how to add a footnote in an essay

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Using Footnotes: The Dos And Don’ts

(Last updated: 29 August 2018)

Since 2006, Oxbridge Essays has been the UK’s leading paid essay-writing and dissertation service

We have helped 10,000s of undergraduate, Masters and PhD students to maximise their grades in essays, dissertations, model-exam answers, applications and other materials. If you would like a free chat about your project with one of our UK staff, then please just reach out on one of the methods below.

In university, your ability to reference sources correctly will have a considerable impact on the mark you receive. The rules you must follow can be tricky to grasp initially, but if you do ever need a quick recap then Oxbridge Essays are always happy to help and give your work a going over to pick up any tiny errors.

The difference between a footnote and a bibliography

Mistakes with footnotes are common . Some students choose to use footnotes without having a firm grasp of how they should be used, or what they should be used for. As a general rule, if you’re not 100 percent sure how a footnote should be used, it’s best not to use one at all.

Footnotes should be included to provide the reader with additional information about the content. The footnote is found at the bottom of the page, and is referenced through a superscript number within the main body of your copy.

The bibliography page is the last section of your essay or dissertation and includes the full citation information for any source cited or referenced through the course of your work. The information contained within a bibliography will provide the reader with full details of the work, including when and where the source was published. A footnote might only include the title of the source.

How to use footnotes correctly

Write your footnotes last – A footnote is commonly, but not always, a shortened version of a citation contained in your bibliography. Whatever content you choose to include, it’s usually best to leave your footnotes until the essay is finished and your bibliography is complete. Place a short reminder in the form of a comment or even a brief footnote to prompt you to fill these in later.

You still need a bibliography – With the occasional exception found in the Oxford referencing system, the use of footnotes does not replace the need for a bibliography at the end of your essay, despite the fact that extensive footnotes can make them seem superfluous. Remember that your bibliography should include all of your reading, and everything that has informed your essay, even if they are not directly referenced. Doing so will prove you’ve done your research too.

Double-check footnotes can be used – Different universities and referencing styles all have their own take on footnotes, so before you start listing footnote citations, check they are actually allowed. Typically, British universities prefer the use of in-text citations.

Footnotes and different referencing styles

Using the Harvard system , which is the predominant form of referencing at universities in the UK, sources are cited in short, parenthetical notes within the text. Footnotes are not allowed. Citations within the text should include the name of the author, the date of the source, and, if necessary, the page numbers you used. The rest of the information, such as the title and publication details, should be included in the bibliography.

Using the Oxford system , citations in the text usually consist of a superscript number which relates to a footnote at the bottom of the page. If you write full bibliographic information in the footnote, you may not have to include a bibliography. However, it’s well worth checking with your tutor beforehand.

When you reference a source in a footnote for the first time using the Oxford system, you must provide full bibliographic information, which includes:

• Author’s initials and surname, title of the article, book or journal, editor (if applicable), publisher name, location and year published

The Chicago citation style , established by the University of Chicago Press, is probably the most commonly used footnote format. Guidelines to help you avoid mistakes with footnotes include: always include a full citation the first time you reference a source; cite author’s names as they appear with texts; don’t replace names with initials; and if no author is listed, organise the entry by title.

A Chicago style footnote citation will take the following form:

• Author’s first name and last name, title in italics, city of publication, publisher and year, page number if relevant.

Don’t forget footnotes

It’s easy to get caught up in the act of writing your essay, but it’s imperative that you include full footnotes and proper referencing whenever possible , as that is what separates academic writing from opinion. At Oxbridge Essays, we know a thing or two about how to use footnotes. And if you have an essay you need a little help with, we can provide full referencing in your chosen style, so get in touch for help.

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How to write a bridge in an essay, how to do footnotes.

Footnotes are a reference tool for writers and researchers, allowing them to provide additional information, clarify sources, or share related insights without disrupting the flow of the main text. Footnotes are positioned at the bottom of the page and indicated within the text by a superscript number or symbol. Various academic and professional fields rely on footnotes to maintain the credibility of written work. They are prevalent in citation styles such as Chicago, often used in history and the humanities, and MLA, preferred in literature and some social sciences. Footnotes help maintain the integrity of the narrative while providing the reader with access to the source material for verification or deeper exploration.

What Is a Footnote?

A footnote, as the name suggests, is a special note or a comment placed at the bottom of a page within a document that provides additional information, clarification, or citation of sources related to the text referenced by a superscript number or symbol appearing in the main body of the document. The purpose of these messages is to explain, elaborate on, or complement the material without cluttering the main content. It helps readers stay on track of the story and just glance at the bottom of the page at a footnote to get more information, if necessary. Therefore, footnotes allow for a cleaner and more readable narrative.

Footnotes come in various forms, primarily categorized based on their purpose: content footnotes and citation footnotes. 

Content footnotes give further details for better understanding or provide context to a statement made in the main text but are not directly linked to a citation. Informational footnotes are valuable in technical documents, encyclopedias, and detailed analytical works where extra information might be helpful for readers who seek deeper understanding or background knowledge about the discussed topic.

Citation footnotes , on the other hand, are implied when the referencing style of the document prefers footnotes for citation instead of in-text citations or endnotes. Bibliographic footnotes make all the citation details accessible without overcrowding the main text. This is particularly useful in disciplines like history and classical studies, where original sources may be extensively analyzed or critiqued. 

Typically, footnotes appear at the bottom of the same page where their corresponding superscript is noted. This placement is very convenient as readers can easily find and refer to the additional information without having to flip through the pages. It maintains a smooth reading experience while providing depth and evidence where needed.

How to Use Footnotes

To use footnotes in your writing effectively, start by determining when a footnote is necessary or when you believe it may be helpful for readers. Generally, any supporting information that is too detailed for the main text but required for deeper understanding or source verification should be noted in a footnote. This includes direct citations, clarifications, and supplemental data.

Once you decide to add a footnote, insert a superscript number at the end of the sentence or clause related to the additional information. This number should follow any punctuation (except a dash) and be placed directly after the last word of the sentence. In your document’s footer, corresponding to each superscript, you’ll detail the footnote. Each footnote should be concise and directly relevant to the referenced text.

For example, consider a statement in an academic paper:

You might use a footnote to cite the sources of this claim or to provide a brief list of historians who support this viewpoint. The footnote might look like this:

Always start the footnote content flush left at the bottom of the page. If a footnote extends beyond one line, indent the subsequent lines. This formatting helps maintain clarity and improves readability.

Additionally, if you reference the same source multiple times throughout your document, you may use shortened forms of the citation after the first full one, or use “Ibid.” if it’s the immediately preceding citation. This keeps your footnotes focused.

How To Write A Footnote

Writing correct footnotes is a valuable skill and an important part of academic writing. Footnotes allow authors to make their writing more credible by providing additional context, source citations, and relevant commentary. There are several aspects to consider in creating informative and accurate footnotes, including clarity of expression, compliance with a consistent formatting style, and attention to detail in citing sources. 

• Clarity : Each footnote should be concise. It’s important to provide thorough information, but it’s equally vital to be brief and to the point. Avoid overly complex sentences and focus on the essential details.
• Consistent Formatting : Stick to a consistent formatting style for your footnotes. This includes the font size, indentations, and the spacing of lines. Consistency in formatting helps maintain professionalism and readability.
• Use of Signals : Employ standard scholarly signals such as “see,” “cf.,” “compare,” and others to guide the reader on the nature of the citation or comment. For instance, “cf.” (confer) suggests a comparison, while “see” directs the reader to a source that supports your argument.
• Language Style : Maintain an academic tone that matches the rest of your document. Avoid colloquial language. Your footnotes should enhance the scholarly quality of your paper.
• Reference Accuracy : Double-check your references for accuracy. A footnote with a citation must include all necessary details, such as page numbers, authors’ names, and publication details, formatted according to the appropriate style guide.
• Integration with Text : Each footnote should correlate directly with a specific part of the text. This connection should be clear without the reader having to make assumptions about the relevance of the footnote.

All styles use a similar method for creating footnotes based on their purposes and functionalities that we already mentioned. But there are subtle variations and quirks everywhere, as is typically the case with citation issues.

The Modern Language Association style typically uses parenthetical in-text citations rather than footnotes. However, footnotes can still be used in MLA for supplementary comments, additional references, or explanatory notes that might be too wordy for the main text.

When you do need to use a footnote in MLA style, you would insert a superscript number at the end of the sentence containing the information that requires a footnote. This number corresponds to a footnote at the bottom of the page where you provide the additional information or citation. Footnotes in MLA are mainly used to provide readers with further explanations or to cite sources for quotations and factual statements where in-text citations would disrupt the flow of reading.

Consider a sentence from an academic paper:

Corresponding Footnote : At the bottom of the page, you would add:

3. While the treaty’s initial reception was lukewarm, historians like Thompson argue that its long-term impact was profound (Thompson 157).

Here, the superscript “1” directs the reader to the footnote at the bottom of the page, where further details and a source are provided. This helps keep the main text clean, while still offering a way to access extra information and detailed citations.

Similar to MLA, the American Psychological Association (APA) style includes in-text citations. However, footnotes may be used for additional material or private correspondence not included in the reference list. APA footnotes are also used for additional comments that expand on a point made in the text, define advanced terminology or present data. 

For example, you might find a statement in a paper such as:

Corresponding Footnote : A corresponding footnote might include:

4. See Smith (2020) for a detailed analysis of the data and trends from the past decade. The study outlines the variables influencing the outcomes.

In this case, the footnote provides additional source information that supports the statement. Unlike a reference list entry, a footnote in APA can provide direct commentary or specific page numbers, contributing to a more detailed or specific discussion.

Chicago Style

This style is the king of footnotes! The Chicago Manual of Style is widely used in the humanities and historical journals and is distinctive for its extensive use of footnotes for citation purposes. Chicago-style footnotes provide a comprehensive method for citing sources, enabling detailed commentary and source information directly accessible at the bottom of the page. Footnotes here are used for citing sources and providing additional comments or clarifications related to the text. This style is favored for its precision in citation and the ease with which readers can access source details.

Example in text: Consider a statement in a historical analysis:

Corresponding Footnote : At the bottom of the page, the footnote would appear as:

Abraham Lincoln, Speeches and Writings , 1859-1865 (New York: Library of America, 1989), 234.

How should footnotes be written?

Footnotes should be written clearly and concisely. They should provide the necessary information or citation without disrupting the flow of the main text. When writing a footnote, include a superscript number in the text that corresponds to a note at the bottom of the page. The content of the footnote should be directly relevant to the superscript reference, and it should be formatted according to the specific citation style being used (e.g., MLA, APA, Chicago).

How do you format a footnote?

Footnotes are formatted slightly differently depending on the citation style:

• MLA : Use footnotes for supplementary information or personal commentary, not typically for citations.
• APA : Similar to MLA, use footnotes for extra information or personal communications.
• Chicago : Use footnotes extensively for citations, formatting them with full citation details and a period at the end.

Generally, footnotes should start with the corresponding superscript number followed by the text of the footnote. This text should be single-spaced, with a first-line indent, and the same font size as the main text or slightly smaller.

What should a footnote look like?

A typical footnote contains the superscript number that corresponds to the reference in the text, followed by the detailed note or citation. The footnote itself should be at the bottom of the page, separated from the main body of text by a short line or space. It should be short and directly relevant to the reference number.

How do you write the first footnote?

• Insert a superscript number at the end of the sentence that requires additional information, clarification, or source citation. This number should ideally follow any punctuation (except dashes).
• Create the corresponding footnote at the bottom of the page. The footnote itself begins with the same superscript number, followed by the content of the note. Ensure it’s clearly separated from the main text, typically by a horizontal line across the column.
• Format the footnote content according to the guidelines of the citation style you are using. Generally, this includes the source’s author, title, and publication details for citations, or explanatory text for additional information.

What is the easiest footnote format?

The easiest footnote format involves the use of a simple numeric system, as seen in the Chicago Manual of Style. This system is straightforward:

• Numeric indicators : Use consecutive superscript numbers in the text to indicate footnotes.
• Footnote details : At the bottom of the page, the same number appears in superscript followed by the footnote content. This content could be as simple as a full citation or a brief explanatory note.

Chicago’s numeric system is straightforward because it consistently uses numbers for footnotes (as opposed to letters or symbols), which makes it easy to track and manage, especially in documents with many references.

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• Writing Tips

How to Use Footnotes and Endnotes in Essays

• 4-minute read
• 23rd February 2019

Footnotes and endnotes both offer a way to add extra information to an essay . But what should you include in footnotes and endnotes? And when should you use them? In this post, we run through everything you need to know about using footnotes and endnotes in essays.

What Are Footnotes and Endnotes?

Footnotes appear at the bottom or ‘foot’ of the page. This lets you add information to an essay without interrupting the flow of the main text. Usually, this will be a citation or non-essential commentary.

To indicate a footnote, you will need to add a superscript number to the text, such as at the end of this sentence. 1 These numbers then correspond to numbered notes at the bottom of the page.

Endnotes are like footnotes, but they appear together at the end of the document rather than at the bottom of individual pages. This means endnotes are less immediately accessible for the reader than footnotes, but it helps ensure that pages with multiple notes don’t become cluttered. If you are not sure which to use, check your university style guide for advice.

Footnotes and Endnotes in Microsoft Word

To insert a footnote or endnote in a Microsoft Word document, you need to:

• Go to References > Footnotes on the main ribbon
• Select either Insert Footnote or Insert Endnote as required
• Type your note in the newly created footnote/endnote

You can also customise the style of footnotes and endnotes by clicking on the little arrow in the bottom right of the Footnotes section of the References tab (or by going to Insert > Footnotes in Word for Mac ). This will open a new window where you can select your preferred formatting options.

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When to Use Footnotes and Endnotes

The main uses of footnotes and endnotes are as follows:

• To add a footnote citation in referencing systems such as MHRA and Chicago , with full source information also given in a bibliography at the end of the document. Endnotes are also used for citations in some systems, such as in IEEE or Vancouver referencing, where numbers in the text point to an entry in a reference list at the end of the document.
• To add non-essential commentary on something in the main text of your document. For example, if your research has raised a question that is not directly relevant to your essay, you may want to mention it in a footnote or endnote instead. This lets you acknowledge it in your work – showing the reader that you haven’t simply ignored it or failed to notice something – but without interrupting the flow of the main document.

Keep in mind, too, that some referencing systems use in-text parenthetical citations . As such, you should only give references in footnotes or endnotes if your university has asked you to do this.

Do They Count Towards the Word Limit?

We’re often asked whether to include footnotes and endnotes in the word count for an essay. Different universities have different rules about this, so you will have to check your style guide . However, you should never use footnotes or endnotes to try and cheat the word count.

The key here is that only non-essential information should go in footnotes or endnotes. As such, if you move vital evidence or analysis to a footnote, the person marking your work may ignore it. And reducing the word count is never more important than putting forward a full, coherent argument.

If you do need to reduce the word count in an essay, you have other options, such as rewriting wordy sentences or cutting repetition. Having your work proofread is a great way to ensure that your writing is always clear and concise, too, so let us know if you’d like any help.

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• MLA footnotes and endnotes

MLA Footnotes & Endnotes | Format & Examples

Published on August 23, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on March 5, 2024 by Jack Caulfield.

MLA style requires you to cite sources using MLA in-text citations , not notes. However, you can still use footnotes or endnotes in MLA style for other purposes:

Citing a lot of sources at once

• Providing any extra explanation needed about your citation or translation practice
• Elaborating on ideas
• Providing additional examples that don’t fit into the main text

Footnotes appear at the bottom of the relevant page, while endnotes appear at the end of the paper, just before the Works Cited list. MLA allows the use of either type, but stick to one or the other.

Any sources you cite in your footnotes or endnotes must also be included in your Works Cited list , just like sources in the main text. Scribbr’s free MLA Citation Generator can help you create accurate MLA citations.

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Table of contents

Formatting footnotes and endnotes in mla, explaining citation or translation practice, using notes to elaborate on ideas, providing more examples in notes, frequently asked questions about mla notes.

Both footnotes and endnotes are indicated by superscript numbers. The number usually appears at the end of a sentence, after the period.

If you need to use a note in the middle of a sentence to avoid ambiguity, place the number directly after a punctuation mark (with the exception of the dash , where the number comes before).

Four main factors have been determined as possible characteristics of any successful fictional work: 6 popularity, enduring fame, commercial success and scholarly appeal. Each of the case studies must possess at least one of these. 7

The note itself begins with the corresponding number, again in superscript, followed by a space, and then the content of the note. Notes should be in the same font as the rest of your document, but a smaller font size; the first line of each note is slightly indented.

Your word processing program should allow you to automatically insert footnotes .

Formatting the endnotes page

If you are using endnotes, list them on a separate page directly before the Works Cited list. The title (“Notes” or “Endnotes”) appears centered at the top of the page. Like the rest of an MLA format paper , the endnotes should be double-spaced.

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When you have a lot of sources to cite at once, you can save space in your text by placing them in a note instead. These can be sources for a statement you made in the text, or sources providing supplementary information relevant to the discussion.

Note that you don’t need to use parentheses around the page numbers when the note just consists of a list of sources.

When there’s any important information that might not be immediately obvious from your citations, you can explain it in a note at the first point where it comes up.

For example, you might use your own translations for some texts but not others, or you might cite different editions of a text in different ways. These details can be clarified in notes where relevant.

When you mention something in passing but think more information may be useful to the reader, you can add the extra information, as well as related sources if relevant, in a note.

Bear in mind that long notes with superfluous information can be distracting for readers. Use notes of this kind sparingly, and keep them brief. If a piece of information is essential to your point, you should usually include it in the main text.

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Sometimes you have more examples than you can smoothly fit into your text. In those cases, it can be worth placing further examples in a note, if you think they add something to your point. You might also provide a counterexample to acknowledge the limitations of your argument.

No, you should use parenthetical MLA in-text citations to cite sources. Footnotes or endnotes can be used to add extra information that doesn’t fit into your main text, but they’re not needed for citations.

If you need to cite a lot of sources at the same point in the text, though, placing these citations in a note can be a good way to avoid cluttering your text.

In MLA style , footnotes or endnotes can be used to provide additional information that would interrupt the flow of your text.

This can be further examples or developments of ideas you only briefly discuss in the text. You can also use notes to provide additional sources or explain your citation practice.

You don’t have to use any notes at all; only use them to provide relevant information that complements your arguments or helps the reader to understand them.

Footnotes appear at the bottom of the relevant page.  Endnotes appear in a list at the end of the text, just before the reference list or bibliography. Don’t mix footnotes and endnotes in the same document: choose one or the other and use them consistently.

In Chicago notes and bibliography style , you can use either footnotes or endnotes, and citations follow the same format in either case.

In APA and MLA style , footnotes or endnotes are not used for citations, but they can be used to provide additional information.

Some source types, such as books and journal articles , may contain footnotes (or endnotes) with additional information. The following rules apply when citing information from a note in an MLA in-text citation :

• To cite information from a single numbered note, write “n” after the page number, and then write the note number, e.g. (Smith 105n2)
• To cite information from multiple numbered notes, write “nn” and include a range, e.g. (Smith 77nn1–2)
• To cite information from an unnumbered note, write “un” after the page number, with a space in between, e.g. (Jones 250 un)

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If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. (2024, March 05). MLA Footnotes & Endnotes | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 21, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/footnotes-and-endnotes/

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What Are Footnotes and How Do You Use Them?

#scribendiinc

Written by  Scribendi

While reading a book or article, have you ever noticed little numbers placed at the ends of some sentences?

These numbers usually appear as superscripts and correspond with numbers placed at the bottom of the page, next to which appears further information that is both necessary and supplementary. Sometimes this information will come in the form of citations, but sometimes it will simply present additional notes about the topic at hand.

These citations and explanations are called "footnotes" (because they appear in the footer of the page). Take a look at the example below to see where footnotes appear on a page:

We've outlined how to use footnotes below. Check it out!

1. What Are Footnotes?

2. footnotes vs. endnotes, 2.1 should i use footnotes or endnotes, 3. how to do footnote citations, 3.1 in-text citations, 3.2 footnotes, 4. how to use footnotes in essays, 4.1 style guides, 4.1.1 modern language association (mla), 4.1.2  american psychological association (apa), 4.1.3  chicago manual of style (cms), 5. technical guide to using footnotes, 5.1 how to add footnotes in microsoft word, 5.2 how to add footnotes in google docs, 6. final tips and tricks .

Footnotes are notes that are placed at the end of a page and used to reference parts of the text (generally using superscript numbers). Writers use footnotes for several purposes, including  citations , parenthetical information, outside sources, copyright permissions, background information, and more.

Now that you understand what footnotes are, you might be wondering: why use them? The truth is, long explanatory notes can be difficult for readers to trudge through (especially when they occur in the middle of a paper). Providing this information is necessary, but doing so in the main text can disrupt the flow of the writing.

Imagine if every time an author wanted to provide a citation, the entire citation had to be written out at the end of the sentence, like this (Anthony Grafton, The Footnote: A Curious History [Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999] 221). Books would become much longer and reading would be much more tedious. That's why footnotes are so useful: they let authors provide the required information without disrupting the flow of ideas.

While footnotes are a great resource for sharing information without clogging up the writing, it's important to note that certain style guides restrict when footnotes can be used. We'll get into that soon!

Unsure how to edit your paper? Contact the Scribendi team for professional proofreading .

Authors can also use endnotes to avoid disrupting their writing with extraneous information. Both serve similar purposes; the main difference lies in their location in your text. Here's a closer look at how both footnotes and endnotes work.

• Identified in the main text with a small superscript number
• Used for citations, parenthetical information, outside sources, copyright permissions, background information, and more
• Provide the correlating notes at the bottom of the same page
• Identified in the main text with a small superscript number (like footnotes)
• Used for citations, parenthetical information, outside sources, copyright permissions, background information, and more (like footnotes)
• Found collectively at the end of an article, chapter, or document (unlike footnotes)

When deciding  whether to use footnotes or endnotes , authors must consider three main factors:

• The style guide being used (as some require either footnotes or endnotes)
• The number of notes being included (as having too many footnotes on each page can be distracting)
• Which option will be more convenient for the reader

To make a footnote citation, label the area of your text that you need to reference with a number (if it's your first footnote, start with "1."). At the bottom of the page, include this number with the citation. When readers see the number in the text, they know they can find the source by looking for the corresponding footnote.

Here's an example of a quoted piece of text using in-text citations vs. footnotes.

"Like the high whine of the dentist's drill, the low rumble of the footnote on the historian's page reassures" ( The Footnote: A Curious History [Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press], 1999. pg. 1).

"Like the high whine of the dentist's drill, the low rumble of the footnote on the historian's page reassures." 1

[Text continues]

Bottom of the page:

1. The Footnote: A Curious History [Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press], 1999. pg. 1

The exact format of your footnote depends on   the style guide  you're following. Here are some of the most common style guides for writing papers, as well as the footnote rules for each one.

Of the major style guides, The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) uses footnotes most often. However, footnotes are occasionally employed in other style guides as well. The main difference is that, while CMS uses footnotes for citation purposes, the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA) generally rely on them for the provision of additional information.

While MLA style discourages the use of long footnotes or endnotes, the style guide does permit their use for directing readers to other pertinent information on a relevant subject.

The guide recommends that superscript numbers within the text are placed outside any punctuation that might be present (i.e., after a period if the note is at the end of a sentence and after a comma if the note is at the end of a clause). The exception to this is that the superscript numbers should be placed before dashes.

• When a footnote must be placed at the end of a clause, 1 add the number after the comma.
• When a footnote must be placed at the end of a sentence, add the number after the period. 2
• Numbers denoting footnotes should always appear after punctuation, with the exception of one piece of punctuation 3 —the dash.

4.1.2 American Psychological Association (APA)

Like MLA, APA discourages the use of footnotes unless absolutely necessary. Even then, the guide recommends that footnotes only be used to provide content notes (such as providing brief, supplemental information about the text or directing readers to additional information) and to denote copyright permissions. The rules regarding placement of the in-text numbers is the same in APA as in MLA.

4.1.3 The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS)

Of the three main style guides described here, CMS relies on footnotes the most. While CMS does allow the author–date system of in-text referencing (i.e., providing the author's name and the date of publication in parentheses at the end of the phrase, clause, or sentence that references the work), it also offers a citation style in which footnotes or endnotes are employed. In both cases, bibliographies are also required. Whether an author should use the author–date system or footnotes is often decided by the author's professor, journal, or publisher.

As an example, if footnotes are used, the following format should be adhered to when referencing a book in CMS:

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To use footnotes in your own book, essay, or article, you must first decide on the most appropriate and logical placement of your footnotes in the text. Add numbers according to your chosen style guide, and be sure to add the numbers directly after the phrase, clause, or sentence to which the corresponding footnote refers.

Most online writing programs (such as Microsoft Word and Google Docs) come with easy-to-use tools for inserting footnotes. Here are step-by-step guides to using footnotes in both these programs.

5.2 How to Add Footnotes in Microsoft Word

Here's how to use footnotes in Microsoft Word 2021:

• Click on the place in the text where you want the first footnote to appear.
• Under the References tab, you'll see the following symbol: AB.1. Beneath this symbol is a button with the words, "Insert Footnote." Click it to create your first footnote.
• After you click that button, two numbers should appear: one number should appear in the main text, and the corresponding number should appear at the bottom of the page.
• Write your citation or additional information next to the number that appears in the footer. Format the information according to the rules of your style guide.
• You can easily return to your place in the text by clicking the number at the beginning of the footnote.

Congrats! You've created your first footnote. You can also adjust the footnote settings (like the numbering) by clicking the arrow beside the Footnotes group. It's really that easy!

Here's how to use footnotes on Google Docs:

• Under the Insert tab, click on "Footnotes."

All you really have to do to create footnotes is click a button—it couldn't be easier!

6. Final Tips and Tricks

To  improve your writing  and avoid cluttering the page, you should use footnotes sparingly and only to provide helpful additions or citations. As previously noted, this information may be considered supplementary, which is why it's best to place it away from the main portion of your writing.

When creating your footnotes, always keep reader convenience in mind, and remember that the footnotes are there to convey helpful information. If your footnotes are excessive or unnecessary, readers are likely to become annoyed—they may even be distracted from the main points of your writing.

Now that you're no longer asking "What are footnotes?" and you know how to use them according to various style guides, footnotes can become a great asset to you as a writer. Be sure to follow the recommendations above, as well as those of your preferred style guide, to ensure that you're using footnotes to their best effect. Don't forget—if you ever need help with writing, our academic articles are here for you!

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MLA Endnotes and Footnotes

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Because long explanatory notes can be distracting to readers, most academic style guidelines (including MLA and APA, the American Psychological Association) recommend limited use of endnotes/footnotes. However, certain publishers encourage or require note references in lieu of parenthetical references.

Bibliographic Notes

MLA discourages extensive use of explanatory or digressive notes. MLA style does, however, allow you to use endnotes or footnotes for bibliographic notes , which refer to other publications your readers may consult. The following are some examples:

To cite a lengthy string of sources.

¹See Said, Culture and Imperialism and Orientalism ; Serres, The Natural Contract ; Foucault, The Foucault Reader , esp. Part II.

²For more material related to Postcolonial Studies and Technology, see McClintock, Imperial Leather ; De Landa, War in the Age of Intelligent Machines.

To explain an unusual documentation practice.

³Italicised words denote translations for which there are no clear equivalents in the original Chinese.

To flag editions and translations used. Editions and translations usually require a note only when more than one edition or translation is cited. This can be done by placing a note in the text where the work is first referenced. Alternatively, an initial and unnumbered note may be created.

⁴Citations of The Odyssey refer to Emily Wilson’s translated version unless otherwise noted.

⁵Translations are provided by Emily Wilson unless otherwise noted.

Content Notes

You can also use endnotes/footnotes for occasional explanatory notes (also known as content notes), which refer to brief additional information that might be too digressive for the main text:

To amplify.  Writers may feel that amplifying certain sections of their content will allow readers to better understand the context which affected/affects the following circumstances. 

¹Kujou and Yanagi are often confused by their misinterpretation of each other’s words, actions, and interactions with others.

²Beach considers Readicide to be a necessary read for all incoming Student Teachers, including it in recommended words for all his students.

³Culler makes it clear that “Literature” is “an institutional label that gives us reason to expect that the results of our reading efforts will be ‘worth it’” (28).

To explain word choice.

⁴She refers here to a branch of physiological research.

⁵He chose to translate the verb (first translated by Yang as “to feel”) as “to understand” to point to the character development.

To justify the scope of your study. Justifying the scope of your study can help readers better understand what to expect from reading your work by specifically pointing to what will or will not be explored, and why.

⁶Whether or not Beowulf as a character is justified in his actions is not relevant to my point.

⁷The efforts of decolonization are beyond the extent of my essay, but I point readers to Garvey’s work.

To provide more examples.

⁸Readers can think about Atwood’s inclusion of insects in her literary work

⁹This same idea applies to queer youth, as Chelsea Monheim’s “Percieved social norms and acceptance of transgender students in gendered restrooms” addresses.

To provide counterexamples.

¹⁰Bankfeld (99-102) calls for an alternative call to action.

To identity of comment on allusions.

¹¹The reference to ‘Westword’ in Iron Man 3 recalls the 1973 movie Westworld, starring Yul Brynner as a killing cyborg.

To point to an area of future research.

¹²More extensive research remains to be done on this subject. 

To identify authors whose names appear as et al. in documentation.

¹³The contributing authors of Teaching Literature to Adolescents are Deborah Appleman, Bob Fecho, and Rob Simon.

To acknowledge.

¹⁴Anna Turner, from a local veterinary clinic, brought distinctions between small and large animal care to my attention.

Numbering endnotes and footnotes in the document body

MLA notes may be styled either as footnotes or endnotes. Endnotes and footnotes in MLA format are indicated in-text by superscript Arabic numbers after the punctuation of the phrase or clause to which the note refers:

Note that when a long dash appears in the text, the footnote/endnote number appears before the dash:

Do not use asterisks (*), angle brackets (>), or other symbols for note references. The list of endnotes and footnotes (either of which, for papers submitted for publication, should be listed on a separate page, as indicated below) should correspond to the note references in the text.   Do not use the abbreviation ibid. in a note to refer readers to the information provided in the note right above it.

Placement of Notes in the Text

Use parentheses around page numbers when page numbers interrupt a sentence or are given at the end of a sentence. Similar to parenthetical citations within text, citations in notes are usually placed at the end of a sentence. Alternatively, parenthetical citations may be placed mid-sentence.

¹As Danes (45) and Gilmore (151) argue, caffeinated beverages play a vital role in American business environments.

²Gilmore considers the relationship between caffeine, productivity, and success (151).

Do not place parentheses around page numbers if the note is utilized to direct readers to the location of information. For example:

³See Gilmore 151.

Notes in MLA format are typically indicated in-text by superscript Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, …) after the punctuation mark of the phrase or clause to which the note refers. Whenever possible, place the superscript numbers at the end of sentences. Keep in mind that word processing programs will likely style note numbers in the text and notes section as superscript by default .

Audience members generally responded positively to the racial representation in the musical.¹

Marquis de Lafayette uses a stereotypical White American accent to say the word “anarchy.”²

Aaron Burr advises a young Alexander Hamilton to “talk less, smile more” (16).³ 

Note that when a dash appears in the text, the note number appears before the dash.

After finding out about her daughter’s passion for music, Cho⁴—surprised, impressed, and a little confused—purchased a piano and allowed her daughter to take lessons.

If a note number must be placed somewhere other than at the end of a sentence or a sentence requires more than one note, the note number should be placed in the least distracting unambiguous spot. For instance: 

Placement of a note mid-sentence, for clarity of citations.

Despite the awareness from her past mistakes,⁵   Britney “did it again” and thus continued to face the consequences of her actions (203).

Placement of more than one note in a sentence.

Crystal’s love of farmers markets—especially those located in their hometown (which they support by “getting up at 7am every Saturday to go to” [Webb 21]⁶)—has become apparent even on social media platforms.⁷  

Formatting endnotes and footnotes

Endnotes Page

MLA recommends that all notes be listed on a separate page entitled Notes (centered). Title the page Note if there is only one note. The Notes page should appear before the Works Cited page. This is especially important for papers being submitted for publication.

The notes themselves should be double-spaced and listed by consecutive Arabic numbers that correspond to the notation in the text. The first line of each endnote is indented five spaces, and subsequent lines are flush with the left margin. Place a period and a space after each endnote number, and then provide the appropriate note after the space.

Footnotes (below the text body)

The ninth edition of the MLA Handbook states that notes may be styled either as footnotes or endnotes. See the  MLA Style Center   for additional guidance on this topic and follow your instructor's or editor's preferences.

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How to Use Footnotes and Endnotes

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• 5th June 2019

Footnotes and endnotes both let you add extra information in an essay or college paper . But what should you include in these notes? And when should you use them? In this post, we run through everything you need to know about using footnotes and endnotes in academic writing.

What Are Footnotes and Endnotes?

Footnotes appear at the bottom or “foot” of the page. You can therefore put extra information in a footnote, such as source details for a citation, without interrupting the flow of the main text.

To indicate a footnote, you can add a superscript number to the text, such as at the end of this sentence. 1 These numbers then correspond to numbered notes at the bottom of the page.

Endnotes are like footnotes, but they appear together at the end of the document rather than at the bottom of each page. Endnotes are thus less immediately accessible for the reader than footnotes, but they can help ensure that pages with multiple notes don’t become cluttered.

If you are not sure which to use, check your style guide for advice.

Footnotes and Endnotes in Microsoft Word

To insert a footnote or endnote in a Microsoft Word document, you need to:

• Go to References > Footnotes on the main ribbon
• Select either Insert Footnote or Insert Endnote as required
• Type your note in the newly created footnote/endnote

You can also customize the style of footnotes and endnotes by clicking on the arrow in the bottom right of the Footnotes section of the References tab (or by going to Insert > Footnotes in Word for Mac ). This will open a new window where you can select your preferred formatting options.

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When to Use Footnotes and Endnotes

The main uses of footnotes and endnotes are as follows:

• To add a footnote citation in referencing systems such as MHRA and Chicago , with full source information also given in a bibliography at the end of the document. Endnotes are also used for citations in some systems, such as in IEEE or Vancouver referencing, where numbers in the text point to an entry in a reference list at the end of the document.
• To add non-essential commentary on something in the main text of your document. For example, if your research has raised an interesting question that is not directly relevant to your current work, you could mention it in a footnote or endnote. This lets you acknowledge the question – showing the reader that you haven’t simply ignored or failed to notice it – but without interrupting the flow of prose in the main document.

Keep in mind, too, that some referencing systems use in-text parenthetical citations . As such, you should only reference a source in a footnote or endnote if your school has asked you to do it this way.

Do Notes Count Towards the Word Limit?

We’re often asked whether to include footnotes and endnotes in the word count for papers. Different schools have different rules about this, so you will have to check your style guide . However, you should never use these supplementary notes to cheat the word count.

The key here is that essential information should never go in a footnote or endnote. If you do move vital evidence or analysis to a note, the person marking your work may ignore it. And reducing the word count is never more important than putting forward a full, coherent argument.

If you do need to reduce the word count in an essay, you have other options, such as rewriting wordy sentences or cutting repetition. Having your work proofread is a great way to ensure that your writing is always clear and concise, too, so let us know if you’d like any help.

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How to Do Footnotes

Last Updated: February 9, 2024 Fact Checked

Sample Footnotes

Placing citations, supplementing text, expert interview, expert q&a.

This article was co-authored by Noah Taxis and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Noah Taxis is an English Teacher based in San Francisco, California. He has taught as a credentialed teacher for over four years: first at Mountain View High School as a 9th- and 11th-grade English Teacher, then at UISA (Ukiah Independent Study Academy) as a Middle School Independent Study Teacher. He is now a high school English teacher at St. Ignatius College Preparatory School in San Francisco. He received an MA in Secondary Education and Teaching from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education. He also received an MA in Comparative and World Literature from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a BA in International Literary & Visual Studies and English from Tufts University. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,376,568 times.

Footnotes are used generally in academic and professional writing to cite sources or add supplemental information to the main text of a paper. Academic citation styles, such as the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA), discourage the use of extensive footnotes. Others, such as Chicago style, require them. [1] X Research source

Tip: Footnotes are typically a smaller font size than the main text of your paper. Typically, you won't need to change the default size on the word processing app you're using to write your paper – it will do this automatically when you create a footnote.

• You'll typically only have one footnote per sentence. If you need more than one footnote, place the other footnote at the end of the sentence clause it relates to, outside the closing punctuation. The only exception is if the sentence is broken up by a long dash, in which case, the superscript number goes before the beginning of the dash. [4] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source

Footnote Number in Line with Text: It is well known that patients who suffer from Crohn's and Colitis can have many debilitating symptoms. 1.

Superscripted Footnote Number: It is well known that patients who suffer from Crohn's and Colitis can have many debilitating symptoms. 1

• For some longer papers, such as doctoral theses, footnote numbers may start over with each chapter. If you're unsure if this is appropriate for your project, discuss it with your editor or advisor.
• Most word processing apps will maintain sequential numbering for you, provided you use the app's function for inserting footnotes, rather than trying to type the numbers manually.

• You typically have formatting options that allow you to choose numbers, letters, or other symbols to indicate footnotes. You can also change the size or placement of footnotes, although the default option is usually appropriate.

• For most style guides, the use of footnotes does not replace the need for a list of references at the end of your paper. Even if a full list of references isn't strictly required, it can help place your paper in context.

• For example, suppose you've paraphrased information from a book by Reginald Daily, titled Timeless wikiHow Examples: Through the Ages. If you were using Chicago style, your footnote citation would look something like this: Reginald Daily, Timeless wikiHow Examples: Through the Ages (Minneapolis: St. Olaf Press, 2010), 115.

• For example, suppose later on in your paper you need to cite Reginald Daily's wikiHow book again. Your shortened citation might look something like this: Daily, wikiHow Examples , 130.

Tip: Some citation styles recommend using the abbreviation "id." or "ibid." if you cite to the same source in footnotes immediately following. Others, notably the Chicago Manual of Style, require the use of a shortened citation instead.

• For example, suppose you have a sentence in your text comparing the conclusions in Reginald Daily's book with the observations in another book on the same topic. Your footnote might look something like this: Reginald Daily, Timeless wikiHow Examples: Through the Ages (Minneapolis: St. Olaf Press, 2010), 115; Mary Beth Miller, The wiki Revolution (New York: New Tech Press, 2018), 48.

• For example, if Miller's work reached a conclusion that was contrary to the conclusion Daily reached, your footnote might look something like this: Reginald Daily, Timeless wikiHow Examples: Through the Ages (Minneapolis: St. Olaf Press, 2010), 115; but see Mary Beth Miller, The wiki Revolution (New York: New Tech Press, 2018), 48.
• If you believe it would be helpful to your readers, you can add a brief parenthetical comment after the second source that explains why you included it.

• For example, suppose you want to include a brief explanation as to why you're citing Daily's book, despite the fact that it was published in 2010. Your footnote might look something like this: Reginald Daily, Timeless wikiHow Examples: Through the Ages (Minneapolis: St. Olaf Press, 2010), 115. Although published in 2010, Daily's work provides a jumping-off point for research in this area.

• For example, there may be a basic concept that is beyond the scope of your paper, but important for your readers to understand. You could add a footnote that says "For an explanation of the theory of relativity, see generally" followed by a source or list of sources.
• Typically, these types of footnotes provide your reader with information on something that is tangential to your paper but could be important to help your readers understand the topic as a whole or place your paper in context.

• Some style guides, such as MLA and APA, instruct that parenthetical statements should be included in the main text of your paper, rather than in footnotes. [15] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source

Tip: Keep your footnotes as brief as possible, especially with supplemental footnotes. Don't stray too far off topic or go into a tangent that is only marginally related to the topic of your paper.

• These types of footnotes frequently accompany a quote from a source and may include a citation to the source. For example, if you quoted a source that discussed wikiHow, and you wanted to clarify, you might add a footnote that says "wikiHow examples are used to clarify text in situations where it would be helpful to have a visual cue. Reginald Daily, Timeless wikiHow Examples: Through the Ages (Minneapolis: St. Olaf Press, 2010), 115."

• For example, suppose you are writing a paper about the use of wikiHow articles as sources, and you include a study finding that wikiHow articles are more accurate than articles on major news sites about similar topics. You might add a footnote that says "Despite this fact, the vast majority of professors at public universities in the US do not accept wikiHow articles as sources for research papers."
• You can also use footnotes to make a witty remark, which can add humor and lightheartedness to your paper. However, these types of footnotes should be used extremely rarely, and only when appropriate to the subject matter.

• Before writing, confirm with your professor or organization what style guide you should be using to write your paper. Make sure your use of footnotes follows the rules for that style. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• If a footnote includes both a citation and supplemental information, the citation usually comes first. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about academic writing, check out our in-depth interview with Noah Taxis .

• ↑ https://www.plagiarism.org/article/what-are-footnotes
• ↑ https://stpauls-mb.libguides.com/citations/footnotes
• ↑ https://www.library.georgetown.edu/tutorials/research-guides/turabian-footnote-guide
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_endnotes_and_footnotes.html
• ↑ https://libguides.stonehill.edu/c.php?g=884839&p=6358739
• ↑ https://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/6-300
• ↑ https://libguides.utep.edu/c.php?g=429690&p=2930768
• ↑ https://jle.aals.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1243&context=home
• ↑ https://libguides.liberty.edu/c.php?g=864199&p=6197236

About This Article

To use footnotes as citations, find a sentence you want to cite and insert a "1" at the end of it using the footnote setting in your word processor. Then, insert your citation next to the corresponding "1" at the bottom of the page, like "Reginald Daily, Timeless wikiHow Examples: Through the Ages (Minneapolis: St. Olaf Press, 2010), 115." When you're finished, move onto the next sentence you need to cite and repeat the process. To learn how to use footnotes to clarify information in your paper, read the article! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Add footnotes and endnotes

Use footnotes and endnotes to explain, comment on, or provide references to something in a document. Usually, footnotes appear at the bottom of the page, while endnotes come at the end of the document or section.

If you’re in Reading View, switch to Editing View by clicking Edit Document > Edit in Word for the web .

Add a footnote

Click where you want to add the footnote.

Click Insert > Insert Footnote.

Word inserts a reference mark in the text and adds the footnote mark at the bottom of the page.

Type the footnote text.

Add an endnote

Click where you want to add the endnote.

Click Insert > Insert Endnote .

Word inserts a reference mark in the text and adds the endnote mark at the end of the document.

Type the endnote text.

Customize your footnotes and endnotes

To customize a footnote or endnote:

Click the reference number or mark in the body of the text or click Insert > Show Footnotes (for endnotes, click Insert > Show Endnotes ).

In the footnote/endnote view, click Format Footnotes or Format Endnotes to display the Format Options dialog, where you can change the size, font, and indentation of one or all of your footnotes or endnotes.

Note:  If you want to convert footnotes to endnotes or the other way around, use the Open in Word command and convert them there . When you save the doc in Word, it's saved where you opened it in Word for the web.

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / How to do APA footnotes

How to do APA footnotes

Footnotes are a way for the author to provide additional content to their papers without distracting the reader from the text. The information in footnotes is different from the information provided in APA annotated bibliographies . Footnotes can be content based, providing a little more insight on an idea you raise in the text, or they can be used to provide copyright attribution for long quotes and passages.

Properly formatted APA footnotes can be placed at the bottom of the page. Alternatively, you can put them on their own page after the references. This guide on footnotes, end notes, and parentheticals provides information about the differences between these different types of notes. Either way, it’s important to know how to use footnotes properly.

In this guide, students can learn about the different uses for footnotes as well as how to format footnotes according to APA Style. All of the information here comes straight from the 7th edition of the Publication Manual .

Why use footnotes? What information goes into them?

There are two primary reasons why an author would use footnotes:

1. Using a footnote for content

As mentioned above, there are a few different ways to use footnotes. The more common way is when an author wants to provide extra insight on an idea without disrupting the flow of the text. This is called a content footnote.

In this case, you would write a a couple sentences about the extra insight. For example:

______________________

1 This data refers to the situation in 2010, and it includes emissions from industrial processes. Emissions from the latter are released during the physical and chemical transformation of materials like clinker production. Since these industrial production processes are also consumers of energy, here we made the choice to combine them with CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion.

2. Using a footnote for copyright attribution

When you are reproducing a portion of a copyrighted work, like an extended passage from a book or journal, it is necessary to provide copyright attribution. This can be done inside a footnote. The footnote is used instead of a parenthetical in-text citation, and you will still need to add the source as an entry in the reference list.

If it is an image or graph you are reproducing, copyright attribution can go in the figure note or table note.

A copyright footnote should start with “ From ” or “ Adapted from ” and the format will change slightly depending on the source.

Here is a template for copyright attribution for a website followed by two examples:

1 From  Webpage title , by Group Author OR Author FirstMiddleName Initials. Author Surname. Year Published, Website Name (URL).

*Note: If the Group Author and Website Name are the same, omit the Website Name slot.

2 From  First images from the James Webb Space Telescope , by National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2022 (https://www.nasa.gov/webbfirstimages).

3 From  Question of what now for Syria remains as vexed as ever , by M. Chulov. 2022, The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/19/question-of-what-now-for-syria-remains-as-vexed-as-ever).

Endnotes vs. footnotes: What’s the difference?

According to APA Style, the author may choose to place the footnotes on the bottom of the page on which the callout appears or at the end of the paper on their own page(s).

“Endnotes” is a function on many word processors that inserts callouts and place the notes at the end of the document. While this is the same idea as footnotes, APA calls for a specially-formatted footnotes page.

To place the footnotes at the end of your document, check the preferences of the footnote function. You should be able to select “End of Document” instead of “End of Page.”

How to format APA footnotes

Always use the footnotes function of your word processor to insert footnotes. This will make it much easier to keep track of everything even as page content changes.

How to format footnotes correctly:

• Always use the footnotes function.
• The callout should be in superscript, like this. 1
• The callout should come after the punctuation, like this. 2
• If there’s a dash 3 —the callout comes before the punctuation, not after.
• All callouts should appear in numerical order, like this. 4

APA footnotes example

Now let’s have a look at what properly formatted APA footnotes look like in action.

Here is an example of a concise, relevant, and properly formatted footnote from “The role of renewable energy in the global economy transformation,” published in Energy Strategy Reviews.

. . . A transition away from fossil fuels to low-carbon solutions will play an essential role, as energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions represent two-thirds of all greenhouse gases (GHG). 1

In this example, the footnotes function automatically created a dividing line at the bottom of the document. It has also reduced the font size by 1pt, which is neither required nor discouraged by APA.

The reason this is a good example, however, is because the footnote provides supplemental information that is both relevant and substantive.  The information would have been too distracting to appear in the main text, but it provides helpful insight on the author’s research method.

Published October 28, 2020.

APA Formatting Guide

APA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Multiple Authors
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Parenthetical Citations
• Reference Page
• Sample Paper
• APA 7 Updates
• View APA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all APA Examples

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You can include more than one footnote on the same page in APA style. There is no restriction on the number of footnotes to be included on a page. Depending upon the number of footnotes on the page, the text area of the page will be automatically adjusted to fit the footnotes.

Footnotes in APA are used to provide the reader some additional information about the idea or the element being discussed. Footnotes are used in all types of publications such as journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers.

Two types of footnotes are used in APA style: content footnotes and copyright attribution footnotes. A content footnote provides additional explanation or information about something mentioned in the text, while a copyright attribution footnote provides copyright information for lengthy content that has been reprinted in the text. For both types, the in-text citation remains the same. Remember the following guidelines when you want to cite a footnote:

• Footnotes (whether content footnotes or copyright attribution footnotes) are numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text.
• Use superscript Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) to designate a footnote callout.
• This is a footnote. 1
• In this footnote, 2 the author tries to clarify the idea.
• A footnote callout—unlike in-text reference citation 3 —is simple to add.
• You should not add space before the footnote callout.
• If you want to refer to the same footnote again in the text, do not add any superscript Arabic numeral. Instead, write “see Footnote 3.” In this case, the footnote description need not be given again.

Note that a footnote should have only one idea. If you want to add more information, it is advisable to add the content in the text or create an appendix.

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Inserting a footnote in microsoft word.

Place the cursor where you would like to insert a footnote.  In the references tab, click “Insert Footnote.” Word will automatically place a footnote at the bottom of the page where you can enter the necessary citation.

Where should a footnote be placed? 

Insert a footnote after the punctuation mark (period, comma, question mark, or exclamatory point) and the quotation mark. Ex. Belskaia hoped her letter would “become a vivid illustration of the cruel times of Stalinist excesses.”2

The first footnote for a source should contain full bibliographic information: publication information for the work plus the page number (examples a, below).  Subsequent footnotes should follow an abbreviated style (examples b).  If you use the same source cited in the previous note, use the Latin abbreviation “Ibid.” in place of the author and title (examples c).

Citation Format for BOOKS (print)

Work with one author:.

a. Shoshana Keller, To Moscow, Not Mecca: The Soviet Campaign against Islam in Central Asia, 1917-1941  (Westport: Praeger, 2001), 38. b. Keller, To Moscow, Not Mecca, 46. c. Ibid., 42.

Work with two authors:

a. Maurice Isserman and Michael Kazin, America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 234. b. Isserman and Kazin, America Divided , 176. c. Ibid., 176.

Work with three or more authors:

a. Lawerence B. Goodheart et al., Slavery in American Society, 3rd ed. (Lexington: D.C. Heath, 1993), 124. b. Goodheart et al., Slavery in American Society , 143.

Edited work:

a. Robert Louis Paquette and Louis A. Ferleger, eds., Slavery, Secession, and Southern History (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2000), 128. b. Paquette and Ferleger, Slavery, Secession, and Southern History , 135.

Multi-edition work:

a. Nicholas V. Riasanovsky, A History of Russia , 6th ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 71. b. Riasanovsky, A History of Russia , 272.

Multi-volume work:

a. George P. Rawick, ed., T he American Slave : A Composite Autobiography, 21 vols. (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1972), 5: 274-275. b. Rawick, ed., The American Slave , 5:42.

Citation Format for BOOKS (electronic)

The note must include the elements above plus, as a final element, the format consulted. 

Electronically published book:

Maurice Isserman and Michael Kazin, America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), chapter 3. [Kindle edition, PDF e-book, Palm e-book, Microsoft Reader e-book].

Book consulted online:

Maurice Isserman and Michael Kazin, America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), chapter 3. Plus the URL used. N.B.: Page numbers are not always stable in electronic formats; you may need to use another locator such as chapter or section number. 

Citation Format for ARTICLES (print)

Journal article:.

a. Douglas Ambrose, “Sowing Sentiment: Shaping the Southern Presbyterian Household, 1750-1800,” The Georgetown Law Journal 90 (November 2001), 149. b. Ambrose, “Sowing Sentiment,” 152. c. Ibid., 136.

Article in a book:

a. D.A. Washbrook, “Progress and Problems: South Asian Economic and Social History, c. 1720-1860,” in Modern India: An Interpretive Anthology, ed. Thomas R. Metcalf (New Dehli: Sterling, 1990), 199. b. Washbrook, “Progress and Problems,” 231.

Untitled book review:

a. Michael Grow, review of Eisenhower and Latin America: The Foreign Policy of Anticommunism by Stephen G. Rabe, The American Historical Review, 94 (December 1989), 1508-1509. b. Grow, review of Eisenhower and Latin America by Rabe, 1508-1509.

Newspaper article:

a. Lori Riley, “UCONN Passes Toughest of Tests,” Hartford Courant, 1 April 2002: A1. b. Riley, “UCONN Passes Toughest of Tests,” A4.

Magazine article:

a. Roger Simon, “Show Time,” U.S. News & World Report , 29 April 2002: 16. b. Simon, “Show Time,” 19.

Citation Format for ARTICLES (electronic)

Article in online journal:.

a. Gueorgi Kossinets and Duncan J. Watts, “Origins of Homophily in an Evolving Social Network,” American Journal of Sociology 115 (2009): 411, accessed February 28, 2010. b. Kossinets and Watts, “Origins of Homophily,” 415.

citation format for OTHER SOURCES

Website page:.

a. “Google Privacy Policy,” last modified March 11, 2009, http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html b. “Google Privacy Policy.”

a. George Bush, Interview by Dan Rather, CBS Evening News, Columbia Broadcasting System, 8 Feb. 1989. b. Bush Interview, 8 February 1989.

For more information on footnotes, see:

• Turabian, Kate. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations . 7th ed. Chicago: University Press, 2007.
• The Chicago Manual of Style online: www.chicagomanualofstyle.org
• Suggested links at the Writing Center website  

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How to Format Your Research Paper

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How to Create Footnotes

• Hanging Indents
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What Are They

Footnotes are short numbered notes that are placed at the bottom of the page in an essay or article. They are used for a variety of reasons including, citing materials, providing notes on a source or topic, and to acknowledge copyright status. 

Although you will find footnotes in many journal articles, they are not typically required in APA or MLA formatted essays. They are most heavily used when applying the CMOS style. 

For information on footnotes in the  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  see section 2.13 "Footnotes.". For information on using footnotes with MLA see the " Using Notes in MLA Style " article from the MLA Style Center .  For information on footnotes in  The Chicago Manual of Style  see Chapter 14 "Notes and Bibliography."

Using Google Docs:

• Cómo incorporar notas al calce en Google Docs Vea éste video en español.

Using Microsoft Word:

• Cómo incorporar notas al calce en Microsoft Word Vea éste video en español.
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How-To Geek

How to add footnotes in google docs.

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The internet is not forever, so it's time to preserve what you can, microsoft will pay you to use bing: here's how my attempt to cash-in went, quick links, insert a footnote in google docs on the web, add a footnote in the google docs mobile app.

Whether you're composing an essay, article, or legal document, you may have extra details you want to include. Instead of distracting from the main content, you can easily  place footnotes  in your Google Docs.

Footnotes display at the end of the page with the footnote indicator (a number) attached to text in your document. This indicator is formatted as superscript and much less invasive than a string of related text.

Visit Google Docs , sign in, and open your document. Then, place your cursor to the right of the word or select a word for the footnote you want to add.

Select Insert > Footnote in the menu.

You'll immediately see the footnote indicator where you placed your cursor. You'll also see the footnote at the end of the page which now contains your cursor. This allows you to enter the footnote text right away.

Type your note, details, or reference into the footnote area. You can then select a spot in your document to continue writing.

If you add more footnotes to your document, each is numbered sequentially in relation to the page you're on.

Related: How to Use Footnotes and Endnotes in Microsoft Word

For example, we added our first footnote on the first page, our next one on the second page, and another footnote back on the first page. Google Docs automatically updates the numbering so that those on the first page are numbered 1 and 2 rather than 1 and 3.

Plus, Google Docs automatically adjust the spacing at the end of the document to accommodate all footnotes you add.

Remove a Footnote in Google Docs

If you want to remove a footnote you've added, you'll simply delete the footnote indicator in your text.

You can place your cursor to the right of the number and press Backspace on Windows and Chromebook or Delete on Mac. Alternatively, you can select the number and hit Delete.

When you remove the footnote indicator, this also removes the footnote and adjusts the numbering for the remaining footnotes throughout your document accordingly.

If you use the Google Docs mobile app, you can add footnotes there as well. The steps are the same for both Android and iPhone .

Open the Google Docs app to your document. Place your cursor to the right of the word or select the word. Then, tap the Insert icon (plus sign) at the top.

When the Insert options appear at the bottom, choose "Footnote."

Just like on the web, you'll see the number indicator in the text and your cursor moves to the footnote for you to enter your text.

When you finish, tap a location in your document to exit the footnote area and continue creating your document.

Also like the Google Docs website , each footnote you add is numbered in order according to the page you're on and the footnote area automatically expands to accommodate all notes.

Remove a Footnote in the Mobile App

To get rid of a footnote you've added, delete the number indicator in your text. You can do this by placing your finger to the right of the number which moves your cursor to it. Then, press the Backspace key on the keyboard.

This deletes the footnote and adjusts any other footnotes in your document accordingly.

When you want to add related details to something in your text, but not make it part of the main content, footnotes in Google Docs are perfect.

For more, look at how to use headers and footers in Google Docs too!

• Google Docs