*, 1? 1, *?

September 26, 2008 11:30 AM

Mixed footnotes: do numbered notes precede symbol notes, or vice versa?

I often work with documents where the client is using symbol-footnotes (asterisk, dagger, etc.) for "explanatory" notes, and numbered notes as "reference" notes (authors and publications).

Nowhere can I find any reliable guide as to which should come first at the bottom of the page. Instinct is to put symbols before numbers, out of the vague sense that the bibliography is always the very last thing in a book, but that's hardly justifiable logic when questioned on it.

Any authoritative reference on this, language-folks? Or hats?

posted by Shepherd to Writing & Language (3 answers total)

There is a section here about the order of non-numerical useage. I don't think there are hard and fast rules.

If you're doing domain specific writing, you should consult the appropriate style guide for your discipline.

If you're just writing, say, a Novel, just use whatever you want but be consistent internally.
posted by jeffamaphone at 11:41 AM on September 26, 2008

Words Into Type says nothing about the order that I can find. Sometimes there is no hard and fast rule. I think either way should be fine as long as you are consistent.
posted by Camofrog at 11:46 AM on September 26, 2008

i looked at a couple of the resources here in the office, can't find anything specific. i would also go with symbols before numbers. i think it just looks better.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 12:11 PM on September 26, 2008