Document appendix

A document appendix (hereinafter, the Appendix) is the text added to the end of a report or another document that contains additional information such as samples. The Appendix is a conditional part of report's back matter; it is included when the authors decide to supplement report findings. When the Appendix is included, it functions as a part of document's structural metadata.

Description

The ANSI/NISO Scientific and Technical Reports standard details,

Appendices contain information that supplements, clarifies, or supports the content. These conditional components of back matter also contain material that might otherwise interfere with an orderly presentation of ideas in the body. Placing detailed explanations, supporting data, or long mathematical analyses in appendices shortens the text and makes it easier to read. However, information essential to the purpose of the report should appear in the text.

For example, in a report about a new mathematical analysis, the detailed derivation of equations belongs in the text, while other subjects, such as those that follow, appear in appendices:

• Detailed explanations and descriptions of test techniques and apparatus
• Content of other documents (for example, standard test procedures, laws, and management instructions)
• Extensive data in the form of figures or tables
• Computer listings of programs, input, and output
• Mathematical analyses

Other components of back matter (for example, bibliographies) do not appear in appendices.

Appendices usually follow the references or last section of the text. For print publications, each appendix begins on a new, right-hand page and has a title that appears below the appendix designation. Example:

Appendix B

Complementary Energy Principle

Each appendix is referred to in the text. If the report contains more than one appendix, each is identified with a capital letter (Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.) in the order mentioned in the report. A single appendix is labeled, “Appendix.” Similar items may be combined to avoid creating unnecessary appendices. For example, several sample forms can be combined in a single appendix and labeled “Sample Forms” rather than each being identified as a separate appendix.

Although figures and tables are best integrated into the text following their initial mention, figures, tables, or other graphics of secondary importance that provide back-up data should be combined into an appendix. In appendices, figures precede tables, with both groups arranged in numerical sequence.