At graduate level, an annotation does more than shorten an abstract. It shows that you understood the study, judged its quality and know where it fits in your project. This guide sets out a three-part pattern and an APA 7 layout, with a fictional entry to model.
An undergraduate annotation may only need a summary. A graduate or doctoral one is expected to be analytical: what did the authors do, how sound is it, and what does it mean for a specific project? Instructors use the assignment to check that you can find credible evidence, read it critically and choose it purposefully. It often becomes the raw material for a literature review, so annotations written with care save time later.
Check your rubric first. Some assignments ask only for a descriptive summary, and a long critical annotation would cost time without adding marks.
Aim for a compact paragraph of roughly 120 to 200 words unless the assignment sets a different limit. Order the entries alphabetically by first author, as in a reference list. When a source is a guideline, a systematic review or a qualitative study, adjust the appraisal criteria to the design; an appraisal of a randomized trial and one of an interview study are not the same.
Keep the order of the three parts identical in every entry and the appraisal language parallel, so the strength of two sources can be compared at a glance. Annotating as you read, rather than in one sitting at the end, also gives more accurate entries.
Send your reference list and rubric. The ProNursingScholars team can help you appraise and annotate. Details stay confidential.
Type the full reference first, with a hanging indent, in APA 7 form. Begin the annotation on a new line below it, indented 0.5 inch from the left margin for the whole annotation. If you use more than one paragraph, indent the first line of each additional paragraph as well. Use double spacing unless your instructor says otherwise. The official APA Style site has current guidance, and the clinical practice guideline page helps with those less familiar entries.
Search tools, reference managers and databases can produce citations, but check each one against the style rules yourself; auto-generated references often contain errors in capitalization and DOIs.
Fictional source and entry. The citation is invented and cannot be located.
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| This article is about nurse-led discharge education. It is a good study that is very useful. The authors found that the education helped patients. I will use it in my paper. | Ortega, L. M., & Whitfield, R. J. (2023). Nurse-led discharge education and 30-day readmission in adults with heart failure: A quasi-experimental study. Journal of Example Nursing Scholarship, 14(2), 101-118. Summary: The authors compared readmissions on two cardiac units, one using a structured nurse-led teaching session before discharge and one using usual care (N = 240). Readmissions were lower on the intervention unit. Appraisal: The design was not randomized, and the units differed in patient mix, which limits confidence in the effect. Follow-up was clear and outcome data came from records. Relevance: It supports testing a teaching session in my setting, but as a single-region study it says little about rural clinics, which my project targets. |
The strong entry is short but analytical: it names the design and its weakness and says exactly how the source connects to the project. Details are invented for illustration and should not be cited as real research.
The assignment sets the number. If it does not, ask your instructor. Quality and relevance matter more than count.
Yes, if they are credible and relevant. Cite them properly; the grey literature page shows how.
Mostly third person for summary and appraisal. The relevance sentence may use "my project" if the assignment allows.
The matrix compares sources across shared columns; the annotation describes one source at a time. Many students use the matrix to plan annotations. See the synthesis matrix guide.