Using an Endnote to Provide Bibliographic Information

Our flexible template allows writers to include a wide range of publication information in works-cited-list entries. Sometimes, however, the information you want to provide about a particular source doesn’t conveniently fit into any of the slots in the template. You may be able to include some information as a supplemental element, but we recommend placing complex or extensive information in an endnote instead. 

Let’s consider a source’s publication history, for example. It’s appropriate to include a work’s original publication date in the supplemental-element slot. But say it’s important for the reader to know that the work you are writing about went through a series of editions and you want to name the editor(s) of each individual edition. In this case, you should provide the information about the editions in prose in an endnote. Avoid using the supplemental-element slot to annotate a works-cited-list entry. 

Remember, the endnote is your friend, always there to help out when nothing seems to fit just right in a works-cited-list entry!