An example of annotation for a fairy tale. How to write a book summary

The skeleton of an annotation looks something like this:

Setting: where and when does the action take place?

Introducing the hero: who is he? Why should the reader care about his fate?

We show the problem the hero faces. What does the hero lose or could lose? This “something” must be extremely important to him.

We ask a question (will the hero or will he not be able to solve the problem?), tease the reader, or provide a solution.

Author Karen S. Wisner has found her answer to the question, “What is an abstract and how do you write one?” She also suggests the following scheme for writing an annotation:

You can also fill in the blanks with the following diagram:

Wants ____________ because ___________, but he (she) faces
(name of hero) (goal) (motivation)
___________________________.
(obstacle on the path to happiness)

By creating a draft abstract like this, you will solve the first problem: describe what kind of book you want to publish. Now you need to rework the text so that it meets the needs of your target audience.

The target audience

If your readers are people with undeveloped literary taste, then the sentences in the annotation should be brief, without embellishment. The emphasis is on something sensational, provocative or useful. The reader is promised simple pleasures - laughter, fear, satisfaction of curiosity.

If the target audience is the intelligentsia, then the emphasis should be on the aesthetic pleasure of the book and the high quality of information. In this case, a mundane blurb can kill the book.

It's one thing to write:

The novel is about a pedophile who cohabited with a child.

And something completely different:

Here is a novel about the touching, painful love of a mature man for a 12-year-old girl.

Both annotations correctly describe Nabokov’s “Lolita”, but if you put the first version on the cover, then the book will be bought by a security guard from a beer stall, and an educated young lady will not even find this novel: after all, in the store it will be put on the “Sex and Erotica” shelf - right on based on the annotation

• Don't forget that an abstract for a publisher and for readers are two different things. In some cases they coincide, in others they do not. Editors are people with higher education and a certain amount of reading, and they live, as a rule, in cities. But the target audience of the book may be completely different citizens.
• Don't wishful thinking. If “New Dovlatov” is written on a tabloid novel, this will scare away both aesthetes and non-aesthetes. Simpler people don't like the classics. And those who like it won’t be fooled by the summary.
• If you need to write an abstract for a collection of short stories, describe one of them, and below indicate that you are talking about a collection.

Typical mistakes when writing an abstract

No specifics

This is a very funny book!

Do you find it funny when you read things like that in the annotations? If you want to convince the reader that a book is funny, insert a joke into the description. The same goes for the most tender lyrics, original philosophy, rich language and other advantages. Don’t tell, but show in practice that you master your art: write an annotation in the same vein as the main text.

Unconvincing

Vasya Pupkin is a discovery in the world of literature in recent years. He is one of the most extraordinary writers of today's Russia. His strong, tough prose combines dark humor and the skill of a true prose writer.

There are a dime a dozen such annotations and none of them seem convincing.

No story

Animals entering the village at dawn...
Girl in a black dress...
A strange plot based on a real political scandal!
Interesting?
Just open the book. And you will not tear yourself away from it until the very last page.

Question: what is the book about?

Banality

The famous writer Vasya Pupkin, with his unique depth and empathy, tells amazing stories about love and hate, about betrayal and disappointment, about patience and hope, about how feelings decorate or disfigure human life.

No emotions

A man and a woman meet and separate. And then they meet again twenty years later. What could they have become if they had not separated then? This is a novel about love. About stereotypes and curses that we bring upon ourselves.

Complete set of all errors

The collection includes the best science fiction works by Russian-speaking authors from around the world. The works were carefully selected by the most authoritative representatives of Russian science fiction. The names you will find in this book are unlikely to have come across to you before, but they will, without a doubt, make a significant contribution to the development of their field.

Emotionless, unconvincing, no specifics, no story, no surprise.

Many people ask this question, because the so-called “summary” (“description” in English) may be needed for an article, a program, or any project. Depending on the details, the annotation may have special requirements. We will consider them.

What is an annotation

As mentioned above, an abstract is a description. The word comes from its Latin counterpart meaning "remark." That is why another definition of annotation is a brief description.

How to write an abstract

So, you've already done some writing work. Now it needs to be properly formatted. How to write an abstract for a work? Now you will understand that this is not a problem at all. The main thing is to adhere to the basic rules and the following tips:

• include a description of the main topic;
• write briefly and to the point;
• highlight the main thing;
• tell the essence of the work without going into key details;
• intrigue.

What you need to know before writing an abstract

Just as a person is greeted by his clothes, a scientific article is greeted by its abstract. Its task is to show that the author knows how to systematize and analyze information, as well as present it briefly, coherently and clearly. How to write an annotation for an article so that the work looks as presentable as possible?

• This article argues...
• The article introduces the research...
• Particular attention is paid to...
• Characteristic features are highlighted and described...
• The relevance of this article is...
• The author traces the formation...
• Justification is provided for...
• Views on...

It is important in the abstract to emphasize what the innovation of the work is, how it stands out among others, and why it is worth reading.

Examples

Let's look at an example of how to write an abstract for an article (the work contains projects for space elevators):

“This work is an analysis of the latest achievements in the field of space aeronautics. Possible projects for the development of space elevators are systematized. Based on these data, the advantages and disadvantages of each model are given.”

Abstract to the economic article:

"The article introduces research in the field of government financing and public procurement. A reorganization of this process is proposed. Conclusions are made based on an analysis of the financing of the education and health care systems of countries such as the USA, Britain and Korea. A comparison is made of the economic reforms of the Russian Federation and these countries. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between economic processes in Russia and its mentality."

To the project

In fact, how to write an abstract for a project is not too different from how to write a summary for a scientific article. In both cases, innovation is a must. This means that the abstract, first of all, should indicate what new the author brought with his work. The difference is that the abstract for the project is usually larger and more voluminous than for the article.

Annotations are written in the same style as the work was performed. It should contain all the information clearly and concisely. For the project this means the following:

• indicate the topic;
• the essence of the project is the purpose of its writing;
• what problems it analyzes and what it focuses on;
• what are the results of the research/analysis conducted;
• conclusions based on the work done.

Example

Since projects can be completely different, the annotations for them can also be quite different. In order to know how to write an abstract correctly, it is better to consider a couple of examples.

Example for an economic project:

• The objective of the project: the formation of an experimental product that will increase the level of wealth of residents of the area.
• Introduce a new banking service taking into account demand and the implementation of technological processes.

Project issues:

• Professional activity in the financial sector.
• Data analysis and banking practice as a basis for gaining experience
• Generalization and formation of summed up results in reporting form.

• Collect and classify types of bank services for residents.
• Based on the survey, draw conclusions about the need for banking services in a particular region.
• Identify the shortcomings of the present approach.

Completion of the project:

• As a result of the project, the research team submits a report on the work done, indicating the results and conclusions.
• Each team member demonstrates his own ideas about banking services, coordinating them with the team leader.

An example of an annotation for a course project:

“The purpose of the course design was, first of all, to create a program that would be convenient for the common man to use.

The program was compiled in accordance with the requirements set out in the course design assignment, the wishes of the teacher and the logical conclusions regarding the use of this program by the subsequent user.

An equally important goal of the course design was to polish the student’s skills as a future programmer in the C++ language, develop his understanding of the requirements and wishes of potential customers, the ability to think logically and work within the designated time frame.

To solve the presented problem, the BorlandC++Builder6Full software package was used.

Each part of the program was developed step by step:

• entering the required string variables into the appropriate fields;
• description of the operation of the buttons for editing, translating, exiting and adding a new word;
• designation of conditions for displaying the translation of the entered word, indication of the fields where the translation is displayed;
• In addition, the program is linked to two text files containing a list of English and Russian words in the appropriate order; it is possible to expand the lists using the same program.

In the BorlandC++Builder6Full software package, a dialog box form was developed, and the purpose of each of the buttons and input/output windows on this form was determined.

As a result, a program was compiled that translates a word entered by the user or displays a message that such a word is not in the database. The user has the right to add it himself or not to add it (by choice). The development of the program took into account possible cases of entering more than one word in a different order."

To the program

In this case, the program refers to the educational plan, that is, the work program for the discipline. This raises the question: how to write an annotation for a program?

It should contain:

• regulatory documents according to which it was drawn up;
• the purpose of the academic discipline, and how many hours are allocated for it;
• distribution by topic or list of main sections;
• how certification is carried out, how often, at what time.

An important point: the author of such an annotation is not indicated. It is also necessary to distinguish between concepts and summary. The first one is larger in volume.

conclusions

The article discusses how to write an annotation for an article, project and program. When composing any description, you should remember what the abstract means. Essentially, it is an answer to the question of what the document for which it was written is. This means that there is no place in it for empty “off-topic” reasoning, but only a dry and brief presentation of the facts.

annotation– a brief description of a scientific article in terms of its purpose, content, type, form and other features.

annotation does the following functions:

• makes it possible to establish the main content of a scientific article, determine its relevance and decide whether to refer to the full text of the article;
• used in information, including automated systems for information retrieval.

Abstract must include characteristics of the main topic, problems of the scientific article, goals of the work and its results. The abstract indicates what is new in this article in comparison with others related in topic and purpose.

Samples of abstracts for scientific articles:

• This article addresses the problem...
• The idea is substantiated that...
• Traceable...
• The article touches on the topic...
• A comparison is given...
• The article is devoted to a comprehensive study...
• The purpose of the article is to analyze the study...
• The article is devoted to the phenomenon...
• The article reveals the problems...
• Particular attention is paid...
• The article analyzes...
• The author comes to the conclusion that...
• The author focuses his work on...
• Characteristic features are highlighted and described...
• The article clarifies the features...
• Based on the study... it has been established...
• The article is devoted to a close analysis...
• Based on the analysis... as well as the involvement... it is established that...
• The article is devoted to the current problem...
• This problem has been little studied and requires further research.
• The article summarizes new material on the topic under study, introduces it into scientific circulation...
• The author proposed...
• The work is interdisciplinary in nature, written at the intersection...
• The main content of the study is the analysis...
• This view will be of interest to specialists in the field...
• The article talks about...
• The article is devoted to a detailed analysis...
• Considerable attention is paid...
• In conclusion it is revealed...
• The article reveals the content of the concept...
• The author traces the formation...
• Practical experience is summarized...
• The article examines the characteristic features...
• The article discusses the key stages...
• As a research task, the authors identified an attempt to evaluate...
• The article reveals the processes...
• The article summarizes some of the results of the study...
• The author gives a generalized description...
• This direction is also complemented by consideration...
• The idea is substantiated that...
• The article analyzes the concepts...
• As key evidence... used...
• The article provides an analysis of the views of researchers...
• The question of...
• This article attempts to reveal the main reasons...
• The article outlines views on...
• The author seeks to trace the process...
• The article provides an analysis of scientific research...

Annotation - this is a summary of the contents of an article, book, monograph, etc. The annotation reveals the most essential of the entire content and explains the purpose of the work.

Types and types of annotations, depending on the annotation object, are divided into general, analytical and group. General the abstract characterizes the work as a whole. Analytical- characterizes a separate part of the work or a certain aspect of its content. Group annotation is a generalized description of two or more works that are similar in theme.

In accordance with the intended purpose, two types of annotations are distinguished - reference and advisory. Target reference annotation- give brief information (certificate) about the content and specifics of the work. Such annotations are compiled to characterize scientific, educational, reference publications, as well as to disclose the content of collections and collected works. The volume of reference annotations varies, from a few words to several lines. Reference annotations are used in scientific aids and bibliographic indexes addressed to specialists.

Recommendation abstract, along with brief information about the work of publication, also pursues other goals: to interest the reader, to show the meaning and specificity of this book or article, its place among others that are similar in content and purpose. The main distinctive feature of the recommendation annotation is its pedagogical orientation; works that correspond to the level of preparation, age and other characteristics of readers are characterized. Recommendation notes can be short or detailed. They are compiled for recommendations for the purpose of promoting popular science, mass-production publications, as well as works of fiction.

Annotation Plan includes:

1. Bibliographic description of the work.

2. Listing of the main problems raised in the work.

Actions when writing an annotation can be as follows:

1. Break the text into meaningful parts.

2. Highlight the main idea in each part, label it with a sentence borrowed from the text.

3. State the main idea in your own words.

4. List the main thoughts, problems raised by the author, his conclusions, suggestions.

5. Determine the significance of the work.

Annotation structure

The set of elements in the annotation depends on the completeness of the bibliographic description, on the specific tasks and reader’s address of the bibliographic information being prepared, on the type of the annotation itself, etc.

The reference annotation may contain such elements as clarification of the title, additional (mostly factual) information about the author, the chronological coverage of the material, as well as the form, content, genre, purpose and structure of the publication, and other features of the printed work that are not included in the bibliographic description.

About the author, scientific value and artistic level of the works, about the target and reader's purpose, about the content, showing the features of the work - all these elements are organically combined in the recommendatory annotation. Information about the author includes the main dates of his life and work, a brief description of the era in which the author lived, and his socio-political views. Sometimes the author’s profession is indicated and data on the popularity of his work is provided. Readers are interested in information about the history of the creation or publication of the work, about the time and place of writing, about the fact or event discussed in it. In a number of cases, the sources that served as the basis for the creation of the work are characterized.

Characteristics of scientific and artistic value the work includes information about the social significance of the book. The abstract may contain links to critical articles and reviews. Sometimes reviews from scientists and cultural figures are given.

Brief description of the content the work is the main element. The annotation explains the title of the work, the theme, focuses on the issues that are in the focus of the author’s attention, reports on the events and persons involved in the work, notes the features of this work, its difference from others similar in theme.

Characteristics of the structure of the publication and the form of presentation of the material allows you to focus the reader’s attention on the features of the structure of the work that are important for revealing its problems.

When characterizing the form of presentation of the material, it should be noted how it is presented - detailed or concise, popular or scientific, lively, exciting or, conversely, dry. The literary form of the work is indicated.

Information about the target and reader's purpose allows the reader to draw a conclusion about the specific use of the work in scientific or industrial activities, educational work or self-education. In some cases, the reader's address is stated precisely, in others it is formulated very broadly.

Characteristics of artistic, printing and editorial design the book includes data on the number and type of illustrations, on illustrators; about printing execution. In addition, the annotations indicate the presence of elements of scientific reference apparatus and a list of references.