Footnotes: Home

What is a footnote?

A footnote is used to inform your reader where you have sourced a particular quotation or idea within the body of your paper. For certain types of sources, like e-mails, well-known encyclopedias, and legal documents, your footnote is often sufficient documentation -- an entry may not be necessary in your bibliography. For other types of sources, like books and journals, both a footnote and a bibliography entry are always included.

What is the shortened form?

When a full reference to the source has already been included in the bibliography, or in a previous footnote, subsequent footnotes can be shortened to provide enough information to lead your reader back to the full citation. Typically, this includes the last name of the author or other primary contributor, a shortened version of the title (if longer than 4 words), and a page number. If you aren't sure if shortened footnotes should be used in your paper, check with your teacher.

What other rules do I need to know to write the footnote?
Rule 1: Placement
To create a footnote in the body of your paper, add a superscripted note reference number immediately following the quotation or idea you wish to attribute (typically at the end of a sentence). Footnotes should be numbered consecutively though your paper (not restarting from 1 on each page). If your paper is divided into chapters, numbering can restart for each chapter. The footnote itself should appear at the bottom of the page.

Word and Google Docs can automate basic formatting for you (e.g., An Insert footnote option inserts a superscripted number after your sentence as well as the associated footnote number at the bottom of the page).
Rule 2: Using "Ibid."
In the 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, the use of "ibid." to indicate multiple references to a particular source is discouraged. Instead, short-form citations can be used, and the title of a work just cited can be omitted. For example:

From the NoodleTools website