Footnotes to me are a way to be super creative while writing. They let me add in my own ideas, stories and opinions. You can be as creative as you want in a book note. You can repeat words, not add punctuation and pretty much disregard the proper forms of writing. For example, you can stutter in a foot note. As seen in the case of the stuttering aunt. "She said "This is a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a . . . I mean, this is a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a . . . Excuse me." ' It is a creative way to meet your word count in writing.
There are many types of footnotes: biographical notes, geographical identification, describing objects and even comparing and contrasting footnotes.
When comparing and contrasting in a foot note you can do it is two different ways: point-by-point and subject-by-subject. Point-by-point allows you to discuss both subjects in one paragraph, while subject-by-subject has separate paragraphs for each subject. In my opinion the easier and more understandable is the subject-by-subject. In these types of footnotes you can compare and contrast you subjects by going off on a tangent.
Comparing and Contrasting is also a form of writing. It is not just done in a foot note and can have foot notes itself in the essay. When comparing subjects you want to say how they are like and contrasting them you discuss how they are different.
