Comments on: Should You Use Footnotes or Endnotes? http://www.dailywritingtips.com/should-you-use-footnotes-or-endnotes/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:00:10 -0600 hourly 1 By: donna http://www.dailywritingtips.com/should-you-use-footnotes-or-endnotes/comment-page-1/#comment-30773 donna Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:37:13 +0000 http://www.dailywritingtips.com/?p=461#comment-30773 What's up with David Foster Wallace? What’s up with David Foster Wallace?

]]> By: Jan http://www.dailywritingtips.com/should-you-use-footnotes-or-endnotes/comment-page-1/#comment-30665 Jan Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:53:23 +0000 http://www.dailywritingtips.com/?p=461#comment-30665 Dick makes some good points, but I disagree about using footnotes for statement elaboration. I find it very annoying when the flow of a paragraph is interrupted by descriptive footnotes. Without reading the footnote, you can't really be sure if the information it contains is important enough to read it. This means that a footnote will ALWAYS interrupt the reading flow of the book or paper (especially if the reader is curious by nature). This is very annoying. It should not be up to the reader to make a decision about what is important or not. The author writes his book for a given target audience and should be able to decide how much detail to include in the book's main text. It's his job to make a selection, don't defer that responsibility to the reader! I'm all for using endnotes for source references. Dick makes some good points, but I disagree about using footnotes for statement elaboration. I find it very annoying when the flow of a paragraph is interrupted by descriptive footnotes. Without reading the footnote, you can’t really be sure if the information it contains is important enough to read it. This means that a footnote will ALWAYS interrupt the reading flow of the book or paper (especially if the reader is curious by nature). This is very annoying. It should not be up to the reader to make a decision about what is important or not. The author writes his book for a given target audience and should be able to decide how much detail to include in the book’s main text. It’s his job to make a selection, don’t defer that responsibility to the reader!

I’m all for using endnotes for source references.

]]> By: Mikael Høilund http://www.dailywritingtips.com/should-you-use-footnotes-or-endnotes/comment-page-1/#comment-18497 Mikael Høilund Thu, 08 May 2008 03:19:36 +0000 http://www.dailywritingtips.com/?p=461#comment-18497 Dick hit the nail square in the kisser right there. Endnotes are for references, footnotes are for generally relevant notes. Right on. :D Dick hit the nail square in the kisser right there. Endnotes are for references, footnotes are for generally relevant notes.

Right on. :D

]]> By: Game 29: #1 Seed Daily Writing Tips Versus #4 Seed Confident Writing : Writer’s Resource Center http://www.dailywritingtips.com/should-you-use-footnotes-or-endnotes/comment-page-1/#comment-18342 Game 29: #1 Seed Daily Writing Tips Versus #4 Seed Confident Writing : Writer’s Resource Center Tue, 06 May 2008 12:33:05 +0000 http://www.dailywritingtips.com/?p=461#comment-18342 [...] the flashiest headlines on the block, but they do tend to be clear and concise. Headlines such as Should You Use Footnotes or Endnotes? or A While vs Awhile tell you pretty much everything you need to know about the articles that [...] [...] the flashiest headlines on the block, but they do tend to be clear and concise. Headlines such as Should You Use Footnotes or Endnotes? or A While vs Awhile tell you pretty much everything you need to know about the articles that [...]

]]> By: Dick http://www.dailywritingtips.com/should-you-use-footnotes-or-endnotes/comment-page-1/#comment-18264 Dick Mon, 05 May 2008 17:48:22 +0000 http://www.dailywritingtips.com/?p=461#comment-18264 As a reader, I find imy preference depends on the substantive content of the notes. Where the note is simply a reference to the source or sources which form the authoriuty of the statement (common in, say, historical works), an end note is fine. Once I realixe that they are simply sources, I'm happy to have them out of the way and available only when I really want to check out the nature of the authority. But when the note is an explanation or an elaboration of the statement made in the text, or an aside that the writer wants to include, but does not want to disrupt the important flow of the paragaph, a footnote is essential. As a reader, I find imy preference depends on the substantive content of the notes.

Where the note is simply a reference to the source or sources which form the authoriuty of the statement (common in, say, historical works), an end note is fine. Once I realixe that they are simply sources, I’m happy to have them out of the way and available only when I really want to check out the nature of the authority.

But when the note is an explanation or an elaboration of the statement made in the text, or an aside that the writer wants to include, but does not want to disrupt the important flow of the paragaph, a footnote is essential.

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