Footnotes are an essential part in academic writing. Although, students often don’t pay much attention to it while writing their academic tasks, yet it is an important constituent.

In this article, you will learn everything about footnotes. From its meaning to examples and rules, UK Academic Help has got it all covered for you.

Buckle up and let the learning journey begin.

What Is A Footnote?

As very few people are actually aware about, what are footnotes? So it’s always a good idea to start with the meaning or definition of the main term.

Footnotes are short notes about specific information, written at the bottom of the pages in academic projects. They do not involve lengthy sentences, rather they mostly include number of pages, name of journal, or title of the project etc. They may include letters, numbers, or symbols.

In addition, they are used to provide citations and any other additional information that can not be added in the main text.

How To Use Footnotes?

Footnotes can be inserted automatically if you are using word files or Google Docs. However, you can also manually add them or change the information manually.

If you are using Word or Google Docs then adding footnotes is very easy because you would not have to manually write them on each page. Rather you will be able to write them automatically.

Let’s see how you can do it in both files.

Adding Footnotes In Word File

Inserting a footnote in Word is very easy and does not require much hassle. Just follow these steps and you are good to go;

  • Click at the bottom of the page where you want to insert the footnote.
  • Then click the References option and click on the Insert Footnote option
  • Type the text in the given space and apply

           Wasn’t it simple enough?

Adding Footnotes In Google Docs

Inserting footnotes in Google Docs is also very easy. Follow the below mentioned steps;

  • Click on the bottom of the page
  • At the top bar click Insert option
  • Then click Footnote
  • Type the text and apply it to the page.

In both the files, you can automatically insert page numbers and other stuff.

What Is A Footnote Referencing?

A footnote referencing means indicating a reference by adding a small number above the line. The number indicates that there is some information written at the bottom of the page that is related to the main text but can’t be added in the main text.

Students usually misunderstand and believe that footnotes are only used in OSCOLA referencing style. However, footnotes are also used in APA, MLA and Chicago referencing styles and they are more commonly accepted by most institutions.

Types Of Footnotes

There are different types of footnotes but four  of them are mentioned here that are mostly used these days. The main  types are mentioned below;

OSCOLA (Oxford Standard for Citation Of Legal Authorities)

In OSCOLA style a footnote citation system is used. It is mostly used by law schools and publishers. In OSCOLA a superscript is added at the end of a sentence after punctuation.

APA (American Psychological Association)

In APA style the footnotes are only used to add additional information only if needed because APA does not support the use of unnecessary information in footnotes. Moreover in APA, numbers in superscript are added before the sentence.

While APA recommends using an automatic footnote inserting system but you can also add manually if the automatic system doesn’t work.

MLA (Modern Language Association)

MLA style is used to provide elaboration on a certain idea, an example, or additional clarification about the citation. In MLA a superscript is added before the sentence followed by space.

Although, in MLA citations are added in the main text and not in the footnotes, yet if a single text has many citations then they can be added in the footnotes to avoid the mess.

Chicago Manual

In Chicago style, mainly footnotes are used for citation. However, it is not bound to it, you can also add additional information or elaboration of a point.

Unlike the other two, this style does not involve small numbers. Rather the footnotes contain full information and are placed at the end of a sentence.

These were the main types, you can chose according to your requirement for your assignments or dissertation. If you find it hard and need help then feel free to contact us any time.

Examples Of Different Types Of Footnotes

The examples of all the main types of footnotes are as follows;

Example Of OSCOLA

1 Steve Neville, A Complete Guide to Avoid Plagiarism (1st edn, ABC Press 2010).

Example Of APA

 1 Basic extraction method was used to extract…

Example Of MLA

1 See John 6-9; Smith 30-38; James 15-29

Example Of Chicago

Thomas and Andrew, “Life In Space”.

Note that the above mentioned examples are just used to give you a visual perspective of how these styles may look. These are not real examples and just used as sample for better understanding.

Rules Of Writing Footnotes

The rules of writing footnotes may vary from style to style or institute to institute. But some of the basic rules of writing footnotes are as follows;

  • Footnotes shall be numbered consecutively in order
  • The numbers shall not be same rather they shall be unique
  • Footnotes shall be formatted according to the chosen style throughout the paper
  • They shall be placed properly within the text

These were some basic rules that you need to keep in mind while writing your footnotes. When you get dissertation writing service from us we make sure to follow all the rules to the maximum to avoid any inconvenience.

FAQs

Are footnotes and endnotes the same?

Footnotes are like endnotes but there is a slight difference in them. The endnotes are written collectively at the end of the text. While the footnotes are written separately on each page.

Do footnotes count in word count?

No, footnotes do not count in the word count. They are just written for the reader’s better understanding.

Does Harvard Referencing use footnotes?

In the Harvard Referencing System, the sources are cited in brackets within the main text and not in footnotes. However, footnotes may include, the author name, the date of source, or the number of page.