gaynor@paul.rutgers.edu (Silver) (12/10/89)
Under which circumstances is one more appropriate than the other?
I usually decide this by feel, most often in favor of footnotes.
Would you textperts illumine me on the ways of extratextual notes?
Thanks in advance, [Ag] gaynor@topaz.rutgers.edu
ps. If you can take the time to send me mail, I can
certainly find the time to summarize and repost.dhosek@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (D.A. Hosek) (12/10/89)
In article <Dec.9.23.45.49.1989.8147@paul.rutgers.edu> gaynor@topaz.rutgers.edu writes: >Under which circumstances is one more appropriate than the other? >I usually decide this by feel, most often in favor of footnotes. >Would you textperts illumine me on the ways of extratextual notes? Marginal notes are almost never used in most texts. Where they do occur, they serve on of three purposes: most commonly, they are annotations for people who are unlikely to be familiar with the work in question. For example, I have a kids' edition of Around the Word in Eighty Days which defines words that kids might not know in the margins. Another common use is for cross-references. The New Jerusalem Bible, for example, indicates parallel and related passages through marginal notes. My LaTeX class handouts use them as pointers to the LaTeX book for more information (although I'm rapidly approaching the point where I will be independent from that work with my notes). The third context I've seen them used is in reproducing the annotations of past commentators. In particular, biblical commentaries often use them (along with footnotes, headnotes, and interlinear notes, with each margin plus the three above representing a separate commentator! one work I encountered had no less than six running commentaries along with the text). Also, I have an edition of Boswell's life of Johnson which reproduces the marginalia of Hester Thrale using marginal notes. Rather than use something like \marginpar directly, however, I recommend that you use another macro which calls \marginpar. This will make changing marginal notes into footnotes or endnotes somewhat easier. -dh -- "Odi et amo, quare id faciam, fortasse requiris? nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior" -Catullus D.A. Hosek. UUCP: uunet!jarthur!dhosek Internet: dhosek@hmcvax.claremont.edu
lee@sq.sq.com (Liam R. E. Quin) (12/14/89)
dhosek@jarthur.UUCP (D.A. Hosek) writes: >gaynor@topaz.rutgers.edu writes: >> Under which circumstances is one more appropriate than the other? >> I usually decide this by feel, most often in favor of footnotes. >> Would you textperts illumine me on the ways of extratextual notes? > > Marginal notes are almost never used in most texts. This is because they were traditionally often much harder to set than footnotes. [Traditional typographers didn't have troff :-)] Text in margins can serve many purposes: * as a short summary of adjacent paragraphs, to aid the reader in locating a particular passage in a reference work. See, for example, Edward Johnston's `Writing and Illuminating and Lettering' for an example. This style hass become less popular since, possibly with advances in indexing, but probably in an attempt to reduce the costs of books and maximise th epublisher's profits... :-( * giving illustrative examples -- for example, see Ruri Mclean's introduction to Typography (Hudson Books) * giving translations of technical, foreign or unusual phrases -- as in many religious works. One reason that footnotes are often preferred is that if there are twelve notes to one sentence, you can set the page short to accommodate all twelve footnotes (some of which may be continued onto the next page), but you cannot easily set a narrow page to fit lots more notes in the margin at the side of the page. In general, notes for readers having difficulty with the material are much better at the side of the page where they are easier to find, as anything that helps someone in a struggle is a win. For longer or technical notes, either footnotes or sidebars (an entire column devoted to notes) are often better. You have to decide based on your material and intended audience. In all cases these forms of notes are better than end-notes, however! Lee -- Liam R. Quin, Unixsys (UK) Ltd [note: not an employee of "sq" - a visitor!] lee@sq.com (Whilst visiting Canada from England, until Christmas) -- I think I'm going to come out at last... -- What? Admit you're not a fundamentalist Jew? They'll *crucify* you! :-)
amanda@mermaid.intercon.com (Amanda Walker) (12/15/89)
In article <1989Dec14.154807.2660@sq.sq.com>, lee@sq.sq.com (Liam R. E. Quin) writes: > This is because they were traditionally often much harder to set than > footnotes. [Traditional typographers didn't have troff :-)] Another technique, which was used during the middle ages for commentaries, was to have the commentary in a smaller size *surrounding* the main text. This is absolutely beastly to typeset, though, so it isn't done much these days. TeX or extremely clever troff could do it, I suppose... It does gove a very nice even texture to the page, but I don't know how easy it actually is to read. Amanda Walker InterCon Systems Corporation --
xanthian@saturn.ADS.COM (Metafont Consultant Account) (12/30/89)
In article <Dec.9.23.45.49.1989.8147@paul.rutgers.edu> gaynor@topaz.rutgers.edu writes: >Under which circumstances is one more appropriate than the other? >I usually decide this by feel, most often in favor of footnotes. >Would you textperts illumine me on the ways of extratextual notes? The uses I have seen of this have been in annotated editions of base texts where the annotations exceed in bulk the original text. Reading the annotations beside the text as a pair of two-up columns is _much_ more pleasant than reading them as footnotes, in part because the eyes do better moving side to side than up and down when reading, in part because the annotations are partially self indexed when they lay alongside the line(s) being annotated, saving wear and tear on the user's number/symbol matching capacity. An excellent example of annotations done parallel to the text rather than as footnotes is Martin Gardner's _The Annotated Alice_. Again, my opinion, not the account furnishers'. xanthian@well.sf.ca.us Kent, the (bionic) man from xanth, now available as a build-a-xanthian kit at better toy stores near you. Warning - some parts are fragile. /^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\ < Your artwork converted to a METAFONT symbol program for TeX and LaTeX use! > < Send a salad plate sized blowup, a SASE, and a cover letter to me at TCC, > < P.O. Box 390755, Mountain View, CA 94039-0755 for a no risk, fixed price > < quote. Company logos a specialty. (Hey, it's a living, however modest.) > \vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv/
clarke@hpdtl.HP.COM (Marc Clarke) (02/03/90)
Text in marginal notes is commonly used to provide examples, or to allow the reader to skim down the margins looking for the topic of interest without having to resort to the table of contents. Footnotes contain supplemental information to the main line text.