A Footnote Exercise

How fair are the footnotes of the great scholars of your discipline? Choose a book central to your research. Follow up five of the footnotes in the book, finding the edition and page of the cited volume.

1. Does the footnote accurately and precisely guide a reader to the source?
2. Are the quotations accurately transcribed?
3. Does the quotation accurately represent the argument or position of the cited book?
4. Is the source reliable?
5. Does the source satisfy and fulfil the intention of the citation?

Developed from: William D. Mallam, 'A Focus on Footnotes', Journal of Higher Education, 31 (1960), 99-102.

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Citation Techniques:

• What are footnotes and citations for?
• Citational and discursive footnotes
• Placing a footnote
• Methods of limiting footnotes
• 'Ibid', 'loc. cit.' and 'op.cit.'
• Abbreviations found in citations
• Citing Indirect Sources
• Personal Citation Hygiene
• A Footnote Exercise

Citation Theory:

• The History of Footnotes
• The History of Footnote Systems and Style Guides
• The MHRA Style Guide
• Footnotes and Narrative