What Are Footnotes? | Steps & Examples

Footnotes are numbered citations or notes at the bottom of a page in a piece of academic writing. Each footnote begins with a number that corresponds to a superscript number in the main text.

The citation style you’re using determines when and how to use footnotes. For example, APA footnotes and MLA footnotes are for sharing extra information, but in Chicago style, footnotes are for citing sources.

Chicago style footnotes example 

Numbering and Placement of Footnotes

Each footnote corresponds to a superscript number in the main text (sometimes referred to as a callout). Numbers for footnotes and callouts should follow sequential order and not repeat any of the same numbers.

Each superscript callout number usually goes after the period of the sentence that applies to the footnote. You don’t need a space between the period and the superscript number, but do add a space before the next sentence as you would normally.

When the footnote only applies to a clause that’s inside of parentheses or a pair of em dashes (like this⁴), place the callout number before the closing em dash or parentheses.

Each footnote should go at the bottom of the same page that includes the callout.

How to add footnotes in Word and Google Docs

Microsoft Word and Google Docs both have tools to automatically generate footnotes while you’re writing.

Microsoft Word footnotes

To add footnotes in Word, follow these steps:

1. Place your cursor in the spot where the callout number should appear.
2. Select the “References” tab in the top toolbar, and select “Insert Footnote.”
3. A numbered footnote will appear in the page’s footer, where you can adjust the formatting based on the style you’re using (e.g., APA, MLA, or Chicago) and type the citation or note.

How to add footnotes in Word example 

Google Docs footnotes

Adding footnotes in a Google Doc involves these steps:

1. Place your cursor in the spot where the callout number should appear.
2. In the top toolbar, select “Insert” to open a drop-down menu, and select “Footnote.”
3. Adjust the formatting based on the required style or citation guidelines, and type the citation or note.

How to add footnotes in Google example

Chicago style footnotes

The Chicago style notes and bibliography system uses footnotes instead of parenthetical citations. For example, Chicago book citations include a footnote for each sentence that paraphrases the author. Chicago style also permits footnotes for sharing tangential details that would interrupt the flow of the main text.

After using your word processor to insert a footnote, follow these steps to format the footnote in Chicago style:

• Indent the note ½ inch from the left margin.
• Change the superscript number to normal text, followed by a period and one space.
• Make sure footnotes are single-spaced, but leave one blank line between each note.

Footnotes in APA style

APA only permits footnotes for sharing supplemental information or copyright details for documents that you’re excerpting with permission from the copyright holder. Footnotes for these purposes are rarely necessary in student writing, but they may be useful in a dissertation.

APA footnotes can be on the same page as each callout or on a separate page before the APA reference page. (The latter is called an endnotes page in other style books.)

To apply APA formatting to footnotes, follow these steps:

• Indent the note ½ inch from the margin.
• Begin with a superscript number, and add one space before the first word of the note.
• Use single spacing for each note, but if there are multiple notes per page (which is rare), add a space between each one.

Footnotes in MLA style

MLA permits footnotes for recommending additional sources, explaining why you chose a certain edition or translation of a main source, or providing extra ideas or examples. This is rarely necessary in school assignments and undergraduate essay types.

Formatting footnotes in MLA style involves these steps:

• Indent the note ½ inch from the margin.
• Begin with a superscript number, and add one space before the first word of the note.
• Use double spacing for MLA footnotes.

Frequently asked questions about footnotes

What’s the difference between a footnote and an endnote?

The difference between a footnote and an endnote is the location in a document.

Footnotes go in the footer of the same page of the main text that includes the corresponding superscript numbers. Endnotes go together on a separate page after the main text (e.g., right before or after the bibliography depending on the style requirements).

Footnotes and endnotes have different uses in Chicago, MLA, and APA style writing. They can provide supplemental information in any of these three styles, but they’re also citations in Chicago style writing (e.g., Chicago book citations).

APA footnotes and MLA footnotes and endnotes are never used for citations.

When you’re writing footnotes or endnotes, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you avoid errors. QuillBot’s free Chicago Citation Generator can also help you instantly cite sources.

How do you use Chicago style citations?

Chicago style has two citation formats: notes and bibliography and author-date.

Notes and bibliography is the more common format. In it, footnotes are used in the body of the text, and a bibliography is included at the end. A full note is used the first time a source is cited and a shortened note (with only author, title, and page number) thereafter.

Chicago style citation examples

Full footnote	1. Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses (Penguin UK, 2021), 22–25.
Shortened footnote	2. Kimmerer, Gathering Moss, 22–25.
Bibliographic entry	Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. Penguin UK, 2021.

In author-date format, parenthetical citations are used instead of footnotes. The in-text citation includes the author’s last name and date (e.g., Kimmerer 2021). A full bibliography is included at the end.

QuillBot’s Online Notepad can help you keep track of all relevant source information.

Do footnote numbers go after the period?

Footnote numbers go after the period of a sentence in the main text that applies to the information in the footnote—like this.² For example, in Chicago style writing, each sentence that needs a citation has a superscript number after the period.

These superscript numbers in the main text are also referred to as callout numbers. There is no space between the period and the superscript callout number.

Callout numbers can also go after a comma or before an em dash or closing parenthesis—like this³—when the footnote only applies to a phrase or clause in the sentence.

When you’re using footnotes for citations, QuillBot’s free Chicago Citation Generator can also help you avoid errors.

How do I add footnotes in Word?

To add footnotes in Word, follow these steps:

1. Place your cursor in the spot of the main text where the callout number should appear (e.g., after a sentence’s period).
2. Select the “References” tab in the top toolbar, and select “Insert Footnote.”
3. A numbered footnote will appear in the page’s footer, where you can adjust the formatting based on the style you’re using (e.g., APA footnotes, MLA footnotes, or Chicago style citations) and type the citation or note.

When you’re using footnotes for Chicago style citations, QuillBot’s free Citation Generator can help you cite your sources accurately.