How to Do Footnotes

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This article was co-authored by Noah Taxis and wikiHow staff writer Jennifer Mueller, JD. Noah Taxis is an English teacher based in San Francisco, California. He taught as a certified 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 high school independent study teacher. Now he is a high school English teacher at St. Ignatius College Preparatory School in San Francisco. He holds a master’s degree in secondary education and teaching from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education. He also holds a master’s degree in comparative and world literature from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a bachelor’s degree in international literary and 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 all facts cited and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,378,588 times.

Footnotes are generally used in academic and professional writing to cite sources or add additional 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]

MLA footnotes

APA Footnotes

Chicago notes

1. 

   Use the same font for footnotes as the rest of the paper. In general, you should use the same font for the entire paper, not several different fonts. The default font in your word processing application is usually fine.[2]

   Advice: Footnotes are usually a smaller font size but the main text of your paper. Usually, you won’t need to change the default size in the word processing application you use to write the paper – it will do this automatically when you create the note.

2. 

   Put the footnote number after the punctuation marks. In most cases, a footnote is at the end of a sentence with the information you want to cite or discuss. Some style guides give a number after the final punctuation, followed by a period. In others, superscript numbers are preferred.[3]

   • You will usually only have one footnote per sentence. If you need more than one note, place the second note at the end of the sentence it refers to, outside the final punctuation. The only exception is if the sentence is separated by a long dash, in which case, the supernumerary goes before the start of the dash.[4]

   Footnote number in accordance with the text: It is well known that patients suffering from Crohn’s disease and colitis can have many debilitating symptoms. 1.

   Footnote number with caption: It is well known that patients suffering from Crohn’s disease and colitis can have many debilitating symptoms.1

3. 

   Use consecutive numbers for footnotes in your paper. Footnote numbers count from “1” throughout the paper – they do not start over at the beginning of each page. Each footnote has its own number, even if it cites the same source as the previous footnote.[5]

   • For some longer works, such as doctoral dissertations, the note numbers may start over with each chapter. If you are not sure if this is appropriate for your project, discuss it with your editor or advisor.
   • Most word processing applications will maintain sequential numbering for you, as long as you use the application’s function to insert footnotes, rather than trying to type in the numbers manually.

4. 

   Insert footnotes using a word processing application. Most word processing applications have a function that you can use to easily add footnotes to your work. This function is usually included under the “insert” or “reference” list in your application’s menu bar.[6]

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

1. 

   Write your bibliography page before adding footnotes. Footnote citations are usually abbreviated versions of a full citation that can be found in your bibliography or works cited at the end of your paper. Writing the full citation first makes it easier to create your footnotes and ensures that you have included all the sources you used.[7]

   • For most style guides, the use of notes does not replace the need for a bibliography at the end of your paper. Even if a full list of references isn’t strictly necessary, it can help put your work in context.

2. 

   Type the citation for the source following the appropriate style guide. Although the basic information included in a citation is almost always the same, different style guides have slightly different formats. Generally, you will list the author’s name first, followed by the title of the source. Include publication information, then close with the page number where the material you quoted or paraphrased appears.[8]

   • For example, suppose you paraphrase information from Reginald Daily’s book entitled 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.

3. 

   Use abbreviated citations for later reference to sources. You will often cite the same source multiple times in the same paper. You usually only need to provide a full citation once in the footnote for the source. Subsequent citations include the author’s last name, an abbreviated version of the title, and the page number where the material you quoted or paraphrased can be found.[9]

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

   Advice: Some citation styles recommend using an abbreviation “go.” or “ibid.” if you cite the same source in immediately following footnotes. Others, notably the Chicago Manual of Style, require the use of an abbreviated citation instead.

4. 

   Separate multiple quotes with a semicolon. Sometimes a sentence requires citing more than one source. Put one footnote at the end of the sentence and include citations from both sources in the same footnote, instead of having 2 footnotes at the end of the sentence.[10]

   • For example, suppose you have a sentence in your text that compares the conclusions in Reginald Daily’s book with observations in another book on the same topic. Your note 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.

5. 

   Include signal terms to explain the relationship between sources. Signal words and phrases, such as “but see” or “see also” let your readers know that there are other authors who agree or disagree with the information in the original source you cited. Normally, you would use an additional source to determine the relative reliability of the source you cited.[11]

   • For example, if Miller’s paper reached a conclusion that is the opposite of Daily’s, your note 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 explaining why you included it.

6. 

   Add contextual information if necessary. A citation footnote should contain nothing but a citation. However, occasionally you may need to explain something about the source or its relationship to your work.[12]

   • For example, suppose you want to include a brief explanation of 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 paper provides a starting point for research in this area.

1. 

   Include bibliographic notes in MLA papers. MLA style generally discourages the use of footnotes. However, footnotes are allowed when you want to direct your readers to other publications that discuss a topic in more detail.[13]

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

2. 

   Use footnotes for asides that would ruin the flow of your writing. Tangential or parenthetical comments can interrupt your main text and potentially confuse readers. If you want to make a passing comment about something, put it in a footnote so it doesn’t distract readers from the point of your paper.[14]

   • Some style guides, such as MLA and APA, suggest that parenthetical statements should be included in the body of your paper, not in footnotes.[15]

   Advice: Keep your notes as short as possible, especially with additional notes. Do not stray too far from the topic or go off on a tangent that is only marginally related to the topic of your paper.

3. 

   Provide working definitions, explanations or clarifications. Sometimes you need to provide additional information so that your readers understand exactly what the source means. You may also need to explain the significance of something mentioned in your source that is not widely known.[16]

   • These types of footnotes often accompany a citation from a source and may include a citation of the source. For example, if you’ve cited a source that talks about wikiHow and want to clarify, you can add a footnote that says “wikiHow examples are used to clarify the text in situations where a visual cue would be useful. Reginald Daily, Timeless wikiHow Examples: Through the Ages (Minneapolis : St. Olaf Press, 2010), 115.”

4. 

   Offer quotes or additional comments to add depth to your work. Sometimes a source may contain a quote that you find particularly compelling, but you just can’t fit it into your main text. There may also be information in your text that you wish to comment on that is outside the scope of your paper.[17]

   • For example, suppose you’re writing a paper about using wikiHow articles as sources, and you include a study that found wikiHow articles to be more accurate than articles on major news sites on similar topics. You can 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 work. However, these types of notes should be used extremely rarely, and only when appropriate for the subject.

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Source: HIS Education