We explain what an annex is and its function in different types of texts. In addition, other uses of the term in various fields.
What is an annex?
Generally speaking of annexes (from the Latin annectere, "Join, link") or addendum (from Latin addendum, "Thing to add") we refer to all that information which is added to the end of a document, contractmanual work research or literary work, and that due to reasons of space, style or of any other nature, it was not advisable to insert within the text.
Annexes are common in various types of written productions and can contain material and information of a very different nature, from graphics, illustrations and supporting graphic material, to clarifications, glossaries or explanations after reading the main body of text.
It is also common in reports, monographs and other technical texts, that mention of said annexes is made in strategic places, so that the reader can choose between looking for a specific annex if he wishes to complement the information, or to continue reading it without interruptions. In this case, the annexes have the function of complementing the work, providing optional, additional, supplementary information.
In legal documents, annexes are usually modifications or alterations by mutual agreement between the parties involved, carried out at some point after the document was drafted and which, therefore, are added (that is, annexed) to it. It is a common procedure when there is changes address, remuneration or new negotiations that do not merit the drafting and signing of a new document, but rather an explanatory annex.
Other uses of the term "annex"
In addition to those related to documents and written works, there are other uses of the term annex that are of local or particular use, such as:
- A telephone line dependent on a main exchange, that is, an attached line or attached telephone.
- A small apartment that emerges from a portion of a house or other larger building.
- It is called "attached tissues" to those that surround some major and important organ, especially the uterus in the female reproductive system.
- Any object that is detached from the body of another major and that is permanently linked to him.