| Revision as of 00:29, 19 May 2004 editGary D (talk | contribs)4,284 editsm Initiated links to page header & page footer← Previous edit | Revision as of 15:10, 14 August 2004 edit undoPicapica (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users23,025 edits RewrittenNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| A '''footnote''' is a note placed at the bottom of a page of a book or manuscript that comments on (or cites a reference for) a part of the main text and is normally flagged by a superscript number within the main text thus: | |||
| A '''footnote''' is a reference which leads readers to other works. A footnote is usually flagged in the main text in the form of a superscript number<sup>1</sup>—] 1 for the first footnote on a note, superscript 2 for the second footnote on the page, etc. Sometimes a number of regular height and position, demarcated by brackets or parentheses, is used instead . | |||
| :<sup>1</sup> for the first footnote on the page, <sup>2</sup> for the second footnote, and so on. | |||
| All of a page's footnote numbers lead to bibliographical information at the bottom of the page, each source prefixed by its linked number. | |||
| Occasionally a number between brackets or parentheses, is used instead, thus: . Typographical devices such as the ] (*) or ] (†) may also be used to point to footnotes. In documents like ]s many different symbols, as well as letters and numbers, may be used to refer the reader to particular footnotes. | |||
| See also: ]. | |||
| In practice, especially in learned works, what are loosely called "footnotes" do not in fact appear at the foot of the particular page where the text to which they apply is printed, but are collected together, usually chapter by chapter, and appear as an appendix of notes at the end of the work. | |||
| If this were a printed publication, the superscript 1 would have been rendered as shown above, and the footnote would have been shown at the bottom (the foot) of the printed page. See ] and ]. | |||
| If this were the editorial style, the footnote would have been rendered, thus. | |||
Revision as of 15:10, 14 August 2004
A footnote is a note placed at the bottom of a page of a book or manuscript that comments on (or cites a reference for) a part of the main text and is normally flagged by a superscript number within the main text thus:
- for the first footnote on the page, for the second footnote, and so on.
Occasionally a number between brackets or parentheses, is used instead, thus: . Typographical devices such as the asterisk (*) or dagger (†) may also be used to point to footnotes. In documents like timetables many different symbols, as well as letters and numbers, may be used to refer the reader to particular footnotes.
In practice, especially in learned works, what are loosely called "footnotes" do not in fact appear at the foot of the particular page where the text to which they apply is printed, but are collected together, usually chapter by chapter, and appear as an appendix of notes at the end of the work.