Endnotes are a convenient means of providing additional information or sources without overloading the main text with citations. When studying for a research paper, writing an academic essay, or just needing more depth or information, it may be necessary to add a footnote to the document, and Google Docs allows it.
In fact, if you have worked with other word processors such as Microsoft Word, including footnotes in Google Docs, it will feel quite familiar. Here’s how to add them in just a few steps:
1. Click your cursor at the point where you wish to include the superscript number of the footnote.
2. Check for the Insert tab on the uppermost panel of the screen.
3. Scroll down to Footnote from the list that appears.
4. A You’ll be presented with a number where your cursor is, and below the page, an empty box will open where you should type in your footnote.
5. Type in your footnote.
How to Manage Your Footnotes
If, for some reason, you have to edit the content of a particular footnote, go down the page to where all the footnote references are located and simply click on the Text. Well, you can format it as you format any part of the document that you would wish to format.
To delete a footnote, merely, strike off the superscript number in the body of the Text. If you insert a footnote in the middle of a page, Google Docs will adjust others situated below by erasing a specific one and renumbering all the rest.
Tips for Consistent Document Styling
There is no overstressing the importance of maintaining as much consistency as possible to make your document look professional. For footnotes, choose the typeface of your Text; however, using a slightly smaller point size, such as 10 pts, may be appropriate.
Only use double spacing in footnotes if required by a certain style manual to do so; otherwise, use single spacing. If the style of fonts frequently involves using bold or italics within the Text, the same should be done on footnotes since they are related.
Finally, if your audience is professional or academic, use citation styles such as APA or Chicago in writing your footnotes. In the case of extensive citations, the number of which in your document is high, then it is advisable that you do a references page.
Footnotes are particularly helpful in providing additional information/argument to support a key point or source citation that, if placed in a note section at the end of the document, is not intrusive to the flow of the body of the text. In Google Docs, they can easily be inserted and later adjusted, and with a few of the following simple pointers, they end up fitting in their environment appropriately.
