Rules and guidelines are provided for the preparation of abstracts and annotations for documents and journal articles entering the ERIC database. Various types of abstracts are defined, including the Informative, Indicative, and mixed Informative-Indicative. Advice is given on how to select the abstract type appropriate for the particular document. The content of a good abstract is covered under such headings as Subject Matter, Purposes, Author's Viewpoint, Intended Audience, Relationship to Other Works, Intended Use, Special Features, Results or Findings. Detailed rules are provided for the composition of an abstract, covering such topics as Length, Voice, Tense, Abbreviations and Acronyms, Lists, Numbers, etc. Certain kinds of documents present special abstracting problems and these are treated under the following headings: Reports (Research and Technical); Speeches/Presentations; Curriculum Guides; Program Descriptions; Textbooks; Bibliographies; Multiple-Author Works; Tests. Journal article annotations are distinguished from document abstracts and the special rules covering annotations are described. (TB)