Annotating Sources for Historical Writing

There are times when you may be asked to annotate sources for an essay. Annotating means taking notes about a source with a specific purpose in mind. When it comes to history, a common purpose for annotating primary and secondary sources is to better understand the historical context of a topic and evaluate whether a source can be used as evidence.

Methods of Annotating

When annotating primary and secondary sources for history or other studies, writers can pick a method that works best for them.

One option is to annotate sources visually by drawing key concepts, highlighting crucial details, creating timelines of dates and events, or sketching webs that connect a source’s main ideas and supporting points.

In addition, some written methods of annotation are described below.

Summaries

When reading a source, summarizing the author’s main ideas in your own words can improve and guide understanding of core concepts. Summarizing also helps to practice explaining important information without directly quoting a source.

Quotations

Writers can take note of quotations that may serve as evidence in an essay or are thought-provoking. However, avoid relying too heavily on an original source when crafting an argument. When annotating with quotes, place the words in quotation marks to indicate the quoted material for your reader, transcribe the words exactly to accurately reproduce the quote/s, and note the page number/s of the quote/s.

Thoughts

Another useful practice is to write out any thoughts that will help to recall interesting or significant information related to a source. As you record your thoughts, consider why a fact, quote, or concept piqued your interest. Does the information support an argument? How so? Does the information resonate personally? How so? Is there disagreement with the source in some way? Why?

Questions

All writers ask questions when reading through a source. There may be some unfamiliar vocabulary or an argument that needs clarification. Take the time to look up anything you may not understand to prevent misinterpreting a source’s content or message. Asking questions can also allow you to make note of anything you want to research further.

Citations

If you find a promising source for your paper, take the time to create a citation for the source if possible. Recording at least some retrieval information, such as the author’s name and the document title, throughout a research process helps writers keep track of each source as they continue to read and annotate. Staying on top of source citations also ensures progress toward a bibliography, work cited, or reference page, which is important for providing proper credit to sources’ original authors and avoiding plagiarism.

Work Consulted

Marius, Richard, and Melvin E. Page. 2014. A Short Guide to Writing About History. 9th ed. London: Pearson.