Scientific & Educational >> Footnote Abbreviations

Footnote Abbreviations

Footnote is an additional explanatory comment referring to a definite part of the text placed at the bottom of the page. By means of a footnote the author can add some information to the story or article that supplements the text with definitions and specifications. The work benefits from footnotes as they present more information and specify certain details, but do not overload the text. Usually the information given in a footnote is really important, but it can distract the reader's attention from the subject-matter and, as a result, the reader can lose the main idea. The connection between the text and the footnote is marked with a figure or symbol in square brackets added to the body text of the article exactly in the place the footnote refers. The footnote should be placed immediately after the words it pertains. If it bears relation to the whole sentence, the footnote is added at the end of it. Footnotes are separated from the main text by a space bar or a short horizontal line, and a small print is used. Nowadays there is a list of commonly used footnote abbreviations which is comprised of Modern English footnotes as well as those of Latin origin which are still popular. To obviate difficulties you can see a comprehensive list of footnote abbreviations on our website.