How to Do Footnotes: Chicago Style and Word Processors

5 November 2026 · 6 min read

To do footnotes, place a superscript number in your text after the sentence or clause you're citing, then write the matching note at the bottom of the page. Word processors handle the numbering for you: in Microsoft Word, go to References > Insert Footnote; in Google Docs, go to Insert > Footnote. The content of each note follows your citation style. In Chicago notes-and-bibliography style, the first note for a source gives full details, and later notes use a short form with the author's surname, a shortened title and the page.

This guide covers the mechanics, the formats, and the small rules about placement and punctuation that are easy to get wrong.

Footnotes vs endnotes

Both use superscript numbers in the text. Footnotes appear at the bottom of the same page; endnotes are collected at the end of a chapter or document. Footnotes are easier for readers who want to check sources as they go. Endnotes keep pages cleaner. Your instructor or publisher will usually specify which.

How to insert footnotes

Microsoft Word

1. Put your cursor where the note number should go.
2. Go to References > Insert Footnote. (On Windows the keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+Alt+F; on Mac it's Cmd+Option+F.)
3. Word inserts the number and jumps to the bottom of the page. Type your note.
4. To return to your text, double-click the note number at the start of the footnote.

For endnotes, use Insert Endnote instead. To change numbering format or restart numbering by section, open the Footnote and Endnote dialog from the small arrow in the Footnotes group.

Google Docs

1. Place the cursor where the number should go.
2. Go to Insert > Footnote (shortcut Ctrl+Alt+F on Windows, Cmd+Option+F on Mac).
3. Type the note at the bottom of the page.

Google Docs numbers notes automatically and renumbers them if you move text around.

Pages and other editors

Most word processors have an "Insert Footnote" option in the Insert menu. Avoid typing superscript numbers by hand: manual numbering breaks the moment you add or move a note.

Where the number goes

In Chicago style, the note number:

• Comes after punctuation such as commas, periods and quotation marks: ...as the report claimed.¹
• Comes before a dash, which is the one common exception to the "after punctuation" rule.
• Usually goes at the end of a sentence or clause, not in the middle of a phrase.
• Should not be repeated. Each note gets a new number, even if it cites a source you've cited before.

Put one note number per location. If a sentence draws on two sources, combine them in a single note, separated by a semicolon.

Chicago footnote formats

The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, is the main style that uses footnotes for citation. The 18th edition (2024) keeps the same basic note structure, so these examples apply to both, with minor differences such as the 18th edition making the place of publication optional. The examples below use invented sources.

Book

First note:

1. Jean M. Harlow, Tidewater Towns: Life on the Changing Coast (Boston: Meridian Press, 2019), 88.

Short note:

4. Harlow, Tidewater Towns, 92.

Journal article

First note:

2. Ada Okafor, "Flood Mapping in Fast-Growing Cities," Journal of Urban Resilience 12, no. 3 (2024): 205, https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx.

Short note:

6. Okafor, "Flood Mapping," 210.

Web page

First note:

3. Maja Lindqvist, "How Tides Shape Coastal Wetlands," Coastal Futures Network, June 3, 2025, https://www.example.org/tides-wetlands.

Short note:

7. Lindqvist, "How Tides Shape."

Chapter in an edited book

5. Tunde Okeke, "Fishing Rights and Village Councils," in Voices from the River Delta, ed. Sunita Banerjee (Chicago: Northgate Publishing, 2020), 52.

Two sources in one note

8. Harlow, Tidewater Towns, 40; Okafor, "Flood Mapping," 207.

Notes vs bibliography entries

Notes and bibliography entries contain the same information but are punctuated differently:

If your paper has a bibliography that lists every source, Chicago allows you to use short notes even for the first citation of each source. Check what your instructor wants.

Ibid. and repeated citations

"Ibid." (short for ibidem, "in the same place") means the source in the immediately preceding note.

9. Harlow, Tidewater Towns, 88.
10. Ibid., 91.

Chicago's 17th edition discourages ibid. in favour of short notes, which are clearer if notes get rearranged:

10. Harlow, Tidewater Towns, 91.

Either is acceptable in many classrooms, but don't mix the two approaches in one paper.

Discursive footnotes

Footnotes aren't only for citations. You can also use them for brief comments that would interrupt your main text: a clarification, a related point, a translation, or an explanation of a term.

11. The council later reversed this decision; see chapter 4.

Keep them short. If a footnote grows to half a page, the material probably belongs in the body of your paper, or nowhere.

Footnotes in APA and MLA

APA and MLA use parenthetical in-text citations rather than footnote citations. Both still allow footnotes for:

• Content notes that add brief information.
• Copyright permission notes for reproduced material (APA).
• Bibliographic notes in MLA that point to several sources or comment on them.

Don't use footnotes to replace in-text citations in APA or MLA unless your instructor asks for it.

Formatting the notes themselves

• Notes are usually single-spaced, with a blank line between them, in a slightly smaller font than the body (often 10 pt if the body is 12 pt). Some instructors prefer the same size; check.
• In the note area, the number can be full-size followed by a period or superscript, depending on your style guide and software. Word processors often default to superscript; Chicago's own examples use full-size numbers with periods in the note itself. Ask which your instructor prefers.
• Start each note with the first line indented.

A quick workflow

1. Insert notes as you write with the software command, not afterward.
2. Write the full note the first time you cite each source.
3. Use short notes for later citations.
4. Build the bibliography from your full notes, flipping the author name and changing punctuation.
5. At the end, scan every note for consistent punctuation and italics.

Inkwell's Chicago citation generator can format both full notes and bibliography entries from your source details. For papers that mix many source types, a bibliography generator helps keep the final list consistent.

FAQ

How do I do footnotes in Word on a Mac?

Go to References > Insert Footnote, or press Cmd+Option+F. Word adds the number and moves your cursor to the note area.

Does the footnote number go before or after the period?

In Chicago style, after the period and after closing quotation marks. The exception is a dash, where the number goes before it.

Do I need a bibliography if I use footnotes?

In Chicago notes-and-bibliography style, a bibliography is usually expected, though some instructors accept full notes alone for short papers.

Can I reuse the same footnote number?

No. Each note gets a new number. To cite the same source again, write a new short note.