How to write and use footnotes.

You may have come across footnotes when reading any type of literature – but they’re usually found in academic texts. While often used in formal writing, they can also be utilised in books to add extra details to a character or provide context on certain events.

Footnotes are those small notations at the bottom of a document. They usually appear in text as a superscript icon that correlates with the same icon at the end of the page. They come in handy when you need to reference your work or provide more information.

This Adobe Express article will explain what a footnote is, how to do footnotes and provide a few footnote referencing examples.

What is a footnote?

A footnote is a numbered note or reference at the bottom of a page. In the main body of text, it’s marked as a superscript icon – either an asterisk (*) or a number (¹), that you can insert easily using built-in tools on software like Microsoft Word or Google Docs. The superscript icon matches what appears at the bottom of a page.

Footnotes are used for several reasons:

• To cite sources – particularly important when writing academic papers, footnotes enable you to clearly state where the information has come from. They’re typically used in the Chicago referencing format.
• Add context – footnotes allow you to add more information without disrupting the piece’s flow.
• Academic writing – superscript icons are clean, professional and widely seen in academic work. For example: The global fashion industry is responsible for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions. ¹

Footnotes vs endnotes.

Footnotes and endnotes are similar, so it’s easy to get them confused. They both use the same superscript icons and provide extra information that wouldn’t easily fit into the main text.

The key difference between the two is where they appear in the document or book. Footnotes are formatted at the bottom of the page whereas endnotes are found at the end of the chapter.

How to do a footnote.

When it comes to adding in footnotes to essays or other texts, there are certain structural elements to bear in mind. The small superscript icons can be fiddly to use and format correctly. Plus, depending on your assignment there can be specific guidelines to follow.

Here’s an overview of how to use and where to put footnotes in your academic work:

• Footnote signals. Footnote signals are used to indicate where there’s more to read. This signal can be an asterisk (*), dagger (†) or sequential numbers (¹).
• Correlate the same signal to the footnote at the bottom of the page. This is important to help the reader navigate to the correct place. The first instance of a reference in a footnote needs to include the full publishing information, but subsequent mentions can be shortened to the author’s name, title and page number.
• Place footnotes after punctuation. Footnotes should appear at the end of the sentence they’re related to. But the dash (-) is the exception to this. The footnote should come before the dash.
• Check your assignment guidelines. When writing any academic text for university or professional use, you should check the specifying citation guidelines. Usually Oxford, Chicago and Turabian referencing styles use footnotes.

How to add a footnote in PDFs, Word and Google Docs.

It’s useful to know how to add footnotes to different types of documents, from PDFs to Word files and Google Docs. Here’s what you need to know:

Add a footnote to a PDF.

1. Load Adobe Acrobat X and open the PDF file you need to add the footnote to.
2. Navigate to ‘Tools’.
3. Go to ‘Edit Page Design’ and then the ‘Header & Footer’ button.
4. Add your footnote text in the relevant field – ‘Left Footer Text’, ‘Center Footer Text’ or ‘Right Footer Text’. You’ll be able to see a preview of what it looks like too.
5. You can also adjust the font and size using the ‘Name’ and ‘Size’ drop-down menus.
6. Click ‘OK’ to add it to the document.

Add a footnote to a Word document.

1. Launch Microsoft Word and open the document.
2. Navigate to the ‘References’ along the top of the page.
3. Place your cursor at the end of the sentence you wish to assign the footnote to (before the punctuation).
4. Click ‘Insert Footnote’. This will place the superscript number in the main body of the text and bring you to the bottom of the page, where you can enter the information you need to.

Add a footnote to Google Docs.

1. Open your document in Google Docs.
2. Click in the text where you’d like to insert the footnote.
3. Navigate to the top left and select ‘Insert’ and then ‘Footnote’.
4. Type in your footnote.

Footnote examples for your academic writing.

There are different footnote format styles to choose from, so it’s important to check the requirements of your specific assignment and institution to make sure you’re following the correct guidelines. Here are a couple of examples of footnotes:

If you’re using the Chicago referencing style our citations should look like this:

5. In text: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."¹
6. Footnote: ¹ Author, Title of work (City: Publisher, Year), Page Number.

Both the MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association) format prefer in-text citations over footnotes, but they are useful to provide more information or context. Here’s another footnote example:

7. In text: The UK is one of the largest producers of textiles waste in Europe. ¹
8. Footnote: ¹It generates approximately 206,456 tonnes of textiles waste each year.

How can Adobe Express help with your footnote referencing?

Adobe Express has tons of tools that can help with footnote referencing, from researching and reporting templates to planning your sources. Take a look below:

1. Plan out your sources and references.

Work efficiently and locate the sources you want to use before you start your project. Organise your thoughts visually using concept maps to link connecting sources and ideas.

2. Include footnotes for any infographics you include.

Use Adobe Express tools to add footnotes into any infographics you create to present your research. Add supplementary information or provide sources for any ideas you’ve used in your creation.

3. Make the most of research and reporting templates.

Adobe Express has lots of reporting templates you can use in your academic work. These editable reports can help you to display your research in a visually appealing way.

4. Add footnotes into your research proposals.

Explore free research proposal templates on Adobe Express. You may decide to add footnotes to your research proposals to demonstrate where you’ve sourced information from or provide further details.

5. Create a book cover for your report or portfolio.

Embrace Adobe Express’ visual tools and create a cover for your report, book or portfolio. If your report or book title has been inspired by an existing piece of work, you may need to include a footnote on the cover.

Go full steam ahead in your next writing project with our Generative AI templates.

Short for inspiration? Often getting started on a new project is the hardest part and staring at a blank canvas can feel overwhelming. If you need a helping hand kickstarting any academic writing project, our AI template generator is here to help. All you need to do to get started is describe what you want to generate in the textbook, then sit back and allow it to produce fully customisable templates.

You can then adjust the template to suit your task, whether you need a starting point for an academic report, presentation or research paper. Get started today.

Try Adobe Express for free now

Good to know.

Are footnotes located at the start or end of a sentence?

Footnotes are located at the end of the sentence and should appear after punctuation. The only exception to this rule is in the case of a dash, where the footnote should be formatted before the dash.

Do footnotes start from 1 on each page?

You should check your institution’s chosen formatting style to see if there are specific guidelines you need to adhere to, but generally you can choose how your footnotes are numbered. You may decide to have them starting from 1 on each page, each chapter, or keep them in numerical order throughout your document.

Should footnotes be full sentences?

Footnotes should be formatted according to the style guide you are using. But for most, you separate key details with a comma or full stop. You will need to include relevant information so readers can find the source of the information themselves.

Is Adobe Express free?

Yes, the Adobe Express free plan offers many core features including thousands of templates, photo editing and effects, animation, and 5 GB of storage. See our pricing page for details and to compare plans.