignment, the relative length and importance of different sources, and the number of sources you include.
Consider the instructions you’ve been given or consult your instructor to determine what kind of annotations they’re looking for:
- Descriptive annotations : When the assignment is just about gathering and summarizing information, focus on the key arguments and methods of each source.
- Evaluative annotations : When the assignment is about evaluating the sources , you should also assess the validity and effectiveness of these arguments and methods.
- Reflective annotations : When the assignment is part of a larger research process, you need to consider the relevance and usefulness of the sources to your own research.
These specific terms won’t necessarily be used. The important thing is to understand the purpose of your assignment and pick the approach that matches it best. Interactive examples of the different styles of annotation are shown below.
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A descriptive annotation summarizes the approach and arguments of a source in an objective way, without attempting to assess their validity.
In this way, it resembles an abstract , but you should never just copy text from a source’s abstract, as this would be considered plagiarism . You’ll naturally cover similar ground, but you should also consider whether the abstract omits any important points from the full text.
The interactive example shown below describes an article about the relationship between business regulations and CO 2 emissions.
Rieger, A. (2019). Doing business and increasing emissions? An exploratory analysis of the impact of business regulation on CO 2 emissions. Human Ecology Review , 25 (1), 69–86. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26964340
An evaluative annotation also describes the content of a source, but it goes on to evaluate elements like the validity of the source’s arguments and the appropriateness of its methods .
For example, the following annotation describes, and evaluates the effectiveness of, a book about the history of Western philosophy.
Kenny, A. (2010). A new history of Western philosophy: In four parts . Oxford University Press.
A reflective annotation is similar to an evaluative one, but it focuses on the source’s usefulness or relevance to your own research.
Reflective annotations are often required when the point is to gather sources for a future research project, or to assess how they were used in a project you already completed.
The annotation below assesses the usefulness of a particular article for the author’s own research in the field of media studies.
Manovich, Lev. (2009). The practice of everyday (media) life: From mass consumption to mass cultural production? Critical Inquiry , 35 (2), 319–331. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/596645
Manovich’s article assesses the shift from a consumption-based media culture (in which media content is produced by a small number of professionals and consumed by a mass audience) to a production-based media culture (in which this mass audience is just as active in producing content as in consuming it). He is skeptical of some of the claims made about this cultural shift; specifically, he argues that the shift towards user-made content must be regarded as more reliant upon commercial media production than it is typically acknowledged to be. However, he regards web 2.0 as an exciting ongoing development for art and media production, citing its innovation and unpredictability.
The article is outdated in certain ways (it dates from 2009, before the launch of Instagram, to give just one example). Nevertheless, its critical engagement with the possibilities opened up for media production by the growth of social media is valuable in a general sense, and its conceptualization of these changes frequently applies just as well to more current social media platforms as it does to Myspace. Conceptually, I intend to draw on this article in my own analysis of the social dynamics of Twitter and Instagram.
Before you can write your annotations, you’ll need to find sources . If the annotated bibliography is part of the research process for a paper, your sources will be those you consult and cite as you prepare the paper. Otherwise, your assignment and your choice of topic will guide you in what kind of sources to look for.
Make sure that you’ve clearly defined your topic , and then consider what keywords are relevant to it, including variants of the terms. Use these keywords to search databases (e.g., Google Scholar ), using Boolean operators to refine your search.
Sources can include journal articles, books, and other source types , depending on the scope of the assignment. Read the abstracts or blurbs of the sources you find to see whether they’re relevant, and try exploring their bibliographies to discover more. If a particular source keeps showing up, it’s probably important.
Once you’ve selected an appropriate range of sources, read through them, taking notes that you can use to build up your annotations. You may even prefer to write your annotations as you go, while each source is fresh in your mind.
An annotated bibliography is an assignment where you collect sources on a specific topic and write an annotation for each source. An annotation is a short text that describes and sometimes evaluates the source.
Any credible sources on your topic can be included in an annotated bibliography . The exact sources you cover will vary depending on the assignment, but you should usually focus on collecting journal articles and scholarly books . When in doubt, utilize the CRAAP test !
Each annotation in an annotated bibliography is usually between 50 and 200 words long. Longer annotations may be divided into paragraphs .
The content of the annotation varies according to your assignment. An annotation can be descriptive, meaning it just describes the source objectively; evaluative, meaning it assesses its usefulness; or reflective, meaning it explains how the source will be used in your own research .
A source annotation in an annotated bibliography fulfills a similar purpose to an abstract : they’re both intended to summarize the approach and key points of a source.
However, an annotation may also evaluate the source , discussing the validity and effectiveness of its arguments. Even if your annotation is purely descriptive , you may have a different perspective on the source from the author and highlight different key points.
You should never just copy text from the abstract for your annotation, as doing so constitutes plagiarism .
Cite this Scribbr article
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
Caulfield, J. (2022, August 23). What Is an Annotated Bibliography? | Examples & Format. Scribbr. Retrieved March 8, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/annotated-bibliography/
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The Java Tutorials have been written for JDK 8. Examples and practices described in this page don't take advantage of improvements introduced in later releases and might use technology no longer available. See Java Language Changes for a summary of updated language features in Java SE 9 and subsequent releases. See JDK Release Notes for information about new features, enhancements, and removed or deprecated options for all JDK releases.
Declaring an Annotation Type
Many annotations replace comments in code.
Suppose that a software group traditionally starts the body of every class with comments providing important information:
To add this same metadata with an annotation, you must first define the annotation type . The syntax for doing this is:
The annotation type definition looks similar to an interface definition where the keyword interface is preceded by the at sign ( @ ) (@ = AT, as in annotation type). Annotation types are a form of interface , which will be covered in a later lesson. For the moment, you do not need to understand interfaces.
The body of the previous annotation definition contains annotation type element declarations, which look a lot like methods. Note that they can define optional default values.
After the annotation type is defined, you can use annotations of that type, with the values filled in, like this:
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Understanding & Interacting with a Text
Annotations, definition and purpose.

Annotating literally means taking notes within the text as you read. As you annotate, you may combine a number of reading strategies—predicting, questioning, dealing with patterns and main ideas, analyzing information—as you physically respond to a text by recording your thoughts. Annotating may occur on a first or second reading of the text, depending on the text’s difficulty or length. You may annotate in different formats, either in the margins of the text or in a separate notepad or document. The main thing to remember is that annotation is at the core of active reading. By reading carefully and pausing to reflect upon, mark up, and add notes to a text as you read, you can greatly improve your understanding of that text.
Think of annotating a text in terms of having a conversation with the author in real time. You wouldn’t sit passively while the author talked at you. You wouldn’t be able to get clarification or ask questions. Your thought processes would probably close down and you would not engage in thinking about larger meanings related to the topic. Conversation works best when people are active participants. Annotation is a form of active involvement with a text.
Reasons to Annotate
There are a number of reasons to annotate a text:
- Annotation ultimately saves reading time. While it may take more time up front as you read, annotating while you read can help you avoid having to re-read passages in order to get the meaning. That’s because…
- Annotation improves understanding. By pausing to reflect as you read, annotating a text helps you figure out if you’re understanding what you’re reading. If not, you can immediately re-read or seek additional information to improve your understanding. This is called “monitoring comprehension.”
- Annotation increases your odds of remembering what you’ve read, because you write those annotations in your own words, making the information your own. You also leave behind a set of notes that can help you find key information the next time you need to refer to that text.
- Annotation provides a record of your deeper questions and thoughts as you read, insights related to analyzing, interpreting, and going beyond the text into related issues. Annotations such as these will be useful when you’re asked to respond to a text through reacting, applying, analyzing, and synthesizing, since these types of annotations record your own thoughts. Much academic work in college is intended to get you to offer your own, informed thoughts (as opposed to simple recall and regurgitation of information); annotating a text helps you capture key personal, analytical insights as you read.
The following video offers a brief, clear example of annotating a text.
What to Annotate
You’ll find that you’re annotating differently in different texts, depending on your background knowledge of the topic, your own ease with reading the text, and the type of text, among other variables. There’s no single formula for annotating a text. Instead, there are different types of annotations that you may make, depending on the particular text.
- Mark the thesis or main idea sentence, if there is one in the text. Or note the implied main idea. In either case, phrase that main idea in your own words.
- Mark places that seem important, interesting, and/or confusing.
- Note your agreement or disagreement with an idea in the text.
- Link a concept in the text to your own experience.
- Write a reminder to look up something – an unknown word, a difficult concept, or a related idea that occurred to you.
- Record questions you have about what you are reading. These questions generally fall into two different categories, to clarify meaning and to evaluate what you’ve read.
- Note any biases unstated assumptions (your own included).
- Paraphrase a difficult passage by putting it into your own words.
- Summarize a lengthy section of a text to extract the main ideas–again in your own words.
- Note important transition words that show a shift in thought; transitions show how the author is linking ideas. This is especially important if you’re reading and annotating a text intended to persuade the reader to a particular point of view, as it allows you to clarify and evaluate the author’s line of reasoning.
- Note repeated words or phrases; it’s likely that such emphasis relates to a key concept or main idea.
- Note the writer’s tone—straightforward, sarcastic, sincere, witty—and how it influences the ideas presented.
- Note idea linkages between this text and another text.
- Note idea linkages between this text and key concepts or theories of a discipline. For example, does the author offer examples relating to theories of motivation that you’re studying in a psychology class?
- And more…again, annotations vary according to the text and your background in the text’s topic.
View the following video, which reviews reading strategies for approximately the first three minutes and then moves into a comprehensive discussion of the types of things to annotate in non-fiction texts.
How to Annotate
Make sure to annotate through writing. Do not – do not – simply highlight or underline existing words in the text. While your annotations may start with a few underlined words or sentences, you should always complete your thoughts through a written annotation that identifies why you underlined those words (e.g., key ideas, your own reaction to something, etc.). The pitfall of highlighting is that readers tend to do it too much, and then have to go back to the original text and re-read most of it. By writing annotations in your own words, you’ve already moved to a higher level in your conversation with the text.
If you don’t want to write in a margin of a book or article, use sticky notes for your annotations. If the text is in electronic form, then the format itself may have built-in annotation tools, or write in a Word document which allows you to paste sentences and passages that you want to annotate.
You may also want to create your own system of symbols to mark certain things such as main idea (*), linkage to ideas in another text (+), confusing information that needs to be researched further (!), or similar idea (=). The symbols and marks should make sense to you, and you should apply them consistently from text to text, so that they become an easy shorthand for annotation. However, annotations should not consist of symbols only; you need to include words to remember why you marked the text in that particular place.
Above all, be selective about what to mark; if you end up annotating most of a page or even most of a paragraph, nothing will stand out, and you will have defeated the purpose of annotating.
Here’s one brief example of annotation:
Sample Annotation
What follows is a sample annotation of the first few paragraphs of an article from CNN, “One quarter of giant panda habitat lost in Sichuan quake,” July 29, 2009. Sample annotations are in color.
“The earthquake in Sichuan, southwestern China, last May left around 69,000 people dead and 15 million people displaced. Now ecologists have assessed the earthquake’s impact on biodiversity look this word up and the habitat for some of the last existing wild giant pandas.
According to the report published in “Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment,” 23 percent of the pandas’ habitat in the study area was destroyed, and fragmentation of the remaining habitat could hinder panda reproduction. How was this data gathered? Do we know that fragmentation will hinder panda reproduction?
The Sichuan region is designated as a global hotspot for biodiversity, according to Conservation International. Home to more than 12,000 species of plants and 1.122 species of vertebrates, the area includes more than half of the habitat for the Earth’s wild giant panda population, said study author Weihua Xu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.” So can we assume that having so much of the pandas/ habitat destroyed will impact other species here?
Link to two additional examples of what and how to annotate
- Invention: Annotating a Text from Hunter College, included as a link in Maricopa Community College’s Reading 100 open educational resource. There’s a very clearly-annotated sample text at the end of this handout.
- Ethnic Varieties by Walt Wolfram, included as a link in Let’s Get Writing.
Summary: Annotation = Making Connections
The video below offers a review of reading concepts in the first part, focused on the concept of reading as connecting with a text. From approximately mid-way to the end, the video offers a good extended example and discussion of annotating a text.
Note: if you want to try annotating an article and find the one in the video difficult to read, you may want to practice on a similar article about the same topic, “ Tinker V. Des Moines Independent Community School District: Kelly Shackelford on Symbolic Speech ” on the blog of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Read the paragraphs from “ Cultural Relativism ” that deal with the sociological perspective. Annotate the paragraphs with insights, questions, and thoughts that occur to you as you read.
- Annotations, includes material adapted from Excelsior College Online Reading Lab, Let's Get Writing, UMRhetLab, Reading 100, and Basic Reading and Writing; attributions below. Authored by : Susan Oaks. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
- Annotating: Creating an Annotation System. Provided by : Excelsior College. Located at : https://owl.excelsior.edu/orc/what-to-do-while-reading/annotating/annotating-creating-an-annotation-system/ . Project : Excelsior College Online Reading lab. License : CC BY: Attribution
- Chapter 1 - Critical Reading. Authored by : Elizabeth Browning. Provided by : Virginia Western Community College. Located at : https://vwcceng111.pressbooks.com/chapter/chapter-1-critical-reading/#whileyouread . Project : Let's Get Writing. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
- Strategies for Active Reading. Authored by : Guy Krueger.. Provided by : University of Mississippi. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/olemiss-writing100/chapter/strategies-for-active-reading/ . Project : UMRhetLab. License : CC BY: Attribution
- Annotating a Text (from Hunter College). Provided by : Maricopa Community College. Located at : https://learn.maricopa.edu/courses/904536/files/32965647?module_item_id=7199522 . Project : Reading 100. License : CC BY: Attribution
- Summary Skills. Provided by : Lumen Learning. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-basicreadingwriting/chapter/outcome-summary-skills/ . Project : Basic Reading and Writing. License : CC BY: Attribution
- image of open book with colored tabs and colored pencils. Authored by : Luisella Planeta . Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/photos/books-pencils-pens-map-dictionary-3826148/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved
- video Textbook Reading Strategies - Annotate the Text. Authored by : DistanceLearningKCC. Provided by : Kirkwood Community College. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE1ot8KWJrk . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
- video Annotating Non-Fiction Texts. Authored by : Arri Weeks. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrvNIVF9EbI . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
- video Making Connections During Reading. Provided by : WarnerJordanEducation. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF54mvmFkxg . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video

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Meaning of annotation in English
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- The new translation of the Latin work includes extensive annotation by scholars .
- It's a book that cries out for annotation.
- The program is designed for annotation of images .
- There is an easy-to-use facility in the program for adding annotations to your document .
- creative writing
- inscription
- memoirs phrase
- mistranscription
- self-portrait
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Annotations are simply notes or comments. If you have trouble understanding Shakespeare, you may want to buy a copy of "Hamlet" with annotations on each page that explain all the vocabulary words and major themes.
The word annotation comes from the Latin root words ad , meaning "to," and notare , meaning "to note." The act of adding explanatory notes to something is also called annotation , as in "Your friends might be amused by your annotation of the text, but I don't think the professor will accept "No one knows and no one cares!" as a reason for why the protagonist acted the way he did."
- noun the act of adding notes synonyms: annotating see more see less type of: expanding upon , expansion adding information or detail
- noun a comment or instruction (usually added) synonyms: notation , note see more see less types: show 7 types... hide 7 types... poste restante a notation written on mail that is to be held at the post office until called for (not in the United States or Canada) acknowledgment , citation , cite , credit , mention , quotation , reference a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage footer , footnote a printed note placed below the text on a printed page N.B. , NB , nota bene a Latin phrase (or its abbreviation) used to indicate that special attention should be paid to something PS , postscript a note appended to a letter after the signature photo credit a note acknowledging the source of a published photograph cross-index , cross-reference a reference at one place in a work to information at another place in the same work type of: comment , commentary a written explanation or criticism or illustration that is added to a book or other textual material
Vocabulary lists containing annotation

To seal their coven, keep their magic, and avoid being turned into toads, twelve-year-old Seven Salazar of Ravenskill must work with the bully Valley Pepperhorn and the new girl Thorn Laroux to defeat the Nightbeast.
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Origin of annotated
Other words from annotated, words nearby annotated, more about annotated, what does annotated mean.
The adjective annotated is used to describe a text or similar thing to which notes or comments have been added to provide explanation or criticism about a particular part of it.
Such notes or comments are called annotations , and to add them is to annotate (the adjective annotated comes from the past tense of this verb). Annotation can also refer to the act of annotating.
Annotations are often added to scholarly articles or to literary works that are being analyzed, and it’s these types of things that are most commonly described as annotated. But annotations can be added to any text. For example, a note that you scribble in the margin of your textbook is an annotation, as is an explanatory comment that you add to a list of tasks at work.
The word annotated is sometimes abbreviated as annot. (which can also mean annotation or annotator ).
Example: The annotated edition of the book really helped me to understand the historical context and the meanings of some obscure words.
Where does annotated come from?
The first records of the word annotated as an adjective come from the 1800s. Its base word, the verb annotate, derives from the Latin annotātus, which means “noted down” and comes from the Latin verb annotāre. At the root of the word is the Latin nota, which means “mark” and is also the basis of the English word note.
Annotated texts provide explanation, criticism, analysis, or historical perspective that wasn’t originally there. Annotated editions of books typically aim to answer questions that the reader might have while trying to understand the text. In an annotated bibliography , an annotation is added to each citation to provide a summary or other information.
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What are some other forms related to annotated?
- unannotated (adjective)
- well-annotated (adjective)
- annotate (verb)
What are some synonyms for annotated ?
What are some words that share a root or word element with annotated ?
What are some words that often get used in discussing annotated ?
- bibliography
- explanation
How is annotated used in real life?
The word annotated is most commonly used to describe academic and literary works to which additional comments have been added.
Finishing Uncle Tom's Cabin for my Slavery/Serfdom course. Could not have done it without the annotated edition by @HenryLouisGates . pic.twitter.com/odChYqjORS — Jenny from the bloc (@JenLouiseWilson) December 1, 2016
If you want some insight on what's in the notebook, I'm including details in the annotated edition offered up for those pre-ordering. pic.twitter.com/10dc2xWSBu — ADAM (@AdamSilvera) September 4, 2017
i just want an annotated copy of your favourite book. with pages highlighted from top to bottom, little notes that remind you of me, tear stains, creases and bookmarks, doodles in the margin and quotes rewritten because you fell in love with the words. — Mini🦋 (@chonklatjoos) July 26, 2020
Try using annotated !
Which of the following things can be described as annotated ?
A. a classic novel with comments about historical context B. a scholarly article with explanatory notes C. a bibliography with notes for each citation D. all of the above
Words related to annotated
How to use annotated in a sentence.
He also included a link to an annotated list of what he considered David Allan Coe’s 50 best songs.
We created an annotated Google Colab notebook that will install Senta, download our dataset, and assign a sentiment score to each row.
The annotated topics are surfaced on the page and contribute to SEO.
For those unfamiliar with Michals, an annotated biography and useful essays are included.
Reprinted from George Orwell: A Life in Letters, selected and annotated by Peter Davison.
The resulting text is both social commentary and annotated memoir—equal parts enlightening and enjoyable but sharp throughout.
Among the materials was an annotated cartoon booklet given to my father on his 22 birthday.
Many of the objects in the show are personal notes, annotated scripts, and letters.
Signed and annotated , you will see, by her Highness's own hand.
The protest of the German professors against the alleged Allied calumnies was printed in full and annotated with sympathy.
You are quite aware of this, and those who are not, may be convinced of it by opening any page of the annotated editions.
An annotated checklist and key to the reptiles of Mexico exclusive of the snakes.
He always has a special library on some particular subject, with the books all annotated .
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Annotation Definition
- clarification
- interpretation
Other Word Forms of Annotation
Origin of annotation.
From Latin annotātiōnem , accusative singular of annotātiō (“remark, annotation”), from annotātus , perfect passive participle of annotō (“note down, remark”).
From Wiktionary
Annotation Sentence Examples
Biopendium™ is the Company's proteome annotation resource, accessed by partners through commercial license.
It contains a film of a complete Symbolic Modeling session with on-screen annotation .
Annotation of paper documents is a standard activity in many fields, particularly scientific research.
The manuscript, while entrusted to Mill for annotation , was burnt by an accident.
Lessing set about the translation and annotation of it, and Moses Mendelssohn borrowed from Burke's speculation at least one of the most fruitful and important ideas of his own influential theories on the sentiments.
Related Articles

Annotation Is Also Mentioned In
- anno Domini
- year-of-our-lord
- Christian era
- time immemorial
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Words Starting With
Words ending with, unscrambles, words starting with a and ending with n, word length, words near annotation in the dictionary.
- annotated-bibliography
- annotationist
- annotatively
- annotativeness

Java New Features
Java 9 features, java 8 features, java 7 features, java 4/5 features.
Example to specify annoation for a class
Example to specify annotation for a class, methods or fields.
@Retention annotation is used to specify to what level annotation will be available.
Example to specify the RetentionPolicy
Example of custom annotation: creating, applying and accessing annotation.
Let's see the simple example of creating, applying and accessing annotation.
File: Test.java
How built-in annotaions are used in real scenario?
In real scenario, java programmer only need to apply annotation. He/She doesn't need to create and access annotation. Creating and Accessing annotation is performed by the implementation provider. On behalf of the annotation, java compiler or JVM performs some additional operations.
By default, annotations are not inherited to subclasses. The @Inherited annotation marks the annotation to be inherited to subclasses.
@Documented
The @Documented Marks the annotation for inclusion in the documentation.

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annotation noun an· no· ta· tion ˌa-nə-ˈtā-shən 1 : a note added (as to a statute) by way of comment or explanation often furnishing summaries of relevant court decisions 2 capitalized : an informational and descriptive note or essay (as about a case or legal issue) especially in American Law Reports More from Merriam-Webster on annotation
An annotation is a note or comment added to a text to provide explanation or criticism about a particular part of it. Annotation can also refer to the act of annotating —adding annotations. Annotations are often added to scholarly articles or to literary works that are being analyzed.
1 : annotation, note 2 a : the act, process, method, or an instance of representing by a system or set of marks, signs, figures, or characters b : a system of characters, symbols, or abbreviated expressions used in an art or science or in mathematics or logic to express technical facts or quantities notational nō-ˈtā-sh (ə-)nəl adjective Synonyms
Britannica Dictionary definition of ANNOTATION 1 [count] : a note added to a text, book, drawing, etc., as a comment or explanation Without the annotations, the diagram would be hard to understand. 2 [noncount] : the act of adding notes or comments to something : the act of annotating something the author's annotation of the diagram
The term annotation refers to the actual notes one has written during the process of annotating. This process of annotating is used to help readers think through a piece of text, whether it be...
An annotation is extra information associated with a particular point in a document or other piece of information. It can be a note that includes a comment or explanation. [1] Annotations are sometimes presented in the margin of book pages. For annotations of different digital media, see web annotation and text annotation .
Annotations are used in order to add notes or more information about a topic as well as to explain content listed on a page or at the end of a publication. These notes can be added by the reader or printed by the author or publisher.
An annotated bibliography is a list of source references that includes a short descriptive text (an annotation) for each source. It may be assigned as part of the research process for a paper, or as an individual assignment to gather and read relevant sources on a topic. Scribbr's free Citation Generator allows you to easily create and manage ...
Annotation types are a form of interface, which will be covered in a later lesson. For the moment, you do not need to understand interfaces. The body of the previous annotation definition contains annotation type element declarations, which look a lot like methods. Note that they can define optional default values.
Definition and Purpose. Annotating literally means taking notes within the text as you read. As you annotate, you may combine a number of reading strategies—predicting, questioning, dealing with patterns and main ideas, analyzing information—as you physically respond to a text by recording your thoughts. Annotating may occur on a first or ...
Annotated definition: The definition of annotated means notes of explanation or important information are added to a piece of writing.
annotate verb [ T ] formal uk / ˈæn.ə.teɪt / us / ˈæn.ə.teɪt / [ often passive ] to add a short explanation or opinion to a text or image: Annotated editions of Shakespeare's plays help readers to understand old words. an annotated bibliography / manuscript / edition
annotation noun [ C or U ] uk / ˌæn.əˈteɪ.ʃ ə n / us / ˌæn.əˈteɪ.ʃ ə n / a short explanation or note added to a text or image, or the act of adding short explanations or notes: The annotation of literary texts makes them more accessible. The revised edition of the book includes many useful annotations. computing, language specialized
an•no•ta•tion (ˌæn əˈteɪ ʃən) n. 1. a critical or explanatory note added to a text. 2. the act of annotating. 3. note (def. 1). [1425-75] Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. annotation
annotation: 1 n the act of adding notes Synonyms: annotating Type of: expanding upon , expansion adding information or detail n a comment or instruction (usually added) Synonyms: notation , note Types: show 7 types... hide 7 types... poste restante a notation written on mail that is to be held at the post office until called for (not in the ...
Annotated definition, supplied with or containing explanatory notes, textual comments, etc.: an annotated edition of Milton's poetry. See more.
Annotation definition: The act or process of furnishing critical commentary or explanatory notes.
Java Annotation is a tag that represents the metadata i.e. attached with class, interface, methods or fields to indicate some additional information which can be used by java compiler and JVM. Annotations in Java are used to provide additional information, so it is an alternative option for XML and Java marker interfaces.
an•no•tate (ˈæn əˌteɪt) v. -tat•ed, -tat•ing. v.t. 1. to supply (a text) with critical or explanatory notes; comment upon in notes. v.i. 2. to make annotations or notes. [1725-35; < Latin annotātus, past participle of annotāre, adnotāre to note = an- an - 2 + notāre to note] an′no•ta`tive, adj. an′no•ta`tor, n.