Footnote Abbreviations

Many footnote abbreviations have a Latin origin and are still used today. You will find these abbreviations in Bibliographies, Works Cited Pages, and References pages. Here is a list of the most common footnote abbreviations:

anon. = anonymous
ca. or c. (circa) = around a given date
cf. = confer
ch. or chs. = chapter or chapters
ed. or eds. = edition, edited by, or editors
et al. = and others
Ibid. = "in the same place"
j. or ff. = following page or pages
l. or ll. = line or lines
loc. cit. = in the place cited
MS, MSS = manuscript or manuscripts
n.d. = no date
n. p. = no place of publication
p. or pp. = page or pages
passim = here and there
q.v. = go to another place
rev. = revised
trans. or tr. = translated
vide = see
vol. or vols. = volume or volumes

Works Cited Page versus References

Changes have occurred over the years in the presentation of research papers. Footnotes and endnotes are discouraged. Instead, a note is put in parenthesis that directs the reader to the Works Cited page or the References page.These are from the MLA and APA styles of writing research papers and only have minor differences.

When you do this you are citing the sources. The Works Cited page is part of the MLA format for research papers. The Modern Language Association (MLA) style of writing research papers is used extensively in the fields of humanities and liberal arts. As way of comparison, an entry for a book on the Works Cited page in MLA format would have listed, in this order: Author’s last name, Author’s first name, Book Title, Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication, and Medium of Publication. Both styles alphabetize the entries and use hanging indentation, meaning the second line is indented, as is the third and any other lines after that.

The APA style of writing research papers is used in the social sciences field. The American Psychological Association (APA) style uses a References page instead of a Works Cited page. The entry for a book is in this format: Author’s last name, Author’s first name, Year of Publication, Title of Book: Location: Publisher.

One of the things that has changed is that many works that are cited in a research paper will come from the Internet, videos, or computer software. Here are some examples of resources from a Works Cited page:

Film: The Wrong Stuff: American Architecture. Videocassette. Dir. Tom Bettag. Carousel Films, 1983.
Online book: Millay, Edna St. Vincent. Second April. New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1921. Carnegie Mellon University Hillman Library. 12 May 1997 .
Palmer, Ann Therese, and Sheridan Prasso. “Where Have All the Pay Phones Gone?” Business Week 14 May 2001: 16. TOPICsearch. EBSCO. Richland Coll. Lib., Dallas. 20 July 2001.

Abbreviations in Legal Writing

As you probably know, the legal profession has its own language. It also has its own abbreviations. There are sources online that will give you the abbreviations used in legal writing. For example, there is the Bluebook Abbreviations of Law Review Titles which allow abbreviations for certain titles that can get lengthy. Here are just a few examples of the hundreds of titles and their abbreviations:

Boston College International and Comparative Law Review = B.C. Int'l & Comp. L. Rev.
Environmental & Energy Law & Policy Journal = Envtl. & Energy L. & Pol'y J.
Georgetown Law Journal Annual Review of Criminal Procedure = Geo. L.J. Ann. Rev. Crim. Proc.
Journal of Natural Resources & Environmental Law = J. Nat. Resources & Envtl. L.
Public Land & Resources Law Review = Pub. Land & Resources L. Rev.
Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities = Yale J.L. & Human.

Footnote Abbreviations