When you want to read a footnote, you just glance down to the bottom of a page.

The main advantage of using footnotes is that they’re easier to find. The ones that appear at the end of a chapter are sometimes in a font that’s smaller than what’s used for the rest of the text. Endnotes that appear at the end of a book typically use a standard font size. In a book, they may appear in a specific section at the end of the book or at the end of a chapter. They’re traditionally printed in a very small font, much smaller than that used for the main text.Įndnotes, on the other hand, appear at the end of a written work, sometimes on a separate page. Footnotes appear at the bottom of the same page as the in-text reference they explain. The main difference between footnotes and endnotes is where they appear within a written work. This makes it easy to match the relevant text with the supplemental information. Each footnote or endnote begins with the corresponding number or symbol used in the text. When there are only a few footnotes or endnotes, you might see asterisks ( *) and other non-alphanumeric symbols. At the end of a sentence in-text, you’ll see a small number in superscript showing that there’s a footnote or endnote addressing it. They may also contain bibliographic information, background material, or references. They usually explain or expand upon material in the text. Similarities and Differencesįootnotes and endnotes both include material that’s supplemental to the text itself. Read on if you want to know more about when and how to use them. They usually show up in academic writing. What are they exactly? Footnotes appear at the bottom of each page they refer to, while endnotes appear at the very end of a text. What do you do? That’s where footnotes and endnotes come in. Let’s say you have a bit of extra information that’s too long for parentheses.

Foot note