How to Create the Little Numbers for Citing Footnotes

When you add footnotes, the computer keeps track of them for you.

Footnotes are a method of citing sources in research-based papers. Unlike the parenthetical citations you may see in Modern Language Association (MLA) style papers, footnotes appear at the bottom of a page. A small number appears next to the information for which you are citing a source, and that same number appears at the bottom of the page alongside the citation for the source. Adding these small numbers and creating footnotes is a simple and streamlined process, allowing you to cite information throughout your paper easily and quickly.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• Word processing software

Instructions

1. Type out your sentence as you normally would, finishing with a period. Unlike parenthetical citations that appear within a sentence, footnotes appear at the end of the sentence.

2. Click on "Insert" at the top toolbar.

3. Click "Footnote." This makes the tiny number appear automatically, as well as the corresponding tiny number at the bottom of the page.

Tips & Warnings

• If you need to go back and add more footnotes later, the computer reorders them for you.

References

• Lakewood Public Library: Citing Sources
• University of Washington Gallagher Law Library: Word Tips to Make Your Life Easier

Resources

• The College of Staten Island of the City University of New York: How to Cite, Using Footnotes