Space before footnote reference mark?

Question

Is there supposed to be a space before a footnote reference mark? For example:

This is a sentence. ¹

(let's say 1 is the footnote number) or there isn't supposed to be a space, so,

This is a sentence.¹

Which is the preferred way?

There is no universal standard; such concerns are largely a matter of style. Adhere to the discipline of your editor, publication, or organization, or in the absence of a house style, choose a style manual appropriate to your audience and tastes and be consistent in its application. — choster, Commented Feb 15, 2018 at 15:32
What is a footnote reference mark?? Do you just mean a footnote number? Footnotes are generally numbered. — Lambie, Commented Apr 16, 2018 at 19:57

Ugh_tC · Accepted Answer · 2018-02-15 16:41:40Z

6

It depends on your referencing methods - APA, MLA, Oxford, Harvard, Chicago, etc.

Personally, I would omit the space.¹

EDIT:

Purdue OWL is a good place to find information - and they, as well as Wikipedia, don't have spaces.

1 To get ^Superscript, use html formatting like the following <sup>1</sup>

answered Feb 15, 2018 at 10:56

Ugh_tC

865 bronze badges

2

But what do the reference methods suggest?
– foobar
Commented Feb 15, 2018 at 14:18
1

For a superscript 1, use Unicode 00B9 (185): ¹
– Andrew Leach ♦
Commented Feb 15, 2018 at 16:24
3

I have never seen a style guide that suggests leaving a space before a footnote marker. (There may be some, but in 30 years of editing I haven't come across one...)
– Kiloran_speaking
Commented Mar 17, 2018 at 19:13
@Kiloran_speaking Could you please try to answer this related question?
– WilliamKF
Commented Sep 29, 2020 at 15:37

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