Be careful to develop a system to distinguish the notes which reflect the content of your source, and your own ideas about them. These notes will provide a gold mine of ideas for your own writing. Use the note keeping system presented by your instructor, or develop one that works for you. In any case, practice keeping careful records of every source you read or find that might be important. Identifies the authority of the author.
Effective annotations require careful consideration.
Take any clues given in the text itself, or any information you can find about the author from other sources to establish the authority of the writer. Describes the content of the source. Identify the values of each source in reference to the research question. Look for cues to the author's bias or viewpoint. Spark is head of American Studies at King Alfred's College, Winchester.