How to Write Footnote on Google Docs and Words

Have you ever been curious how to write footnotes that you always see when you read academic papers or books? Or, you need to use footnotes for your academic tasks? Rest assured! In this article you will find out how to use footnotes for your papers!

Before we jump step by step on how to write footnotes on Google Docs and Words, first of all let’s talk about the definition of footnote itself.

What is a Footnote?

Do you ever notice little numbers beside certain words in a sentence that you read? Or, do you notice some superscripts and correspond to those numbers at the bottom of the page? Therefore, if you notice those terms, then you already see the footnote!

So, what are footnotes?

Footnotes are notes that appear and are placed at the end of a page. Footnotes are used as a reference to parts of the text that generally use superscript numbers. This kind of term is necessary for papers, especially for academic purposes. Therefore, writers usually use footnotes for some purposes. Such as parenthetical information, citations, copyright permissions, outside sources, some for background information, etc.

Now, you already know what a footnote is. But, before we move to the next topic, you need to be aware of the traits of footnotes. Some authors can use endnotes in the purpose of avoiding disrupting their papers with irrelevant information. Thus, it is not a new thing that both footnotes and endnotes are similar. Here are some traits of footnotes that will help you to recognize and understand more about it.

Traits of Footnotes

Below here are some traits of footnotes that you need to know.

1. Footnotes are identified in the main text with a small superscript number.
2. Footnotes generally used as citations. Some other functions for footnotes are to show outside sources, copyright permissions, parenthetical information, and background information.
3. To provide the correlating notes, especially at the bottom of the page.

Next, there are three factors that you need to consider when you want to use footnotes. Here are the explanations.

Things You Need to Know Before Using Footnotes

Here are 3 factors that are necessary for you to understand before you use footnotes.

1. Be aware of the style guide that you need to use.
2. The number of notes that are featured in the papers. It is not necessary to put many footnotes on each page.
3. Which option will be more convenient for the reader to see on your page.

Now, we can move on to how to write footnotes on Google Docs and Words!

How to Write Footnote on Google Docs and Words

Here are steps on how to write footnotes on Google Documents.

1. First, you need to click on the point in the text that you want to add a footnote.
2. Next, at the top of the page, you can click on “Insert” then on “Footnote” in the shown drop-down menu.
3. Now, you can type the text that you want to write into the footnote.

Next, here are steps on how to write footnotes on Words.

1. First, you need to click on the point in the text that you want to add the footnote number.
2. Next, choose the “References” on the tab at the top of the page, then you can click on “Insert Footnote.”
3. Finally, you can add your text into the footnote.

So, that’s all about how to write footnotes on Google Documents and Words. 

Footnotes are a necessary part of academic writing, especially when you want to write your papers in English. Therefore, to understand more about how to use footnotes, the structure of academic writing in English, and more topics about it, you can visit some related pages online such as Fun English Course! Hope this article will help you to understand more about how to write footnotes!