The Appendix to the Appendix
The Appendix is typically found in the back portion of a piece of literature. The location of the appendix, however, does not indicate that it is unimportant. In fact, it is a very important part of a book, and some could even argue that it is the most important component of a book. It is the “tell all,” so to speak, and it contains subject matter of a book that you will not find in the chapters. It makes all the “behind the scenes” work of a book come to life through means such as; surveys, interviews, logos, emails, maps, posters, audits, style guides, powerpoint templates, protocols, and much more.
A book will more than likely have more than one appendix, depending upon how much relevant, related material is provided in each section. Each appendix has to have its own section, according to the information provided in the appendix. Thus, the information found in each separate appendix of a book breaks down material found within the literature into related components and topics.
The appendix provides the reader with further research, findings, and information that both supports the material found within the book, and provides what is not previously explained in the book. The appendix of a book is typically named with capital letters. For example, a book may contain; appendix A, B, C, and D, and often, each will have more than one piece of material.
To organize multiple components, the appendix will be broken down into sections. For example, appendix A may contain sections that are labeled as A1, A2, A3, A4 and so on. To further explain the consolidation of the appendix as a whole, Appendix A may be named “Research,” and A1 will contain the surveys, A2 will contain email surveys, A3 will contain in-depth interviews, A4 will contain all of the responses that are recorded, and so on Each appendix found in a book will follow the same method of organization.
A successful appendix will support the material found within a piece of literature, and provide the reader with further information not included or thoroughly explained within the book. The appendix allows for the book to be less cluttered, more organized, and makes for the research and findings of a book to be easily accessible to the reader. The reader can easily find out more information about a finding mentioned in the book by turning to its correlating appendix.
“My name is Caroline Walsh, and I am in the Creative Department at Appalachian Insights. I hope this lesson in appendices will be a valuable to some of you! Follow me through our journey — @hslawenilorac”
