Q. My question concerns line spacing in footnotes and endnotes in student papers. The CMS is clear that manuscripts submitted for publication should be double-spaced throughout to allow for copyediting, but I can’t see any specific instructions about how to space notes in papers submitted for coursework. Searching has revealed some academic quick guides (based on Chicago) that say to “single-space footnotes and bibliographies, leaving a blank line between entries,” which is the format that I believe to be correct. Is it?
A. Sort of. It’s important to understand that in matters like this the “correct” style is the one required by your teacher or thesis committee or by whatever style guide you have chosen to follow. That said, the quick guides you found are probably following Kate L. Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, which is a standard student reference. (Turabian is based on Chicago style. CMOS is aimed more at scholars who are preparing journal articles and book manuscripts for publication.) Turabian is available in all large bookstores and many school libraries.