research companion > writing a paper > annotation

Generally there are two kinds of footnotes: explicative foot/endnotes and referral foot/endnotes. The first explain something or add on to the understanding of something mentioned in the text. This could, for example, help the reader to attain some additional (background) information which is not included in the text. If the explicative foot/endnote was not supplied, it may result in an unclear presentation of the text's storyline. These types of foot/endnotes must only be used on rare occasions. The latter, however, are used frequently. They need to be placed after all citations and paraphrases, as well as by any remarks borrowed from an author. Furthermore, a footnote has to be placed there where it is unclear whether the stream of thought belongs to the author of the piece him/herself, or whether it originated or was borrowed from another author. Commonly known facts such as the year that Columbus discovered America do not have to be supported by a foot/endnote. The author must decide him/herself which facts do or do not need a foot/endnote, as there are no set guidelines in that respect.

The author has the choice between footnotes or endnotes. Footnotes are found at the bottom of the page and have the benefit of directly showing the reader that which the author wants him/her to see. Endnotes are found at the end of the text in one long, numbered list. By using endnotes, the text is uninterrupted by notes at the end of every page. Which type one uses in ones text depends on personal preference. Every scientific discipline has its own preferred manner of annotation.

The most important issue when annotating is that one must consistently stick to its rules. Once one has chosen for one type of annotation, that type must be adhered to throughout the text (please see the three types in the menu on the right hand side).