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Similar Topics:   • Create a Bibliography   • Avoid Plagiarism

Footnotes, Endnotes, and In-Text References

When you use information, ideas, or a direct quotation from a website in your own paper or project, you must cite the source in a footnote, endnote, or in-text reference and include the site in your bibliography.

Footnotes and Endnotes
One way to cite the source of borrowed material is to use footnotes or endnotes within your paper/project. Based on the footnote or endnote, your readers will be able to refer to the correct citation listed in your bibliography for more information on the source.

The difference between "footnotes" and "endnotes" is:

• Footnotes are placed in numerical order at the bottom of the page where the borrowed material is used.
  
  

  Example: Footnote

  Once he was free, Frederick Douglass got involved in the anti-slavery movement and became a speaker for the American Anti-Slavery Society.1

  
  
• Endnotes appear in numerical order at the end of the paper or project on an "Endnotes" page.
  
  

  Example: Endnote

  Once he was free, Frederick Douglass got involved in the anti-slavery movement and became a speaker for the American Anti-Slavery Society.1

In-Text References

Another way to cite source material is to use either direct or parenthetical references in your text. If the website has numbered pages, a parenthetical reference that includes the author's name and the page cited is preferred. If the website does not have page numbers, use a direct reference in your text.

In the bibliography for your paper or project, include a full citation so that your readers will be able to locate the site on the Web if they wish to read more about your topic.

• Example: Direct Reference to a Website Without Pagination:
  In "From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor," Thomas describes Douglass' transition from a slave to an activist in the anti-slavery movement.

• Example: Parenthetical Reference to a Website with Pagination:
  In "From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor," Thomas describes Douglass' transition from a slave to an activist in the anti-slavery movement (Thomas 1).