How to write and use footnotes.

What is a footnote?

A footnote is a numbered note or reference at the bottom of a page. In the main body of text, it’s marked as a superscript icon – either an asterisk (*) or a number (¹), that you can insert easily using built-in tools on software like Microsoft Word or Google Docs. The superscript icon matches what appears at the bottom of a page.

Footnotes are used for several reasons:

• To cite sources – particularly important when writing academic papers, footnotes enable you to clearly state where the information has come from. They’re typically used in the Chicago referencing format.
• Add context – footnotes allow you to add more information without disrupting the piece’s flow.
• Academic writing – superscript icons are clean, professional and widely seen in academic work. For example: The global fashion industry is responsible for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions. ¹

Footnotes vs endnotes.

Footnotes and endnotes are similar, so it’s easy to get them confused. They both use the same superscript icons and provide extra information that wouldn’t easily fit into the main text.

The key difference between the two is where they appear in the document or book. Footnotes are formatted at the bottom of the page whereas endnotes are found at the end of the chapter.

How to add a footnote in PDFs, Word and Google Docs.

It’s useful to know how to add footnotes to different types of documents, from PDFs to Word files and Google Docs. Here’s what you need to know:

Add a footnote to a PDF.

1. Load Adobe Acrobat X and open the PDF file you need to add the footnote to.
2. Navigate to ‘Tools’.
3. Go to ‘Edit Page Design’ and then the ‘Header & Footer’ button.
4. Add your footnote text in the relevant field – ‘Left Footer Text’, ‘Center Footer Text’ or ‘Right Footer Text’. You’ll be able to see a preview of what it looks like too.
5. You can also adjust the font and size using the ‘Name’ and ‘Size’ drop-down menus.
6. Click ‘OK’ to add it to the document.

Add a footnote to a Word document.

1. Launch Microsoft Word and open the document.
2. Navigate to the ‘References’ along the top of the page.
3. Place your cursor at the end of the sentence you wish to assign the footnote to (before the punctuation).
4. Click ‘Insert Footnote’. This will place the superscript number in the main body of the text and bring you to the bottom of the page, where you can enter the information you need to.

Add a footnote to Google Docs.

1. Open your document in Google Docs.
2. Click in the text where you’d like to insert the footnote.
3. Navigate to the top left and select ‘Insert’ and then ‘Footnote’.
4. Type in your footnote.

Footnote examples for your academic writing.

There are different footnote format styles to choose from, so it’s important to check the requirements of your specific assignment and institution to make sure you’re following the correct guidelines. Here are a couple of examples of footnotes:

If you’re using the Chicago referencing style our citations should look like this:

1. In text: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."¹
2. Footnote: ¹ Author, Title of work (City: Publisher, Year), Page Number.

Both the MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association) format prefer in-text citations over footnotes, but they are useful to provide more information or context. Here’s another footnote example:

1. In text: The UK is one of the largest producers of textiles waste in Europe. ¹
2. Footnote: ¹It generates approximately 206,456 tonnes of textiles waste each year.