What Is The Difference Between Footnote And Endnote? Definition, Differences

The difference between a footnote and an endnote is easy to use identify. Understand what is a footnote and difference between footnote and endnote

Difference Between A Footnote And An Endnote

Difference between footnote and endnote — Citing the difference between a footnote and an endnote comes with the understanding of what each stands for, what they are used for and the purpose they serve in a particular form of writing.

Footnotes and endnotes are specifically short pieces of numbered text that a placed at the bottom of the respective pages that represent footnotes or at the end of the book or text as endnotes.

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It is notable that both a footnote and an endnote are used to serve several but distinct purposes by be authors of the texts or books. Such usages of footnote and endnote are not limited to the provision of citations and recommended additional details about the topic under consideration by the author, copyright permission to cite or use an excerpt of another person's work, outside sources, bibliography and other explanatory information that might help the readers to have more in-depth understanding about be topic being considered.

 

This article contains relevant information on the following:

• Definition Of A Footnote And An Endnote
• The Difference Between A Footnote And An Endnote 
• The Format Used For Writing A Footnote And An Endnote
• How To Create A Footnote And Endnote
• Conclusion

Now, let's consider the aforementioned on the difference between a footnote and an endnote.

Definition Of A Footnote And An Endnote

The following definition serves as a starting point to understand the difference between footnote and endnote. 

What Is A Footnote 

Definition Of Footnote — Footnote is a numbered note that appears at the bottom of the page used for citations, references or additional information or details that will be relevant to a definite portion of text above it. 

It is expressed in the form of a superscripted number or symbol immediately after a word or a sentence whose other related or additional information are provided at the bottom of the same page in which the word or sentence appears.

Footnote can appear in articles, research papers, textbooks, documents etc.with the same intended purpose to provide more relevant information superscripted words.

What Is An Endnote

Definition of Endnote — Unlike footnote, an endnote is a note provided at the back or end of the book or its sections chapters of the book.

Endnote are used by authors in order to cite other useful sources of information on the noted points in the text by including the authors' names and the titles of the cited texts. This is majorly for references.

Endnotes are represented with numbers or symbols like an asterisk. They are also arranged in a chronological order.

Explicitly, It is common to see endnote used at the end of each chapter in a full-length book. However, in a more substantive texts, both endnote and footnote can be used although this is not recommended for a school research paper.

What Is The Difference Between A Footnote And An Endnote

The difference between a footnote and an endnote is quite easy to use identify. And as a result, this could influence the perfect usage of either of the two or both in a text or book.

The difference between footnote and endnote are provided in the mentioned points below:

• A footnote is used to provide more detailed information on the superscripted word or sentence WHILE an endnote is used to give credits or references.
• A footnote s found at the bottom of the text WHILE an endnote is found at the end of a book or the sections of a book.

The Format Used For Writing A Footnote And An Endnote

Below are some helpful format that can be of help while including a footnote or an endnote in your text or document. 

Format For Footnote

• Footnotes are usually shorter.
• They are extraneous information on the text or sentence.
• Too much of footnotes can withdraw the readers from the text.
• The superscript numbers should be placed at the end of the sentence or word.

Format For Endnote

• Endnotes should be included at the back of the research paper but before the bibliography.
• Pages are easier to read when the notes are placed at the end of the paper.

Footnote and Endnote — The superscript numbers should be placed after any punctuation marks except for the dash.

• Also, footnote and endnote begins with the same superscript number as the one that appears in the paper and is followed by a full stop. 
• They always include a specific page number or numbers where the cited information can be found.
• The titles of books and journals are put in italics.
• The extraneous information are separated by commas.
• The names of the author usually come before the title of the text or book.

How To Create Footnote And Endnote

You can use either Microsoft Word, WPS or other writing softwares to create footnote and endnote.

Examples Of Footnote and Endnote

1. Carolyn Kay, Art and the German Bourgeoisie:  Alfred Lichtwark and Modern Painting in Hamburg, 1886-1914 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002), 100.

2. Okonkwo and Ilegbune, Hire Purchase op.cit., p.168

Conclusion

Footnote and Endnote are considerably useful and helpful in providing more or extra information for the readers on a specific topic. This gives the readers to consider other information that widen their understanding of the topics.

As for the authors, it serves as a form of crediting or referencing relevant works or texts.

Hence, with these provided details hat could help you decide on what is the difference between a footnote and an endnote, you should be able to make use of them perfectly in a text or document.