MLA Footnotes and Endnotes: Format, Examples, and When to Use Them (MLA 9)

MLA footnotes and endnotes are the only two places MLA style lets you put a note, and the MLA treats them as an add-on to its parenthetical citations, not a replacement. In a thesis or manuscript you use a note for one of two jobs: to add a comment the sentence cannot hold (a content note), or to point to several sources at once (a bibliographic note). Everything else is cited in the text with the author and page. This guide shows the format, real-pattern examples, and the common mistakes to avoid. It follows the MLA Handbook, 9th edition (2021), as of October 2026.

The format

An MLA note has four parts. The MLA’s own examples show them in this order:

1. Note number. A superscript number in the text, placed at the end of the sentence (in the MLA’s example the number follows the period: “objections.¹“). Notes are numbered consecutively through the whole essay.
2. Matching note number at the start of the note itself, in the Notes list or at the foot of the page.
3. Note text. Either a short comment or explanation (content note) or a pointer to one or more sources (bibliographic note).
4. Source references inside the note. These use the same author-and-page form as a parenthetical citation, for example “Green, especially 1-7”.

Template for a bibliographic note: number. Pointer phrase (See / For …), Author page-range, and also Author page-range.

Notes may be styled as footnotes (at the bottom of the page) or endnotes (collected at the end). The 9th edition allows either, so follow your instructor, department thesis guide or journal. If you use endnotes, the MLA says they belong in a section labelled “Notes” at the end of the paper but before the works-cited list, double-spaced and in the same font size as the rest of the paper. Word’s built-in footnote and endnote tools produce the superscript numbering for you.

Examples

Content note

A content note, in the MLA’s words, offers “comment, explanation, or information that the text can’t accommodate.” The MLA’s example:

¹ See Green, especially 1-7, and also Hinnant, for further description and discussion of the courtship novel.

Bibliographic note

The MLA says bibliographic notes are “best used only when you need to cite several sources.” Its example:

² For strong points of view on different aspects of the issue, see Public Agenda Foundation 1-10 and Sakala 151-88.

A thesis-style illustration

Illustrative example with a fictitious source (not a real author or book):

The archive’s cataloguing changed after the merger.³

³ See Alder, especially chapters 2 and 3, for the fullest account of the cataloguing revisions, and also Mbeki 40-58 on the later reclassification.

Each source named in the note still needs a full entry in the works-cited list. The note shortens the reference; it does not remove the entry.

Repeat citations in notes

If your citations consistently sit in notes, a repeated citation requires a new note. The MLA states that note numbers are not reused in an essay; notes are numbered consecutively.

In-text citation version

MLA style uses in-text citations to refer to individual sources, so the default is a parenthetical citation with the author’s surname and page, not a note. For the shape of that citation, see our guide to parenthetical citation and the broader guide to quoting and citing sources correctly.

A note may stand in for an in-text citation when it holds many sources or significant annotation that would clutter the sentence. A rule of thumb for deciding:

• One source, one claim: parenthetical citation in the text.
• Several sources for one point, or an evaluative remark on sources: bibliographic note.
• A clarification or justification the argument cannot carry: content note, used sparingly.
• Information the reader does not need: leave it out.

The MLA’s own advice is that content notes be used only when you need to justify or clarify what you have written.

Common errors

• Using notes for every citation. MLA citations go in the text by default; notes are for the cases above.
• Reusing a note number for a repeat source. Each new note gets the next number.
• Long digressive notes. A content note is for what the text cannot accommodate; a note that reads like a paragraph of argument belongs in the body or should be cut.
• Endnotes in the wrong place. The Notes section comes before the works-cited list, not after it.
• Different spacing or a smaller font for endnotes when you are using a separate Notes section: the MLA asks for double spacing and the same size as the rest of the paper.
• Naming a source in a note but leaving it out of the works-cited list. Cross-check every name in your notes against the list. Our guides to bibliography and et al. citation rules cover the list side.

Style-guide edition

This guide follows the MLA Handbook, 9th edition (2021), the current edition as of October 2026. The MLA’s notes guidance is published on style.mla.org as separate posts (29 February 2016, 26 June 2020 and 18 March 2021), which state the rules summarised here. For other styles and how footnotes differ between them, see citation styles and referencing formats. For where notes sit in a full manuscript, see research paper format.

FAQ

Does MLA use footnotes or endnotes?

Either. The MLA says notes may be styled as footnotes or endnotes. Choose the one your instructor, thesis office or journal asks for.

Where do MLA endnotes go?

In a section labelled “Notes” at the end of the paper, before the works-cited list.

What are the two kinds of MLA notes?

Content notes (comment or explanation the text cannot hold) and bibliographic notes (citing several sources, or commenting on them).

Can a note replace an in-text citation?

Only when the note includes many sources or significant annotation. Single sources are cited in the text.

Can I cite the same source in a second note without repeating the first?

If citations are consistently placed in notes, a repeated citation needs a new note with the next number.

Sources

• MLA Style Center, “Using Notes in MLA Style” (29 February 2016): https://style.mla.org/using-notes-in-mla-style/. Checked 29 October 2026.
• MLA Style Center, “Referring to the Same Footnote” (18 March 2021): https://style.mla.org/referring-to-the-same-footnote/. Checked 29 October 2026.
• MLA Style Center, “Note Formatting in Microsoft Word” (26 June 2020): https://style.mla.org/note-formatting-in-microsoft-word/. Checked 29 October 2026.