See Blackmur, especially chapters 3 and 4, for an insightful analysis of this trend.MLA Style does, however, allow you to use endnotes or footnotes for bibliographic notes, which refer to other publications your readers may consult.MLA discourages extensive use of explanatory or digressive notes.Modern Language Association's (MLA) rules regarding footnote useīelow are the rules regarding footnote use in MLA style, taken from the Purdue Online Writing Lab. However, while CMS requires footnotes for citations and supplemental information, APA and MLA suggest footnote use for supplemental information only. Other styles, such as the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA) also allow the use of footnotes. The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) requires the use of footnotes instead of in-text citations. A definition or explanation can be provided within the footnote without any visual or logical disruption in the text. Footnotes allow an author to guide his or her reader to additional information or further study, without disrupting the flow of the sentence.Īnother great use of footnotes is to define or explain a word or idea that might require further explanation to a general audience. In some cases, such as when using Chicago Style, footnotes are often used instead of in-text citations with a bibliography at the end of the paper.

Why are footnotes used?įootnotes are the least intrusive way for an author to provide citations or supplemental information about a topic. An example of superscripted footnote numbers. Keep in mind that the gray line is the bottom of the paper, so your footnotes will be printed that close to the end of the page. See the example below, which shows the superscripted footnote numbers, along with the footnotes and the way they are formatted on the paper. Regardless of their purpose, a footnote is usually added to text as a superscript, starting at 1, and with a corresponding number at the bottom of the page (known as the footer) where the citation or additional information is included.

To provide supplementary information to text, such as clarifying an idea or expounding on it for further inquiry.

To provide necessary information to text in the form of a citation.

While the rules regarding footnotes vary according to the citation style used, there are two distinct purposes for footnotes:

Endnote example mla