On 8/1/06, ScottL <scott(a)mu.org> wrote:
I have seen a number of cases where a general category of people
holding a position are referenced to and a single notable example given
without the implication that they are the only ones "such as green peace
(link to ref)", "such as Roger Ebert (ref)".
That's usually a good way of doing it. Even better would be to provide
some sort of (useful, not derogatory) label to identify the category
of people being referred to. For example, "Marxist critics, such as
John Doe <ref>, say this". If the category has already been
established with a few examples, then the category can be used again
later in the text, and further footnotes would not be necessary
(although direct quotes and contentious or particularly complex points
should always be footnoted).
Another option, when the body is getting too cluttered with "A said
this, and then B said that" is to leave it to the footnotes. "Some
commentators, such as A, take this position," with a footnote citing
similar commentators B, C and D in addition to A.
--
Stephen Bain
stephen.bain(a)gmail.com