Footnotes

[slemslempike]

Where do I put the number for footnotes? Does it go at the end of a sentence before the full stop1. Does it go after the full stop.2 How do I space it?

Also, freshers week or freshers' week? It's generally not written with the apostrophe, but I am uncertain.

Comments

[sabethea.livejournal.com]

I put them before the full stop, because if you're referencing people halfway through a sentence I'd put the footnote just after mentioning them ("As Green says in her study X[footnote] and Yellow says in her thesis Y[footnote], opium is good for you. Grey disagrees[footnote].")

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I use Harvard referencing, so this is not at all referring to specific people, but clarifying points arising from the sentence. I don't know if that makes a difference? They look weird no matter what I do.

[slightlyfoxed.livejournal.com]

Does Harvard tell you? If not, can you find a journal whose CPFs call for Harvard and see what their atricles do? I'd put them inside the full stop, but I'm not a system (I am a free man).

[sollersuk.livejournal.com]

By way of work I frequently have to do this.

After the last word, before the punctuation. If you've got superscript numbers, definitely no spaces before, or, if followed by punctuation, after

Thinking now about otherwise: the number would be in brackets, and again no extra spaces.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Cool, thank you.

[coughingbear]

I do mine after the punctuation (full stop or comma, though I try to put footnotes at the end of sentences where possible). I thought Harvard style was (Smith, 2010) rather than superscript numbers though? Because I'd put the brackets inside the full stop for that. Can you find a journal that uses appropriate style and look at their guidelines? Because I think the important thing is to be consistent, and use something that your readers will recognise as acceptable within your field.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Yes, this is not footnotes for referencing, but for things like explaining what traffic light parties are, and the grammar of LOLcats. I can't find any official things on footnote placing for that, but I'll just go with inside punctutation and consistent.

[coughingbear]

*wants to see footnote explaining the grammar of LOLcats*

Ah, I see. Then yes, either inside or outside is fine, I think. (I use outside punctuation partly because I think it's aesthetically better, but it's also at least as usual as inside in history.)