EndNote Review : The best reference management tool

What is Endnote?

Expanded Endnote Basic is online software that helps you to collect and manage a library of citations and output them in any of over 6000 bibliographic formats. You can input groups of references from databases or add them in one at a time.

Your Endnote Basic library is fully searchable, can be organized into groups, and can be shared with other researchers. By downloading the Cite While You Write plug-in for Microsoft Word, you can access your library and instantaneously format your bibliography as you write your paper.

Expanded Endnote Basic accounts are free for anyone with a UNR NetID. Endnotes are notes that appear at the end of your text in a piece of academic writing. They’re indicated in the text with numbers (or occasionally other symbols). Endnotes are used:

How to use endnotes

Endnote numbers appear at the end of the clause or sentence the endnote relates to. The number appears after any punctuation, unless the clause ends with an em dash, in which case it appears before it. There’s no space added after the number.

Endnotes are numbered consecutively in the order they appear in your text. Each note has a unique number; don’t repeat the same number even if you cite the same source more than once.

From within EndNote Basic, click on “Help” in the top right corner of the screen to access a wide variety of tutorials and helpful topic pages.

Endnotes in Chicago style

In Chicago notes and bibliography style, you use endnotes (or footnotes) for citations. Either kind of note can also be used to add extra information: further examples, commentary on the sources you cite, or more detailed discussion of ideas you mention in the text.

Place your Chicago endnotes at the end of the relevant clause or sentence. A citation endnote provides full information about a source the first time you cite it, and shortened information for any further citations of that source.

You should still include a full list of your sources in a bibliography after the endnotes, unless you’re writing a very short paper and have been told you don’t need to. The endnotes page appears just before the bibliography and starts with the title “Notes” written in bold and centered.

Endnotes in APA Style

Either endnotes or footnotes may be used in APA Style to provide additional information. They’re not used for citation; for that you’ll use APA in-text citations instead.

APA endnotes are used to provide copyright attributions where necessary. They can also be used, for example, to elaborate on ideas in the text or provide further examples. Do this sparingly, however; APA cautions against adding unnecessary details.

Endnotes appear on a separate page after the reference list, with the heading “Footnotes” (confusingly, APA doesn’t use the term “endnotes”) in bold and centered at the top.

The notes are written as double-spaced indented paragraphs. Start each note with its number, in superscript and followed by a space.

Endnotes in MLA style

MLA in-text citations appear in parentheses in the text, but you can use endnotes to avoid cluttering the text if you need a lot of citations in one place. MLA endnotes may also be used to provide additional information—any necessary clarifications, further examples, or expansions of ideas covered briefly in the text.

List your endnotes on a separate page before the Works Cited list, and title them either “Notes” or “Endnotes.” Indent the first line of each endnote, and start the note with the number in superscript followed by a space. Endnotes should be double-spaced.

How to insert endnotes in Word

It’s straightforward to insert endnotes automatically in many word processors, including Microsoft Word. Just follow these steps:

• Click on the point in the text where you want the endnote number to appear.
• Open the “References” tab at the top, and click on “Insert Endnote.”
• Type something in the endnote that appears at the end of your document.

But if you’re following one of the styles covered above, do adjust the formatting to match their requirements and add a heading for the endnotes page.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between footnotes and endnotes?

Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page they refer to. This is convenient for the reader but may cause your text to look cluttered if there are a lot of footnotes.

Endnotes appear all together at the end of the whole text. This may be less convenient for the reader but reduces clutter.

How do I insert endnotes in Word?

To insert endnotes in Microsoft Word, follow the steps below:

• Click on the spot in the text where you want the endnote to show up.
• In the “References” tab at the top, select “Insert Endnote.”
• Type whatever text you want into the endnote.