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  • Subscript and Footnote

    How to Add Footnote with Word

    And now for the pièce de résistance: how to actually incorporate these footnotes into your Word documents. The good news is that this is the easiest part!

    As it turns out, Word automates most of the footnote process so you don’t have to worry about any of the formatting — most of your energy will be focused on staying true to whichever style you’re using.

    Footnotes in Microsoft Word 2016 Toolbar

    Here are the steps to take:

     
    1. Place your cursor in the body text where you want the footnote superscript to appear.
    2. Select the References tab in the ribbon toolbar.
    3. Click Insert Footnote. This will immediately bring you to the bottom of the page with the right footnote number to use.
    4. Type your footnote according to style.
    5. Repeat the process for every additional footnote. Word will automatically increment the number for you.

    Footnote Formatting

    • Footnotes go at the bottom of the page where the reference occurs; endnotes go on a separate page after the body of the paper. Both use the same formatting guidelines.
    • Within the essay text: put the note number at the end of the sentence where the reference occurs, even if the cited material is mentioned at the beginning of the sentence.
    • The note number goes after all other punctuation.
    • Be sure to use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) nor Roman (i, ii, iii).
    • Put the word Notes (not Endnotes) at the top of the page with your endnotes. Use Times/Times New Roman 10 pt font.
    • Single space each entry; double space between entries.
    • Indent the first line of each note.
    • Never reuse a number - use a new number for each reference, even if you have used that reference previously.
    • Be sure to look at shortened form examples for sources you refer to more than once.
    • To cite multiple sources in a single note, separate the two citations with a semicolon. Never use two note numbers at the end of a sentence.