Q&A for How to Do Footnotes

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How do I write book titles or names in an essay?

Noah Taxis
English Teacher
Noah Taxis is an English Teacher based in San Francisco, California. He has taught as a credentialed teacher for over four years: first at Mountain View High School as a 9th- and 11th-grade English Teacher, then at UISA (Ukiah Independent Study Academy) as a Middle School Independent Study Teacher. He is now a high school English teacher at St. Ignatius College Preparatory School in San Francisco. He received an MA in Secondary Education and Teaching from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education. He also received an MA in Comparative and World Literature from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a BA in International Literary & Visual Studies and English from Tufts University.

Noah Taxis

English Teacher

Expert Answer

When citing book titles in an essay, italicizing depends on the specific style guide being used, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago style. In APA style, book titles are italicized. In MLA style, book titles are also italicized. Similarly, in Chicago style, book titles are italicized. Therefore, it's essential to follow the specific style guidelines to ensure accurate and consistent formatting in your writing because author names and quotes are formatted differently.

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How do I do footnotes using Chicago style?

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Chicago style footnotes typically include the same citation information as you include in your bibliographic citation, although different punctuation is used. Essentially, elements of a citation are separated with commas rather than periods. Some elements of the citation, such as publication information, may be condensed in a footnote.

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Question

How can I fix it so that adding a new footnote creates a new one and doesn't just add onto the last one I made?

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Make sure your cursor is in your main text, at the end of the sentence you want to add a footnote for. If your cursor is at the end of the footnote text when you select the option to add a new footnote, your word processing app may simply add onto that existing footnote rather than creating a new one.

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What do I do if I have two footnotes from the same source but different pages?

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After your first citation, you can use a shortened version of the citation in subsequent footnotes. If the other footnote references a different page in the source, simply include that page number at the end of the citation. For example, suppose your first citation was "Reginald Daily, Timeless wikiHow Examples: Through the Ages (Minneapolis: St. Olaf Press, 2010), 115." Your second citation might read: "Daily, wikiHow Examples, 72."

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How can I make footnotes for references that come from the internet?

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References that come from the internet include the same basic information as a print version of the same type of source. For example, if you were citing an article from the internet, you would use the same format as you would use for a print article in a periodical. However, instead of publication information, you would include the URL for the reference. Some styles also require you to include the date you accessed the website.

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Question

Should I write the name of the translator first and then the author in a footnote?

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Most style guides would have you write the author's name first, with a separate listing of the translator. However, there are situations when you would list the name of the translator first – for example, if you were comparing different translations of the same work, you would likely list the name of the translator first.

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In my work composed of several chapters, do the footnotes begin 1 to x per chapter or are the footnotes numbered in consecutive order from one to the end of the work?

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In longer works composed of several chapters, the numbering of footnotes may start over with each chapter, or it may continue through the entirety of the work. Generally, if the chapters stand alone and don't cross-reference each other much (if at all), your footnote numbering would start over with each chapter. It's a good idea to talk to your editor or advisor about this and figure out which way makes better sense for your work.

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Is there a space between multiple footnotes?

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Footnotes are typically single-spaced. Some style guides may require footnotes to be double-spaced. This usually means that each footnote itself is single-spaced, but there is a double-space between each subsequent footnote. However, this type of formatting is not common.

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Do I need to add my footnoted reference in the reference page? Or if the reference has been cited in the footnote then it should be left at that?

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Most style guides require citations that are included in footnotes to also be included in the reference list at the end of your paper. However, personal sources (such as an interview or email correspondence) that cannot be accessed by the reader generally don't have to be included in your reference list. Chicago style makes some additional exceptions for major religious texts, such as the Bible or the Quran.

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Question

What is the difference between footnotes and a bibliography?

Community Answer

A bibliography is a list of your sources as well as a location in your paper for where the information from that source was used. A footnote is to help further explain or give a specific source at the end of a page. These sources that go in the footnotes also need to go in the bibliography, but sources in the bibliography are not required to be added as footnotes.

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Question

Should I use a footnote at the end of a paraphrased statement?

Community Answer

If you have been asked to footnote and it's a quote, phrase or any piece of evidence then you definitely need to footnote it.

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Question

If I need to add three footnotes using the same citation information, how do I label the footnotes?

Community Answer

Put all of the information in the first citation. For the others, use "ibid" and page number only as long as the information is from the same book.

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What do I need to write in a footnote at the end of the paper?

Community Answer

It depends on what needs to be cited. Different papers need different end-paper footnotes.

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