Research and Citations Center
Footnotes (and Parenthetical Cites)
All info that came from your sources must be cited with a footnote or an in-text parenthetical citation.
Two key ideas to bear in mind:
- Doesn’t matter if it’s a quote, a paraphrase, a description, or an idea. If it came from a source, it must be cited.
- A footnote says this information came from one of the items in your bibliography, and that it came from a particular page.
A footnote says: “I found the information I’m quoting or describing in this book, on this page.” Like so:
FAQ: Footnotes and in-text cites
- Do I have to use footnotes? No. You can use in-text parenthetical cites, as in (George, 7).
- How do I footnote? In most programs, go to the Insert menu and click on “Footnote…”.
- What if the author appears twice in the bibliography? Give the author name plus part of the title, then the page number, as in (Pomeroy, Goddesses 89).
- What about ancient primary sources? There’s a special way. See the Ancient Sources page.