Documents often contain footnotes in the Chicago style but rarely in the MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association) styles. But regardless of the style you use to write the citation, every footnote you write must be properly structured.
Step
Method 1 of 4: Part One: Footnote Basics
Step 1. Number the footnotes in the main body
In the body of the document, footnotes need to be numbered with Arabic numerals in front of the use of punctuation in the clause associated with the footnote.
- All footnote numbers in the body of the article must be in superscript (at the top).
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Example:
- Preliminary research suggests that this matter could be of crucial significance within the field.1
- Studies regarding this matter could be difficult to perform, 2 but the effort may well be worth it.
- Keep in mind that the only exceptions are dashes and closing parentheses. When a dash appears in front of a clause that requires a footnote, the footnote number is written before the dash. Likewise, when clauses with footnotes appear in brackets, the footnote number must also be included in parentheses.
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Example:
- The research is important3-whether these efforts are for personal or public gain has yet to be determined, though.
- (Contradictory reports made in the past have already been proven inaccurate, as noted in the chart below.4)
Step 2. Arrange footnotes at the bottom of each page
Footnotes should be entered at the bottom of the page where the relevant information appears, and they should be numbered with Arabic numerals that are also used to identify the appropriate clause in the body of the text.
- Footnotes must begin in four single-spaced lines, or two double-spaced lines, below the main body of the page.
- Footnotes must be double-spaced.
- Each footnote begins with a standard explanatory indent (with five spaces). But only the first line is indented. The rest of the paragraph is aligned to the left margin.
- Place the appropriate number after the first line indent, followed by a period and a single space. Start writing footnotes after.
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Example:
- 1. See Smith, chapters 2 and 5, for a more detailed discussion on this concept.
- 2. Other research supports similar conclusions. See Jackson 64-72, Doe and Johnson 101-157.
- 3. Brown, who worked closely with Smith during these studies, agrees with Smith's process but disagrees with Smith's conclusions (Brown 54).
- 4. Notes. From "Studies on Style," by J. Doe, 2007, Smart Journal, 11, p. 14. Copyright 2007 by Doe. Reprinted with permission.
Step 3. Number all footnotes sequentially throughout the document
Do not repeat numbering in the same document under any circumstances. In other words, you should have only one footnote with the number "1,," one footnote with the number "2," and so on.
Method 2 of 4: Part Two: MLA Style Specification
Step 1. Use bibliographic footnotes sparingly
The MLA discourages the use of footnotes in documents, but some publishers may use the footnote system instead of the more generally accepted system of parenthetical citations.
- Do not cite all sources in your footnotes. The bibliographic information provided in your footnotes should include only the information normally described in bracketed citations.
- The bibliographic information you need to include must begin with the context of the full sentence. At the very least, you should preface the information by saying, "Look…"
- End each quote with a period.
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Example:
- 1. See Smith, chapters 2 and 5, for a more detailed discussion on this concept.
- 2. Other research supports similar conclusions. See Jackson 64-72, Doe and Johnson 101-157.
Step 2. Insert footnotes for explanatory purposes
Most of your explanations and information should be included in the body of the document, and the MLA style does not support long, distorted notes. But if you occasionally need to include brief information that strays far from the main article, you can use footnotes to do just that.
- Each footnote must be explained in complete sentences. Avoid using footnotes that are longer than a sentence or two.
- Include information that will be helpful to the reader even if it doesn't fit into the main body of the article.
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Example:
3. Brown, who worked closely with Smith during these studies, agrees with Smith's process but disagrees with Smith's conclusions (Brown 54)
Method 3 of 4: Part Three: APA Style Specification
Step 1. Enter footnotes as necessary
Body footnotes can be used when you have additional information that could be useful to your readers even if the information doesn't fit within the main body of the document. However, use these notes infrequently, as the APA style strongly discourages the use of multiple footnotes.
- Limit the body of your footnote to one or two complete sentences. The overall length should not exceed the length of a small paragraph.
- Keep footnotes short and focus on one thing. In other words, only describe one subject, and keep it as concise as possible.
- You can also use footnotes to direct the reader to more detailed information that can be found in other sources.
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Example:
- 1. See Smith (2009), for a more detailed discussion on this concept.
- 2. Other research supports similar conclusions. See Jackson (1998), Doe and Johnson (2012).
- 3. Brown (2009), who worked closely with Smith during these studies, agrees with Smith's process but disagrees with Smith's conclusions.
Step 2. Provide a copyright footnote if appropriate
If you are taking direct quotes that include more than 500 words from published material, you will need official permission issued by the original author. This official permission must be written in a footnote.
- Other violations of "Fair Use" copyright law also require you to obtain official permission from the author.
- You will also need to include a note relating to copyright if you are reproducing an image, graphic, or table from another source.
- Such quotations usually begin with the word "Note," and are written in italics.
- Provide full citations from sources according to APA specifications.
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Example:
4. Notes. From "Studies on Style," by J. Doe, 2007, Smart Journal, 11, p. 14. Copyright 2007 by Doe. Reprinted with permission
Method 4 of 4: Part Four: Chicago Style Specification
Step 1. Use bibliographic footnotes for all citations in the text
Unlike the APA and MLA styles, the Chicago style favors the use of footnotes rather than parenthetical citations. Information relating to all citations in the article should be provided via footnotes.
Keep in mind that footnotes still appear at the bottom of the page where related information appears, and all the basic rules of footnote arrangement still apply
Step 2. Provide complete bibliographic information
You will need to include more than the author's name, page number, or date of publication in the footnote. Full quotation must be given. It includes the name of one or more authors and all information about the original source.
- Provide the full name of the author as shown in the original source. Do not replace the author's full name with initials.
- Remember that full quotations must be used when you first refer to an article, but each time you mention the same text after the first time, the partial or abbreviated form must be used.
Step 3. Cite the book
When quoting from a book, you should state the full name of the author in first-name-last-name order, followed by the title of the book in italics. The city of publication, publisher, and year of publication must be enclosed in parentheses. If relevant, provide the page number of the material in the source at the end of the footnote.
- For two or three authors, each author's name must be listed in the order shown in the original source. For four or more authors, list only the author's first name, followed by the phrase, " et al."
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Example:
- 1. John Doe and Bob Smith, Interesting Book (New York: Wonderful Publisher, 2010), 32.
- 2. Rebecca Johnson, et al., Another Great Book (Chicago: Awesome Publisher, 2009), 102.
- For subsequent references to the same article, shorten the citation to include only the last name, title and page number.
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Example:
- 3. Doe and Smith, Interesting Books, 98.
- 4. Johnson, et al., Another Great Book, 117.
Step 4. Cite articles from journals
When citing academic articles, include the author's full name in first-name-last-name order, the title of the article in quotation marks, and the name of the journal in italics. Continue this information with the volume number, edition number, year in parentheses, and page numbers.
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Example:
Sue Rogers, "Clever Article," Very Important Journal 14, no. 3 (2011): 62
- When referring to the same article later in the article, shorten your footnotes to include only the last name, article title, and page number.
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Example:
Rogers, "Clever Article," 84
