The document discusses the use of footnotes in academic writing, outlining their purpose, types, and guidelines for effective use. It emphasizes the importance of sparing footnotes to maintain clarity, distinguishing between footnotes and endnotes, and providing examples from Chicago, APA, and MLA styles. Additionally, it lists dos and don'ts to enhance the credibility of research without overwhelming readers.

1. Footnote and styles
SIVARANJANI. S
s i v a r a n j a n i . e c o n o m i c @ g m a i l . c o m

2. Footnotes
Footnotes are conventional procedures used in scholarly writing in validate or to explain certain aspects
in the main text . Such devices should be used sparingly and only when the material being presented clearly
needs amplification or acknowledgement . Foot note should appear only in the body of a paper or thesis never
in an abstract. Footnotes can be distracting if they are so numerous and frequent that they persistently impinge
upon the readers attention . Therefore, it becomes essential, before including any footnotes in a paper or
essay , to asses whether the material being relegated to a foot note is important enough to incorporated into
the main body of the text , or whether it is essential to include it at all.

3. Uses of footnotes
Two kinds of footnotes in text are commonly employed . One kind is for scholarly honesty to acknowledge
sources and authorities. Such footnotes often :
◦ validate a point, statement or argument.
◦ acknowledge a direct quotation or indirect quotation
◦ provide a readers with sufficient information to consult sources independently..
information in footnotes of this kind where sources and authorities are acknowledge includes ;
the sources of information , usually include the author name
the date of publication
the title of sources
the publisher and place of publication (optional)
the exact page(s) of the source of references .

4. The second kind of footnote is to include the additional content that is not strictly relevant to
the main argument but yet is too important to be omitted .
◦ explain, supplement , or amplify materialthat is include in the main body of a paper
◦ provides cross-references to other sections of a paper

6. Footnotes are a very useful part of a research paper, but you must use them cautiously. It is
always better to use footnotes instead of endnotes. Using footnotes in APA and MLA styles is
slightly different.
Writing a research paper can be a tedious task. It requires the student to research, analyze the
facts, and write well-researched content. Writing such an assignment aims to provide factual
information on your study topic. Some students may know how to write but don’t know how to
include footnotes in their assignments. This leads to poor grades. This article will discuss the dos
and don’ts of using footnotes.

7. A footnote is a short text placed at the bottom of a page. It is usually used to give additional
information on the topic discussed in the body of the text or to indicate that a source used in
writing an article, essay, or book has been cited within the main body of the text. There are
different types of footnotes and endnotes. Footnotes are also known as running footnotes,
marginal notes, or endnotes.
Footnotes do not necessarily have to be placed at the bottom of the page or paper but rather
can be placed on any part of the page that makes sense for your research. Footnotes should be
placed where they will not distract from the rest of your text.

8. Footnotes and endnotes are simply two different ways to cite your sources in your research paper.
The difference between them is that footnotes are found at the bottom of a page, while endnotes
appear at the end of your document. In most cases, footnotes contain information that supports a
fact or idea in your paper; they should not be used to explain definitions or provide background
information.
Endnotes typically contain additional information that supports claims made in your paper; they
may also include references or citations for other sources you used during your research process.
The main difference between footnotes and endnotes is that footnotes appear at the bottom of a
page while endnotes appear at the end of a chapter or book. Footnotes are most commonly used
in academic papers, while endnotes are more commonly found in books.
To use footnotes or endnotes effectively, first determine which style your instructor prefers. If
you’re writing an academic paper and unsure of your instructor’s preferences, ask him or her before
drafting your paper.

9. DO’S
Footnotes are useful when they provide relevant information that can’t be placed in the main body of your paper but needs to be
included. It can refer to an interesting fact or statistic you want to share with your readers but doesn’t fit anywhere else in your paper.
Use footnotes when you need to cite specific sources of information or when you want to provide more details about a concept or
idea mentioned in your paper.
Footnotes should be used only when necessary; don’t overdo it with them because they may make your paper look overwhelming and
complicated for readers who aren’t familiar with academic writing standards yet (if any).
Include an alphabetical list of all sources cited in your paper at the end of the document (not in-text). This list should include author
name(s), title(s) and publication date(s). If necessary, you may also include other pertinent information such as URL, volume number, or
page numbers.
The information in your footnote should be the same as in your bibliography or list of references. You shouldn’t have extra information
unless it’s something that needs to be added but cannot be placed anywhere else in your paper.
Use footnotes for additional information not integral to your argument. Use footnotes for more information about a citation, but do
not use them as a way to avoid citations altogether.
Include a footnote at the bottom of each page if you have more than one footnote on that page. Only include one footnote per page if
it contains two or more different sources of information (i.e. if each source has multiple pieces of information in its own right).

10. Don’t
Do not use footnotes to make up for poor writing.
Do not use footnotes to pad out an essay with unnecessary information or anecdotes that do not pertain
to your topic.
Do not put in too many footnotes, and make sure each one has a purpose for being there.
Do not cite something that does not need to be cited, such as personal opinion or facts that are common
knowledge among most people who would read the paper (i.e., everyone knows what the Titanic is).
Do not use footnotes within parentheses; they should only be used at the bottom of each page (or
section) where they are needed — not inside other parts of your writing!
Do not use them for opinions or personal opinions.

11. Pros of Using Footnotes
It increases your credibility as well as trustworthiness by providing evidence for your arguments
It enables you to make a clear connection between your ideas and the sources that support them
It helps you avoid plagiarism by citing original sources of information and ideas you used to develop your
own argument.
Writers use footnotes to provide additional information about their work, such as source material for
facts or ideas not found within the main text.
Footnotes help writers focus on their writing rather than spending time formatting how it will appear in
print (or online).
You can avoid repetition by using footnotes instead of repeating information in the body of your paper.
Footnotes provide more space for citations than endnotes do.
They make it easier for readers to find specific passages in your essay because they can skip over
unnecessary information.

12. Cons of Using Footnotes
It may irritate and distract the reader from the article’s main point.
The number of words used in a footnote can be very large and will not be used by the reader.
If you have a lot of footnotes, it will make your article look cluttered and unprofessional.
Footnotes can make your article less readable if they are too long or too many.
Footnotes are often used as an excuse for lazy research and poor writing skills.
They can be used to hide errors and make it look like you have researched more than you actually have.
It’s difficult to read a long article that has many footnotes in it.
You can’t tell where the information is coming from (the original source).
A footnote distracts the main text, making it harder for readers to focus on what you’re trying to say.
They take up more space than endnotes.
The author’s name is not included on the title page.
There’s no way to distinguish between different types of citations in one document (for example, two different
sources for one quote).

13. Chicago footnote examples
“Frankl recalls the physical trials of his imprisonment, such as working in torn shoes or lacking
protection from the weather.¹ It was this torment that led him to his conclusion: ‘suffering
ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning.’”²
Bottom of page:
Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (Boston: Beacon Press, 2006), 73.
Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 113.

14. Full notes and short notes
There are two types of footnote in Chicago style: full notes and short notes.
Full notes contain the full publication details of the source. The first citation of each source should be a full
note.
Full note example
1. Virginia Woolf, “Modern Fiction,” in Selected Essays, ed. David Bradshaw (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2008), 11.
Short notes contain only the author’s last name, the title (shortened if longer than four words), and the
page number (if relevant). They are used for all subsequent citations of the same source. It’s also acceptable
to use “ibid.” instead to refer to the immediately preceding source.
Short note example
2. Woolf, “Modern Fiction,” 11.
The guidelines for use of short and full notes can vary across different fields and institutions. Sometimes you
might be required to use a full note for every citation, or to use a short note every time as long as all
sources appear

15. Placement of footnotes
Footnotes should be used whenever a source is quoted or paraphrased in the text. They appear at the
bottom of the relevant page, corresponding to reference numbers in the text. You can easily insert
footnotes in Microsoft Word.
The reference number appears in superscript at the end of the clause or sentence it refers to. It is placed
after any punctuation except a dash:
Johnson argues that “the data is unconvincing.”1
Johnson argues that “the data is unconvincing”1—but Smith contends that …
Notes should be numbered consecutively, starting from 1, across the whole text. Your first citation is
marked with a 1, your second with a 2, and so on. The numbering does not restart with a new page or
section (although in a book-length text it may restart with each new chapter).

16. Content of Chicago footnotes
The footnote contains the number of the citation followed by a period and then the citation itself. The
citation always includes the author’s name and the title of the text, and it always ends with a period. Full
notes also include all the relevant publication information in parentheses (which varies by source type).
If you quote a source or refer to a specific passage, include a page number or range. However, if the
source doesn’t have page numbers, or if you’re referring to the text as a whole, you can omit the page
number.
In short notes, titles of more than four words are shortened. Shorten them in a way that retains the
keyword(s) so that the text is still easily recognizable for the reader:
1. Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, ed. M.K. Joseph (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1998), 91.
2. Shelley, Frankenstein, 91.

17. Missing information
You sometimes won’t have all the information required for your citation. You might be missing page
numbers, the author’s name, or the publication date.
If one of your sources (e.g., a website) has no page numbers, but you still think it’s important to cite a
specific part of the text, other locators like headings, chapters or paragraphs can be used. Abbreviate
words like “paragraph” to “par.” and “chapter” to “chap.”, and put headings in quotation marks:
1. Johnson, “Literature Review,” chap. 2.1.
2. Smith, “Thematic Analysis,” under “Methodology.”
If the source lacks a stated publication date, the abbreviation “n.d.” (no date) should replace the year in
a full note:
1. Smith, Data Analysis (New York: Norton, n.d.), 293.
If a text doesn’t list its author’s name, the organization that published it can be treated as the author in
your citation:

18. Combining multiple citations
Do not place multiple footnotes at the same point in your text (e.g. 1, 2, 3). If you need to cite
multiple sources in one sentence, you can combine the citations into one footnote, separated
by semicolons:
1. Hulme, “Romanticism and Classicism”; Eliot, The Waste Land; Woolf, “Modern Fiction,” 11.

19. APA Style
To cite sources in APA Style, you must use APA in-text citations, not notes.
However, you can use footnotes in APA to:
Give additional information
Provide copyright attribution

20. APA Footnote Example
In text:
[Lengthy passage from the play Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead]
“ROS.¹ ‘Not by himself . . . Coming this way, I think. (Shiftily.) Should we go?’
GUIL. ‘Why? We’re marked now.’”²
Bottom of page:
¹ The role of Rosencrantz in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead was first performed on film by
Gary Oldman.
²Copyright 1967 by Tom Stoppard.

21. However, there are exceptions:
If a footnote relates to text in parentheses, the footnote number should also appear inside the
parentheses.
If the footnote relates to material offset by a dash, the footnote number should come before the
dash, rather than after.
Example:
Footnote placement Although reduced caffeine intake had noticeable short-term effects on the
subjects’ moods and energy levels—this was measured using multiple methods2—their energy
levels did not fluctuate as frequently as those in the control group (whose daily caffeine intake
was not reduced3).

22. MLA Style Foot note
It 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.

23. MLA Footnote Example
In text:
“Free from desire, you realize the mystery.”¹
“Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.”²
Bottom of page:
¹This passage is alternatively translated as “the secret waits for the insight of eyes unclouded by
longing.”
²Citations of Tao Te Ching use Stephen Mitchell’s translation, unless otherwise noted.

24. Example :
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.
7 Grabianowski and “100 Best Novels” support the selection of these four case studies, all of which are
considered successful works by these sources.

25. Citing a lot of sources at once
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.
1 For further discussion of Australia’s early publishing industry, see Crittenden 5–11; Kent 17–34; Smith 44–
50; and Jones 36.

26. Explaining citation or translation practice
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.
Notes explaining citation/translation practice
1 Translations are mine unless otherwise noted.
2 Citations of marginalia refer to Smith’s edition and are cited by page number. Citations of the poem itself
refer to Baldwin’s edition and use line numbers.
3 Davidson’s translation uses rivulet, but the more usual translation of the term is brook.

27. Using notes to elaborate on ideas
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.
4 For an insightful exploration of how “deep time” figured in 19th-century British science, see
Sera-Shriar. The relationship between geology and industrial modernity is also elaborated by
Taylor, who traces the connections between James Watt’s steam engine and James Hutton’s
geological discoveries (35–36).
5 Brown (21–30) even considers social class and gender to be the novel’s primary themes, a
minority viewpoint that nevertheless has some convincing points in its favor.

28. Providing more examples in notes
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.
Notes providing additional (counter)examples
4 Other twentieth-century writers have also had ambivalent relationships with their first
languages, of course: Conrad, born in Poland but writing in English, or Beckett, an Irishman
writing in French and translating himself back into English.
5 Davis (19) argues for an alternative perspective.

29. IEEE Style
The Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a professional organization
supporting many branches of engineering, computer science, and information technology. In
addition to publishing journals, magazines, and conference proceedings, IEEE also makes many
standards for a wide variety of industries.
IEEE citation style includes in-text citations, numbered in square brackets, which refer to the full
citation listed in the reference list at the end of the paper. The reference list is organized
numerically, not alphabetically. For examples, see the IEEE Editorial Style Manual.

30. The Basics:
In-text Citing It is not necessary to mention an author's name, pages used, or date of
publication in the in-text citation. Instead, refer to the source with a number in a square bracket,
e.g. [1], that will then correspond to the full citation in your reference list.
Place bracketed citations within the line of text, before any punctuation, with a space before the
first bracket.
Number your sources as you cite them in the paper. Once you have referred to a source and
given it a number, continue to use that number as you cite that source throughout the paper.
When citing multiple sources at once, the preferred method is to list each number separately, in
its own brackets, using a comma or dash between numbers, as such: [1], [3], [5] or [1] - [5].
The below examples are from Murdoch University's IEEE Style LibGuide.

31. Formats
Creating a Reference List The Reference List appears at the end of your paper and provides the
full citations for all the references you have used. List all references numerically in the order
they've been cited within the paper, and include the bracketed number at the beginning of each
reference.
Title your list as References either centered or aligned left at the top of the page.
Create a hanging indent for each reference with the bracketed numbers flush with the left side
of the page. The hanging indent highlights the numerical sequence of your references.
The author's name is listed as first initial, last name. Example: Adel Al Muhairy would be cited as
A. Al Muhairy (NOT Al Muhairy, Adel).
The title of an article is listed in quotation marks.
The title of a journal or book is listed in italics.

32. Examples of in-text citations:
"...end of the line for my research [13]."
"This theory was first put forward in 1987 [1]."
"Scholtz [2] has argued that..."
"Several recent studies [3], [4], [15], [16] have suggested that...."
"For example, see [7].“
Example :
[4] G. Liu, K. Y. Lee, and H. F. Jordan, "TDM and TWDM de Bruijn networks and shufflenets for optical
communications," IEEE Trans. Comp., vol. 46, pp. 695-701, June 1997. (Journal article )
[1] J. O. Williams, “Narrow-band analyzer,” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Elect. Eng., Harvard Univ.,
Cambridge, MA, 1993. = (Thesis )

33. Chicago Style
Chicago is a documentation style that has been published by the Chicago University Press since
1906. This citation style incorporates rules of grammar and punctuation common in American
English. Typically, Chicago style presents two basic documentation systems: (1) notes and
bibliography and (2) author-date. Choosing between the two often depends on subject matter
and the nature of sources cited, as each system is favored by different groups of scholars.
The author-date style has long been used by those in the physical, natural, and social sciences.
In this system, sources are briefly cited in the text, usually in parentheses, by author’s last name
and date of publication. The short citations are amplified in a list of references, where full
bibliographic information is provided.

34. Example
Kossinets, Gueorgi, and Duncan J. Watts. 2009. “Origins of Homophily in an Evolving Social
Network.” American Journal of Sociology 115:405–50. Accessed February 28, 2010.
doi:10.1086/599247.

35. Harvard Style :
The Harvard referencing system is known as the Author-Date style. It emphasizes the name of
the creator of a piece of information and the date of publication, with the list of references in
alphabetical order at the end of your paper.
Unlike other citation styles, there is no single, definitive version of Harvard Style. Therefore, you
may see a variation in features such as punctuation, capitalization, abbreviations, and the use of
italics.

36. In-text citations in the body of your paper, and
The reference list at the end of your paper
Rules:
All in-text citations should be listed in the reference list at the end of your paper.
Reference list entries need to contain all the information that someone reading your paper
would need in order to find your source.
Reference lists in Harvard Style are arranged alphabetically by first author.
Begin your Reference list on a new page after your text and number it consecutively.

38. Other Styles
Abbreviation
ACS American Chemical Society
AGLC Australian Guide to Legal Citation
AMA American Medical Association
AMJ Academy of Management Style
CSE Council of Science Editors /Council of Biology
Editors

39. Australian Guide to Legal Citation
Author — in order of appearance on the article, refer to rule 4.1 p 83
'Article Title' — in single quotations, refer to rule 4.2 p 88
(publication year)
Volume number followed by (issue number). No space between volume and issue numbers
Journal — include the full title of the journal in italics, omitting The from the beginning, see 5.5 p 93
Starting page
Pinpoint — to pages (or paragraph numbers if necessary)
Examples
Gary Edmond, 'What Lawyers Should Know about the Forensic "Sciences"' (2015) 36(1) Adelaide Law Review 33,
34.
Matthew Groves, 'Empathy, Experience and the Rule Against Bias in Criminal Trials' (2012) 36(2) Criminal Law
Journal 84.

40. The Council of Biology Editors (CBE) style is a citation style for scientific writing in the life
sciences and physical sciences12. It was developed by the CSE (Council of Science Editors),
formerly known as the CBE3. It provides style and format guidelines for authors, editors, and
publishers in the biological sciences145. It emphasizes brevity and simplicity and has two formats:
Name-Year and Citation-Sequence23. The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 7th
edition (2006) is the main source for this style3.
1 Stalberg E, Trontelj JV. We want to pump you up: studies in healthy and diseased muscle. New
York: Raven; 2002. 291 p.
2 Freidson E. Profession of medicine. New York: Dodd-Mead; 1972. 802 p.
Council of Science Editors /Council of Biology Editors

41. Vancouver style
The reference list should be in numerical order and each number matches and refers to the one
in the text.