diff --git a/synapse/state.py b/synapse/state.py
index d2763cdd9ac983277a436e09c63448595c0cf5b1..2f6eea09aa77c84c2f364c7862c1b2f2bedf8750 100644
--- a/synapse/state.py
+++ b/synapse/state.py
@@ -137,6 +137,17 @@ class StateHandler(object):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def annotate_context_with_state(self, event, context, old_state=None):
+        """ Fills out the context with the `current state` of the graph. The
+        `current state` here is defined to be exclusive of the given event,
+        i.e. its the state of the event graph just before the event.
+
+        If `event` has `auth_events` then this will also fill out the
+        `auth_events` field on `context` from the `current_state`.
+
+        Args:
+            event (EventBase)
+            context (EventContext)
+        """
         yield run_on_reactor()
 
         if old_state: