MLA Footnotes & Endnotes | Format & Examples

Footnotes and endnotes are optional strategies for sharing extra information in MLA style documents. The purpose isn’t to cite sources like MLA in-text citations or Works Cited entries.

Instead, MLA footnotes and endnotes provide extra context without interrupting the prose. The information isn’t immediately relevant or necessary (but still helpful), so writers place it in a footnote at the bottom of the page or on an endnotes page before the Works Cited page.

MLA footnotes and endnotes can serve these purposes:

• Recommend additional sources
• Explain outside sources (e.g., the reason for choosing a certain edition)
• Share extra ideas or examples

Footnotes/endnotes are uncommon and rarely necessary in undergraduate essays, but they may be useful in a master’s thesis or dissertation.

MLA footnotes and endnotes basic format

Footnotes and endnotes are both options for MLA style documents that include extra notes. Most professional MLA documents (e.g., academic journals) use endnotes rather than footnotes.

Both systems use superscript numbers to notify readers that there’s a note with additional information. The number usually goes after a period at the end of a sentence.

Each superscript number within the prose corresponds to a footnote or endnote with the same number.

MLA footnotes basic format

Footnotes go on the bottom of the same page as the paragraph with the superscript number. Begin each MLA footnote with a superscript number and a space before the first word. Then, indent the first line 5 spaces (but only the first line), and use double spacing.

MLA endnotes basic format

With the endnotes option, all notes are on the same page and in sequential order. The endnotes page goes just before the Works Cited page. The heading “Notes” is at the top of the page, centered, and in plain font (e.g., not bold or in quotation marks).

Indent the first line of each endnote 5 spaces, and use double spacing (just like the rest of the document). Begin each note with its corresponding superscript number from the text of the paper. Place one space between the number and the first word of the note.

MLA notes to recommend additional sources

One of the main purposes of MLA endnotes and footnotes is to recommend sources that offer additional insight about your topic. These are usually sources that you aren’t quoting, paraphrasing, or mentioning in your prose.

These notes usually include the author’s last name and the title of the work or specific pages of the work. Each source in this type of note needs an entry on the Works Cited page.

MLA notes to explain outside sources

MLA footnotes or endnotes can also explain why you chose a specific edition or translation.

MLA notes for additional information

When your readers may benefit from additional ideas or examples that would otherwise distract them from your main prose, you can share that information in a footnote or endnote. Use these endnotes/footnotes sparingly, and keep them brief. Any information that’s essential to your point should be included in your prose rather than a note.

Frequently asked questions about MLA footnotes & endnotes

Does MLA use footnotes or endnotes?

MLA uses footnotes or endnotes as optional ways to share additional information with readers without interrupting the flow of ideas. MLA footnotes and endnotes are not for documenting sources like MLA in-text citations.

Footnotes go at the bottom of each page, and endnotes go on a separate page entitled “Notes” before the Works Cited page. Books and academic journals in MLA style use endnotes.

For both systems, a superscript number in the text directs readers to a corresponding note with the same number.

Superscript number in the text:

In the long term, regenerative practices can improve profits for small family farms by minimizing equipment and supply costs.⁵

Endnote/footnote: 

⁵ See also Jones 144-45 and Xiao 23-27 for additional perspectives on regenerative agriculture.

MLA accepts either system as long as the document stays consistent with just one of them. (You can use footnotes or endnotes, but not both in the same document.)

When you’re writing footnotes or endnotes, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you avoid errors.

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

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

MLA footnotes and endnotes both begin with a superscript number that matches the same superscript number in the document’s prose. The number directs readers to the note with extra information.

Footnotes go at the bottom of the same page as the corresponding superscript number.

Endnotes go on a separate Notes page after the essay or article but before the Works Cited page.

When you’re writing footnotes or endnotes, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you avoid errors.

How can I cite information from a footnote in MLA style?

To cite information from a footnote in an MLA in-text citation, include the author’s name and page number as usual, followed by “n” and the footnote number (Bing 205n4).

To cite multiple footnotes, use “nn” and an en dash with the number range (Bing 205nn4–8).

For footnotes without numbers, include a space after the page number followed by “un” (Bing 103 un).

QuillBot’s free Citation Generator can automatically create citations for all types of sources.