difference between a footnote and an endnote

Because the author and other info may already be contained in the text, footnotes are shorter.When determining which format to employ, keep the following aspects in mind: You can use either footnotes or endnotes in Chicago notes and bibliography style, and citations follow the same format in both cases.įootnotes and endnotes are not used for citations in APA and MLA style, but they can be used to convey supplementary information. Don’t combine footnotes and endnotes instead, pick one and stick to it. Endnotes are listed after the reference list or bibliography at the end of the text. Notes are typically included in Chicago 17 notes-biblio style, but if your instructor needs them, you may use them in an MLA or APA citation style school assignment.įootnotes are found at the bottom of each page. Bear in mind that some people call the notes at the end of the book footnotes, although almost no one, to our knowledge, refers to the notes at the bottom of the page as endnotes.You must understand the difference between footnotes and endnotes if you are writing a school paper using Chicago style citations utilising the notes-Biblio style or if your teacher requests you to incorporate notes in your work. If you are interested in what you should call each of these types of notes you may safely restrict yourself to the following: notes at the foot (bottom) of the page are called footnotes, and those at the end of the book (or document) are called endnotes. Colorado Springs Gazette (Colorado Springs, CO), 16 Nov. The newspaper considers the fall of the French premier, Painleve, a mere footnote to the history of the war, but that of Prime Minister Lloyd George as a whole chapter. 1998įootnote also has figurative senses, including “one that is a relatively subordinate or minor part (as of an event, work, or field),” and “something that serves for illustration or explanation.” Stephen Ling, Drug and Alcohol Review, Sept.

The main criticism of this book relates to the almost constant need to refer to the footnotes at the end of the book, a task which becomes laborious. Robert Frost, Canadian Slavonic Papers (Edmonton, Can.), Mar.-Jun. It is also a pity that a distinguished University press should place the footnotes at the end of the book, though it is to be praised for allowing an appendix listing variants of personal and place names in various languages. Hatvany, Journal of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society, 2013 The first definition we provide for footnote is “a note of reference, explanation, or comment usually placed below the text on a printed page.” The reason we says the note is “usually” place at the bottom of the page, as opposed to “always,” is because sometimes people refer to notes at the end of the book as footnotes, rather than endnotes.Īdditionally, researchers and students will find the ample footnotes at the end of the book informative and highly useful for understanding the plethora of primary and secondary sources used in the interpretation and writing of environmental history. 2008 What is a footnote?įootnote is a bit more complicated, as this word has multiple senses, and some of these have broad meanings. Stephen Wassell, Nexus Network Journal, Oct. Selected mathematical details are cited in the endnotes, and the list of references includes many publications focused on the relationships between architecture and mathematics in Palladios designs. Therefore, the book provides an introduction to the history of Travellers and to the current conversations surrounding them rather than a thorough literature review, although the endnotes provide a helpful launching pad for that endeavor. We define endnote as “a note placed at the end of the text.” There is very little semantic ambiguity with this word’s definition, and the manner in which it is used is fairly consistent. What is the difference between an endnote and a footnote? Is it merely that one is a note placed at the end of something, while the other is one placed at the foot? In some ways the answer is yes (it is always pleasing when things are this simple), while in ways the answer is a bit more complicated (because things are never quite this simple). You can refer back to this article later.

Difference between a footnote and an endnote