Footnotes

Many tend to select footnotes as their default because that is what we learned in school.  But the choice will depend on your readers and context.

Footnotes are more appropriate in an academic context, where readers will likely want to check the sources as they read. Research or technical reports in a workplace environment may also benefit from this approach.

However, the ASG recommends endnotes for most workplace documents, and certainly for documents to be read by the public.

Listing the sources cited in a single endnote list at the end of a text or section makes them available for those who want them while they read without interrupting the flow of reading for the majority who may only want to check an occasional source.

Of course, in shorter texts, you will likely not need either footnotes or endnotes at all. If you find yourself adding only 1 or 2 in-text citations, see if you can incorporate the reference within the text instead.

Above all, do not default to using footnotes just because it looks more ‘authoritative’, as the reading experience may suffer. 

Even in an academic context, it is best to reserve footnotes for short entries that set out the sources you cite in the main text.

Traditionally, many academic texts also used footnotes to add further qualifications and commentary to the main text.

This practice increasingly frustrates readers, who are drawn into secondary content and then have to move back to the main flow of the text. This slows down reading and comprehension considerably – often when the extraneous content adds little benefit.

The practice is particularly annoying in workplace documents such as reports, especially where they are intended for the public.

If a point is important enough, incorporate it in the main body text rather that adding an extensive footnote. Save the footnotes for source details.

If you do decide to use footnotes, include all the information your reader needs to find the source, such as:

• author details
• title and subtitle
• publishing details
• edition or volume number, where relevant.

You should generally separate all these elements with commas. Use the following short forms for specific elements:

• books
• articles
• reports
• online content
• emails.

You can also read the separate entries on publication titles, italics and capitals for further explanation about the capitalising and formatting titles. In particular, the ASG recommends no longer italicising publications because it is harder to read – particularly online. This represents a significant change from previous practice, which we discuss in those entries.

To cite a published book or ebook in a footnote, include:

• the book title in title case, without italics
• any subtitle in sentence case after a colon.

Add a page number or range if your reference to a print book is specific. But don’t use page numbers for an ebook. Use this order:

author’s first initials | author’s family name | title | edition | publisher’s name | publisher’s location | year | page

To cite an article in a newspaper, magazine, journal or other periodical in a footnote, include:

• the article title in sentence case, surrounded by quote marks
• the periodical title in title case, without italics.

Use this order:

author’s first initials | author’s family name | article title | periodical title | volume | year | page range

To format reports and other documents that an organisation has produced in a footnote, generally credit the organisation as both the main author and the publisher. If there is a specific author, give this name after the title. Where a government agency within a broader department is the author, give the department as the publisher.

Use this order:

authoring body’s name | title | specific author | publisher’s name | publisher’s location | year | page

To cite web content and social media posts in a footnote, you can use a similar approach, although social media references generally require fewer details.

Note that the author might be a writer, an editor or an organisation. If the authoring and publishing organisation are the same, you don’t need to repeat the name.

Where you’re including a web address, only format it as a live hyperlink in onscreen content.

Use this order: 

author | title | version | format | publisher’s name | publisher’s location | year | viewing date and year | URL

You won’t often need to cite an email in footnote references. If you do, you should ideally give the author’s name and email address. But you must have their permission to include the address.

Use this order: 

author | format | date sent, including year | email address