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Status: Submitted 20000204
%t Footnotes
%n 8R
%s Those Short Comments At The Bottom Of The Page
%a Alex Gough (alex@rcon.org)
%d 20000131
%x Format And Style Policy, The Official Project Galactic Guide
%e
Footnotes [1] are used by writers [2] to add further detail to their
prose [3] or to point to a source of reference [4]. Sometimes the use of
footnotes [5] can reach a ridiculous level [6,7]. Often a reader will turn
over a new page and, seeing footnotes [8] at the bottom, will read these
before arriving at the point in the text where the footnote [9] has its
effect.
Of course it is possible to write an entire paragraph which details an
idea or argument which is contained only within that paragraph; this makes
footnotes [10] unnecessary [11].
[1] These things down here.
[2] And, as rumour has it, authors as well.
[3] Or, if pressed, their poetry.
[4] For instance, the Oxford Compendium of Footnotes, Asterisked Passages
and other Literary Get-Outs.
[5] See [1].
[6] Where the main body of the writing appears at the bottom of the page.
In cases like this it becomes very hard to follow the flow of ideas from
the author.
[7] If you see a passage like this, you are best advised to place your
finger on the part of the page that you were redirected from, so as to
more easily locate it after reading all the footnotes [1,5].
[8] See [1],[5] and [7].
[9] See [1],[5],[8] also [7].
[10] See [1],[5],[7],[8] and [9].
[11] But where would be the fun in that.
%e
*EOA*
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