Even though parenthetical style citations have become popular in modern academia, there are plenty of times when they are not quite appropriate. You might find that you are dealing with an “old-school” editor who requires the use of endnotes. In fact, for many manuscript publications, endnotes are the preferred method of citation.
Why Use Endnotes?
Endnotes are a wonderful solution to the break in flow that citations can sometimes create. When you use them, you can be sure that your text will not be interrupted by more than a single superscript number. The reader can then turn to the back of the book or paper to read the entire citation, if they so choose.
Much of the reason that we use any type of citation–whether an APA style citation or Chicago Style citation–is to provide healthy proof for our claims. We want to make sure that we can write with authority, and provide backing for the theoretical points we make. We also want to be sure that we can properly utilize the works of those who have gone before us.
Endnotes vs. Footnotes
Because of this, few readers are interested in reading footnotes at the end of each page. In fact, many readers find it distracting, and will only desire footnotes for further investigation on the topic at hand. Because of this, endnotes have remained a quite popular reference solution in the publication realms.