General Rules for Footnote and Bibliography Form Footnote and bibliography forms are arbitrary. There is no inherent reason to use one form over another, except for the sake of clear communication and consistency. Works used should be cited in the same form as that used in indexes, bibliographies, or library card catalogs. In this way, a reader will be able to locate cited sources. The forms presented here are consistent with what most instructors in history and political science require from their students.
Computers make italics easy and preferable.
Footn otes should be indented like paragraphs . Indent three spaces and place the number of the note one-half space above the line. Then skip one space and type the note, using the form below. Most word processing programs will do this for you automatically. Bibliography form is a reverse paragraph .