What Are Footnotes in an English Essay?
In an English essay, footnotes provide further explanation of the text, give both sides of an issue, or refer the reader to the source of the information. Whatever their application, footnotes should be used sensibly to avoid distracting or overwhelming the reader. The proper use and citation of footnotes contributes to a well-written, convincing and balanced essay.
Other People Are Reading
-
Uses of Footnotes
-
Footnotes are commonly used as content notes or bibliographic notes in essays for literature and language subjects or courses. Footnotes serve their purpose if they give valuable information and enlighten the reader towards a better or in-depth understanding of the essay's topic. Sometimes, footnotes provide further information that is useful for a reader but too long to include in the body of the essay. At the same time, an A-grade English essay should come across as readable copy with manageable length. For this reason, it's best to keep content notes concise and use bibliographic notes sparingly, unless the essay is a scholarly piece that requires detailed documentation.
Content Notes
-
Content notes are brief explanatory notes that expound on a topic or clarify a point. They may also provide background or historical information to put the subject matter in proper context. The essay writer can also anticipate questions that may come to the reader's mind as he processes the ideas presented. Some issues may be open to controversy or different meanings, so it's a good idea to offer a dissenting opinion or another interpretation in a footnote. The writer expresses his viewpoint, while allowing for an alternative perspective. Content footnotes keep the flow of ideas on track in the main body of the essay by not digressing to tangential topics.
-
Bibliographic Notes
-
The sources of direct quotes, facts and figures in the text may also be attributed in footnotes. Directly citing authoritative references gives due credit to the source of information, enables the reader to immediately verify it, and adds credibility to the written work. Bibliographic notes may also include recommended resources for further reading that may be of interest to the reader.
Components of Footnotes
-
Footnote references are indicated in the body of the essay by consecutive Arabic numerals in superscript. The superscript comes after the punctuation at the end of the relevant phrase, clause, sentence or paragraph. An exception to the rule is a clause that ends with a dash, in which case the superscript appears before the dash.
In a standard English essay, the footnote appears at the bottom of the same page as cited in the main text. Each footnote begins with the number that corresponds to its text notation.
Formatting Footnotes
-
Inserting and formatting footnotes is easy with a word processing program. In most programs the user can use the References tool to automatically adjust the placement, line spacing and numbering of footnotes on each page as the user types or edits the document. The Insert Footnote feature follows the conventional formatting style. Appropriate line spacing and a short horizontal bar separate the footnotes section from the main body. The footnotes have a smaller font than that of the main text and are single-spaced, with one line space between footnotes.
-
References
- Photo Credit Mensch und Computer image by Sven Rausch from Fotolia.com
