
Every footnote or endnote in a document begins with the same number that the corresponding part of the text has been allotted. However, when there are only a few footnotes or endnotes to be used, the author may also use asterisks or other alphanumeric symbols. Usually, this superscript is an indication of the usage of a footnote or an endnote. To find endnotes or footnotes, all you need to do is look for a small number in superscript. One should note that both these referencing methods may, at times, also contain bibliographic information, background material, and other references. Both of them explain some point mentioned in the document or they expand upon the material included in the document. They add to the information already provided in the main body of the document. Both of these methods are supplemental to the main text of a document. The biggest similarity that these two methods of referencing have is the purpose of their use. Similarities between Footnotes and Endnotes In such a case, endnotes prove to be really helpful for an author. Endnotes are basically used when the writer wants the reference to contain more text and at the same time not compromise on the format of the paper. Endnotes are generally placed collectively at the end of the document. But these notes, unlike the footnotes, are not placed at the bottom of the same page where the sentence or paragraph that is being referenced appears. Just like in the case of a footnote, the endknots are signified in the text of a document with the help of a superscript number. An endnote is placed sequentially keeping in mind where the reference to it appears in the document. In simple words, an endnote is a note used by the author to cite a particular source or to make a comment or a small explanation at the end of a research paper. Unlike footnotes, endnotes are placed at the end of a document. The writer can use footnotes to let the readers know where the information has come from or where the readers can look to find other sources on the same subject. They are also utilized by writers to refer to relevant sources of information. Once this is done, the symbol can be reprinted again at the bottom of the page and the comment can be added.įootnotes are not just used for interesting comments. While doing this, the writer has to make sure that he adds the symbol of a footnote to the sentence for which the comment is made. For instance, when a writer wants to add a comment that he thinks is interesting to a particular sentence he has written, but the comment is not directly linked to the argument of the paragraph, he can do this using a footnote. The purpose of using footnotes is to cite references or comments on a designated part of the text in the main body on the page above it. In the simplest of words, footnotes are the notes placed at the bottom of a page inside a document. They give the student or the writer a chance to include everything in the document that cannot fit inside the main text. This is where footnotes and endnotes come in. If it does not, the quality of your document will turn out to be very low. Moreover, it is really important for you to make sure that this information goes into the document.


Imagine that you have some extra information that cannot be included in the essay or the assignment that you are writing using parentheses. Moreover, they want to make their assignment appealing to the eye as well and hence, they end up getting confused about which method of referencing they should use. At the same time, they want to make sure that they do not end up doing a lot of references. They need to make sure that they reference every line or word that is required. The reason behind this is that while writing these assignments, there are usually a lot of things running in their mind. In fact, it can be said that the students in college and university are the most confused about which method of referencing to use. If you are in college, you know that the research assignments and papers require a lot of references. And this is the reason why there is usually so much confusion about which method to use. Footnotes and Endnotes both serve the same purpose in different ways. No matter how qualified or profound a writer you are, it is absolutely okay if you are confused between these two methods of referencing. Endnotes or Footnotes? What to use? This dilemma is probably as old as the concept of citation or referencing itself.
