Does same reference for diff footnotes appear on each page?

G

Glenda

I know how to do footnotes & cross referencing (MSWord 2003). My question is,
if I am using the same reference for 2 or 3 other footnotes, is the reference
supposed to show at the bottom of each page that a footnote is made, or does
the reference only show on the first page that has the first footnote? For
example, if I have a footnote (#1) on page 2, my reference will show at the
bottom of page 2. If I have a footnote on page 4 that uses the exact same
reference as #1, is the reference supposed to show at the bottom of page 4
also, or, since it is also a #1 footnote, will it just show on page 2 and
people just know to go back to page 2 to see the reference?
 
D

Dawn Crosier, Word MVP

Glenda -

In the instances where you are referencing the same footnote text, you
have one of two choices in my opinion. My preference is to create a
cross-reference to the first footnote. The second choice is to create a
duplicate footnote with the same footnote text which will have a
different footnote reference.

--
Dawn Crosier
Microsoft MVP
"Education Lasts a Lifetime"
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies and questions
to the newsgroup so that others can learn as well.




I know how to do footnotes & cross referencing (MSWord 2003). My question is,
if I am using the same reference for 2 or 3 other footnotes, is the reference
supposed to show at the bottom of each page that a footnote is made, or does
the reference only show on the first page that has the first footnote? For
example, if I have a footnote (#1) on page 2, my reference will show at the
bottom of page 2. If I have a footnote on page 4 that uses the exact same
reference as #1, is the reference supposed to show at the bottom of page 4
also, or, since it is also a #1 footnote, will it just show on page 2 and
people just know to go back to page 2 to see the reference?

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G

Glenda

Ms. Crosier,
Thank you for your reply. I am still confused about if the same reference
note for different footnotes should appear on each page that has a footnote
on it. More of a question of how are footnotes supposed to "look" in a
document more than a question of creating them. I can create a
cross-reference to a footnote that uses the same reference info, but my
question is, if you have a footnote on several different pages that use the
same reference (and have been cross-referenced so that each footnote uses the
same number as the first), should the reference note appear on each page that
has a footnote, or does the reference note appear only on the page where the
original, first footnote is found?

I apologize for any confusion and do appreciate your time in trying to help
me! This may be more of a question of how are footnotes supposed to look in
a document more than how to create one.

Thanks again!
 
D

Daiya Mitchell

Hi Glenda,

Technically, this group does not give advice on such content
questions--but I like talking about footnotes. The rules depend on the
context.

I'm a professor--I use the duplicate footnotes, and I require my
students to also. That's more standard, in academic contexts. In that
case, however, you do NOT use cross-references at all. You create a new
footnote each time, it has a different number, and it shows up on the
appropriate page. You don't reuse footnote numbers, each footnote stands
alone. (In addition, footnotes are not always true duplicates--since
you are often citing different pages, better to have three separate
notes that cite page 8, 15, and 20 of the same book, than to have a
single note that cites pages 8-20 (citing such a large page range would
be unacceptably sloppy in that example)).

If you are using cross-references, then the footnote does *not* show up
at the bottom of a page that uses a cross-reference, forcing the person
to skim back looking for the original note. Personally, I find this
exceedingly annoying with footnotes, and don't know anyone who does this.

Using cross-references to use the same number over and over again for a
single source might possibly be acceptable for ENDnotes. But in that
case, a Numbered Reference List that lists sources in alphabetical order
and only uses cross-references to that list might be a better option
that is more helpful to the reader.

hope that helps,
Daiya
 

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