In a book, footnotes provide additional information.
Footnotes are those that offer additional information that is of interest to the reader, but that cannot be included within the current text in a fluid manner . Therefore, some type of call is made (such as an asterisk or a number ) and the information is recorded at the end of the sheet.
Sometimes, these notes are placed at the conclusion of a chapter or directly at the end of the book , although this constitutes discomfort for the reader.
Characteristics of a footnote
Footnotes usually include references to the source , additional sources or information that does not belong to the general line of the argument presented by the author, but that can complement or contrast it .
Footnotes are only supposed to appear when necessary . That is to say, the fact that a text has abundant notes of this type does not mean that it is more complete, but rather that it has been written with a poor writing style. Elaborated arguments or additional explanations should be incorporated directly into the current text.
Many publications and works lack footnotes.
Other uses of the concept
It should be noted that the concept of foot is not only used in these types of notes. Brief comments that appear below a photo or illustration, for example, also appear at the bottom . For example: “At the bottom of the image, we can read the name of the photographed athlete.”
On the other hand, when it is said that someone repeats an explanation or a phrase verbatim , they are repeating literally what was mentioned by another person or in another source.
As mentioned above, the footnote must be linked to a part of the text by means of a symbol that is easy for any reader to identify: a number. In this way, on the same page there can be as many explanatory notes as fit in the space at the end, since to relate them it will never be necessary to have a number so high that it could cause confusion (it is not normal for them to reach ten, for example). ).
The footer today
Nowadays, the use of computers for writing books and other types of literary creations is so much more normal than writing by hand that most writers do not have to worry about issues of style and numbering of footnotes. footer, since the programs automatically take care of these and other issues. For example, all you have to do is add a new note for the word processor to number it correctly.
Regarding the font and paragraph style, this aspect can also be configured, although there are certain rules that limit the writer's freedom when customizing it. One of them is that the width of the footer should not exceed that of the rest of the text, that is, the sum of all the columns that make up the page. The size, on the other hand, is usually smaller, to visually indicate that it is a complement to the main content .
It is important to mention that the same footnote can be extended to the point of not fitting on a single page. If it is done manually, it must be continued in the next one; In the case of a computer program, this function is executed automatically, although this depends on each particular tool. In any case, note that a note should not occupy more than two pages; if its length is that big, then we should probably include its content along with the main one. A problem that may arise is that the note cannot be divided because a new chapter begins on the next page, and then the only option is to shorten it.