Footnotes/Endnotes

A footnote gives credit to a writer whose words or ideas you used. A direct quotation requires a footnote, which is usually written on a separate page at the end of the report. The material to be footnoted is followed with a small number that is written slightly above a line like this: 1. The numbers should match the numbers on the footnote page.

The main difference between Footnotes and Endnotes is that Footnotes are placed numerically at the foot of the very same page where direct references are made, while Endnotes are placed numerically at the end of the essay on a separate page entitled Endnotes or Notes.

To prepare your footnotes, find each quotation you have used:

[Tab] or indent Footnote and Endnote entries five spaces from the left margin. Leave one space between the superscript number and the entry. Do not indent second and subsequent lines. Double-space between entries. Number Footnotes and Endnotes consecutively using a superscript, e.g., 7.

Each footnote should include the author's first and last names, in that order; the title of the source, the volume number, if applicable, the date, if the reference is a magazine, and the page number. If you have two or more consecutive notes from the same source, use the abbreviation Ibid., instead of repeating the same information. Ibid. stands for a Latin word meaning "in the same place." Ibid. should be followed by a page number if it differs from the previous one.

For Endnotes, you must use the same superscript number (as in your text) at the beginning of each Endnote in your Endnotes list. Start your list of Endnotes on a new page at the end of your essay. Remember to put the Endnotes page before the Bibliography, Works Cited, or References page.

Keep in Mind:

Use footnotes to give credit to writers who words or ideas you include in a report. Prepare a bibliography to show the sources of information you used in writing your report.

Simple example of footnote:

Shepard Henken, Opportunities in the Hotel and Motel Industry, page 27.

Examples of first Footnotes or Endnotes, subsequent Footnotes or Endnotes, and listings on Works Cited or References page from MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers:

Reference from the Bible, Catechism, or Sacred Texts:

Example in text:
An interesting reference was made to the picking of corn on the Sabbath.8

Example of Footnote citation, long form:
8Matthew 12:1-8.

Example of Footnote citation, short form:
8Mt 12:1-8

List under Works Cited:
The New Jerusalem Bible: Reader's Edition. New York: Doubleday, 1990.

Example in text:
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "Because of its common origin the human race forms a unity, for 'from one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth.'"9

Example of a first Footnote or Endnote citation for the above quote from Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part I, Section 2, Chapter 1, Article 1, Paragraph 6I, Reference #360, Page 103, would be:
Catechism of the Catholic Church. (New York: Doubleday, 1994) 360.

Subsequent citation of this same quote:
10Catechism 360.

Citation of a different quote from the same book:
11 Catechism 1499.

List under Works Cited:
Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday, 1994.

Examples of Footnote or Endnote citations for other sacred texts:
12Pius XII, encyclical, Summi Pontificatus 3. 13Roman Catechism I, 10, 24.

Do not confuse Footnote and Endnote citations with explanatory Notes that some authors refer to as ";Endnotes." These Notes are not considered to be citations but are used to add comments, explanations, or additional information relating to specific passages in the text.

Source: Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 5th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1999.


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