Footnotes
Footnotes should be used to:
1. show where you obtained certain information.
2. cite other writers who agree with the point that you are making
3. discuss a position which is related to what has just been said in the text of the essay, but
which would interrupt the flow of argument.
4. discuss a position taken by another writer, especially where an important writer disagrees
with you and you wish to point out reasons you consider they are wrong.
Footnotes should be in size 10 font, indented, single spaced, with a double space between them.
Numbering is usually consecutive throughout the whole essay.
Extra material that you don’t want in the body of your essay may be included in footnotes, but use
these ‘substantive footnotes’ sparingly. If it’s not important enough to include in your assignment, the
reader may not think it important enough to read in a footnote!
All quoted material must be identified as being quoted. A direct quotation is where you copy exactly what you have read, word for word. There are several methods of doing this depending on the length of the quote.
Where a quote is four lines or fewer it is to be included normally in the text of the essay and identified by double quotation marks at the beginning and end of the actual quoted material. The source of the quote must also be given in your footnotes.
Quotes which are 40 words or longer in length are to be indented. Quotation marks are not used and the quote is single spaced.
For example:
Quotes should not be used in excess. They should be reserved for such items as definitions, brief extracts that cannot be expressed adequately in another way, or for special emphasis. As a general guide, quotes should constitute less than 10% of an essay.
When quoting, copy the original wording accurately and use the same spelling and punctuation as is used in the original. If there is an error in the original this can be identified in the quote by placing [sic] after the error. When including a quote in the text of an essay, make sure that the sentence is grammatically correct. If it is necessary to include an extra word or phrase in a quote to ensure correct sentence structure, place the word or phrase in square brackets.
If you omit part of the original work within a quote then indicate this with three ellipsis points as such ... with another full stop added if this is at the end of a sentence or between two sentences.