Problem: Students who are accustomed to preparing in-text citations rather than footnotes or endnotes may not know what to do when the instructor assigns them to use footnotes instead of in-text citations.

Solution: Read below.

How Not to Enter Footnotes

  • Do not type a footnote number and then add the superscript character formatting to it.
  • Do not scroll to the bottom of the page and then type the same number you typed above and then type the content of the footnote.
  • Do not attempt to manually number or manually position your footnotes in any way whatsoever.

How (Properly) to Enter Footnotes

  • Do use the automatic footnote numbering and positioning features of your word processor.
    • For Microsoft Word, consult this resource.
    • For Open Office or LibreOffice Writer, consult this resource.
    • For any other word processor, conduct a web search for the appropriate tutorial.
  • Do follow the academic style guide assigned by your instructor, such as the Chicago Manual (common for history papers).
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