Footnotes are an essential tool for all sorts of writing – in academia especially, they are essential. Without the ability to refer to literature with a footnote, inline citations can easily end up breaking apart the text into something truly illegible.
Thankfully Word fully supports academic writing and has all the footnote tools users could hope for. Here’s how to add a footnote to your writing:
First, write the text you want to attach a footnote to, then click on References on the ribbon menu at the top. There, under the section Footnotes, you’ll find the button ‘Insert Footnotes’ – that’s all there is to it!
Now, if you want to do more with your footnotes, Word has you covered as well. Here are some handy tips and tricks for working with footnotes in Word:
- In addition to footnotes, which are placed at the bottom of the page they occur on, Word also supports endnotes – they are placed at the end of a chapter or document, rather than on the page where the citation occurs. This allows for smoother text flow – readers who are interested can look at the notes, while those who aren’t can enjoy the document uninterrupted.
- By clicking on the small box and arrow in the bottom-right corner of the Footnotes section, you can open up a menu with additional options for your foot- and endnotes. Here, you can select columns, numbering format, starting points and more!
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