If you do academic writing, then you’ll find this article interesting: When a Rose Isn't 'Arose' Isn't Arroz: A Student Guide to Footnoting for Informational Clarity and Scholarly Discourse, by Prof. William B.T. Mock, Jr. Professor Mock describes three kinds of footnotes serving three different purposes:
- Reference footnotes, citing the authorities supporting the text.
- Factual footnotes, providing background facts that the reader may not know.
- Idea footnotes, placing the writer’s arguments, opinions, and analyses in a broader scholarly context.
He then describes the proper use of each kind of footnote and gives pointers for writing them.
In a footnote near the end of the article, he gives a valuable pointer that every legal researcher will find useful: When photocopying something from a book or a treatise, always photocopy the title page, both front and back.1 Later, the photocopied title page will give you all the information you need to cite the work, saving you a trip back to the library for that information.
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1 If you want to save a fraction of a tree (a twig perhaps), photocopy just the front of the title page, and write on the photocopy the most recent copyright date from the back of the title page.
I hope he followed his own advice in putting that tip in a footnote!
Another tree-saving (and money-saving) tip: rather than copying one page to each sheet of paper, make use of the reducing capability of a copy machine to copy both facing pages from a publication onto the same 8-1/2 by 11 sheet of paper, provided (1) you can get the faces flat enough against the glass without damaging the binding; and (2) your eyes are good enough to read the reduced size type.
Posted by: Greg May | 26 November 2007 at 06:28 PM
Er . . . "faces" should be "facing pages." How about a nice post about proofreading?
Posted by: | 26 November 2007 at 08:15 PM