Weekly Update #1: How To Write a Good Annotation

Over the last week, I’ve been active in a number of projects within Genius. I’ve continued my work annotating AP Latin texts, annotated a variety of off-site articles, begun transcribing and annotating an album, and completed a clean-up project on a page with over 15 thousand views. However, this week I thought I would explain the most basic part of Genius- the annotation.

The aim of an annotation is to provide the reader with information necessary to a text that they that they wouldn’t have otherwise. In some cases this is an explanation of slang or jargon, or information about an allusion or outside facts. This analysis is supplemented by jokes, pictures, and outside links, creating something that is both easy to read and informative. The form of an annotation changes depending on what you’re annotating- an annotation for a song lyric will be different than one for a latin text or a poem.

The best annotations have three elements. The first is analysis- this makes up the bulk of the annotation, and is the part where you say whatever it is that you meant to say when you decided to make the annotation. For a song, this could be tying a verse in to an album’s larger themes, or commenting on the instrumentation behind the vocal line. For a poem or literary work, it would include more basic literary analysis, as well as historical context. If the text is in another language, then the annotation has a new purpose- to present a translation, and discuss the intricacies of the translation, as well as any alternative meanings.

The second and third elements are optional, although a good annotation always has one of the two. The second part is a picture, video, or some other type of visual addition. This gives the annotation a nicer appearance, and can be an easy way to add some amount of humor. After all- a picture is worth a thousand words. The final element is your sources. These are the outside links, interviews, or scholarly articles that you used to find information for the annotation. After all, no analysis is complete without its sources.

As always, view an annotated version of this post at genius.com/elizabethposs.blogspot.com.