Footnotes

The AGLC3 uses footnotes for referencing. A footnote allows you to indicate more information (in this case your source) at the bottom of the page without interrupting the flow of your writing.

According the to the TC Beirne School of Law A Guide to Citation of Sources you should use a footnote when:

• quoting directly from another person's work
• paraphrasing another person's ideas, opinions or theories

Some simple rules:

• number footnotes sequentially using arabic numbers
• footnote should be placed after relevant punctuation
• if a footnote covers more than one source, separate sources with a semicolon

Subsequent references

When referencing the same source in consecutive footnotes use 'ibid'. If you are referencing the same source in consecutive footnotes, but a different paragraph or page number, use ibid followed by a pinpoint reference (Ibid 85).

If you are making a subsequent reference, but the footnote is not consecutive, you should use 'Above n'. Above n cannot be used for legislation or case law. The AGLC3 includes a quick reference guide on subsequent citation on p 333.

Task: Try it Yourself!