Footnotes

Footnotes are notes placed at the bottom of a page. They are used to provide additional content or acknowledge copyright permission status. Thus, they can be used to cite references, provide explanations or comments on a designated part of text before them. Footnotes are identified in the text by a numeral or a symbol in superscript.

A superscript is a character, symbol or number set slightly above the normal line of text. It is always smaller than the usual font.

A word processor should usually be able to arrange footnotes automatically.

To create a footnote in Word, first of all position the cursor at the end of the sentence, or the word or phrase you want the note to refer to. Then, in the top menu, click on the References tab, and then in the second section from the left in the Ribbon find the Insert Footnote command. When you click on it, the reference number of the footnote will appear in superscript in your document, and the same number will appear at the bottom of the page under a short line. The cursor will automatically move down to the bottom, and you can type in your reference text.

Endnotes

The only real difference between a footnote and an endnote is its placement: footnotes appear at the bottom of the relevant page, while endnotes are placed at the end of your document.

To create an endnote in Word, follow the instructions for footnotes above. Instead of choosing the Insert Footnote command you will have to click on Insert Endnote.