4.5 Footnotes

Use footnotes rather than endnotes unless the instructor, editor, or publication requires another format. Footnote numbers should run consecutively throughout the paper. Do not restart footnote numbering with each page or section.

Footnotes should appear at the bottom of the page on which the reference occurs. In the main text, place the footnote number after the punctuation mark whenever possible.

• Right: The phrase has been interpreted in several different ways.¹
• Wrong: The phrase has been interpreted in several different ways¹.

Most word processors use 10-point type for footnotes. This is acceptable for most student papers, provided the font matches the main text. If an instructor, institution, or editor requires 12-point type throughout, use 12-point type for footnotes as well.

Separate the main text from the footnotes with a short rule. Indent the footnote number one-half inch, followed by a space before the note text. Subsequent lines of the same footnote should align with the left margin. Single-space each footnote, and leave a single blank line between separate footnotes.

A full first note should include the publication information needed to identify the source. For books, this usually includes the author, title, editor or translator if relevant, edition, series if needed, place of publication, publisher, date, and page number. Later notes should use a shortened form, normally the author’s last name, a shortened title, and the page or location cited.

First note

1. Richard Kaczynski, Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley, rev. ed. (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2010), 213.

Shortened note

2. Kaczynski, Perdurabo, 225.

Citing Hierological Texts

Full publication information is not usually required in footnotes or the bibliography for frequently cited primary texts, unless the edition itself is being discussed as a source. Instead, identify the text by its standard abbreviation and internal reference.

For Thelemic hierological texts, cite the text by abbreviation and stable internal division:

• Right: AL 1:40
• Right: Cor 2:17
• Right: Tza 1:3–5

If a paper uses one standard version or edition of a primary text throughout, identify that version or edition at the first citation when needed. Later citations may use only the abbreviation and internal reference.

If a paper compares more than one version, edition, recension, or translation, identify the version or edition whenever necessary to avoid confusion.

• Right: “Aum! let it fill me!” (AL 1:40 ISV)
• Right: “Aum! let it kill me!” (AL 1:40 OTOV)

The same principle may apply to other sacred or scriptural texts used in comparative work. Do not provide full publication data for a standard Bible translation, Qur’an translation, or similar frequently cited text unless the edition or translation itself is important to the argument. Instead, identify the version briefly in the citation, especially when more than one version is used.