In meiner Hausarbeit will ich zwei Autorinnen zitieren und jede Fußnote sauber nummerieren.

Because in can take either the dative or the accusative, depending on the meaning.

Here it means in my term paper / in my paper, so it describes a location or context, not movement into something. That requires the dative:

• in meiner Hausarbeit = in my paper

If it were about movement, German would use the accusative:

• in meine Hausarbeit = into my paper

Also, Hausarbeit is a feminine noun, so the dative form of meine is meiner.

In this context, Hausarbeit usually means an academic paper, term paper, or written assignment.

It does not usually mean housework here.

German learners often notice that Hausarbeit can have more than one meaning depending on context:

• die Hausarbeit = housework / chores
• die Hausarbeit in a university or school context = term paper / academic paper

Because the sentence talks about citing authors and numbering footnotes, the academic meaning is clearly intended.

German main clauses follow the verb-second rule. That means the finite verb must be in the second position.

In this sentence, the first element is:

• In meiner Hausarbeit

So the finite verb must come next:

• will

Then comes the subject:

• ich

That gives:

• In meiner Hausarbeit will ich ...

You could also say:

• Ich will in meiner Hausarbeit ...

That is also correct. The difference is mainly one of emphasis. Starting with In meiner Hausarbeit puts more focus on the context.

Yes. wollen means to want.

So:

• ich will = I want

In English, I will usually refers to the future, but in German ich will does not mean a simple future. It means I want to.

Examples:

• Ich will gehen. = I want to go.
• Ich werde gehen. = I will go.

That is an important difference between English and German.

Because after a modal verb like wollen, the main verbs go to the end in the infinitive form.

The structure is:

• will = finite modal verb
• zitieren, nummerieren = infinitives at the end

So:

• In meiner Hausarbeit will ich zwei Autorinnen zitieren und jede Fußnote sauber nummerieren.

This is a normal German pattern:

• Ich will Deutsch lernen.
• Sie kann gut singen.
• Wir müssen heute arbeiten.

When there are two infinitives joined by und, both stay at the end.

Autorinnen is the plural feminine form of Autorin, meaning female authors.

So:

• die Autorin = the female author
• die Autorinnen = the female authors

The sentence specifically says there are two female authors being cited.

By contrast:

• der Autor = the male author
• die Autoren = male authors or sometimes a mixed/unspecified group, depending on style

A learner might ask whether Autoren could be used generically. In some traditional usage, yes, but modern German often prefers more precise or inclusive wording. Here Autorinnen clearly tells you the authors are women.

Both are possible in principle, but they are slightly different in style and structure.

• jede Fußnote = each footnote / every footnote
• alle Fußnoten = all footnotes

The sentence uses jede Fußnote to emphasize handling them one by one, individually.

Grammar-wise:

• jede is a determiner used with a singular noun
• Fußnote is feminine singular here

So:

• jede Fußnote

If you used the plural, you would say:

• alle Fußnoten

Both can sound natural, but jede Fußnote sauber nummerieren has a slightly more careful, systematic feel.

Because jede here is in the accusative singular feminine form.

The noun is:

• die Fußnote = the footnote

Since nummerieren takes a direct object, Fußnote is in the accusative. For feminine nouns, the accusative singular article and determiner forms look like the nominative:

• nominative: jede Fußnote
• accusative: jede Fußnote

So the form stays jede.

Compare with masculine, where you would see a clearer change:

• nominative: jeder Autor
• accusative: jeden Autor

Literally, sauber means clean. But here it is used more idiomatically to mean something like:

• neatly
• properly
• correctly
• in an orderly way

So jede Fußnote sauber nummerieren means numbering every footnote carefully and correctly, not making a mess of the numbering system.

German often uses sauber in a broader sense than physical cleanliness. For example, it can imply that something is done accurately or properly.

Because standard German spelling uses ß after a long vowel or diphthong in many words.

In Fußnote, the vowel sound is long:

• Fuß

So it is written with ß.

A few useful comparisons:

• Fuß = foot
• muss = must

In muss, the vowel is short, so German writes ss, not ß.

Also note that in Switzerland, people usually write ss instead of ß, so you might see:

• Fussnote

But in Germany and Austria, Fußnote is standard.

Yes. German, like English, often avoids repetition when the same subject and modal verb apply to both actions.

So:

• will ich zwei Autorinnen zitieren und jede Fußnote sauber nummerieren

means:

• I want to cite two female authors and number each footnote properly.

You do not need to repeat:

• will ich

unless you want extra emphasis or a different structure.

The sentence is efficient because both infinitives depend on the same modal verb will.

Yes, and that is a useful vocabulary point.

zitieren can mean:

• to cite
• to quote

In an academic context, both are possible depending on what exactly is meant. Since the sentence mentions a Hausarbeit and footnotes, to cite is often the best fit. But if the paper includes direct quotations, to quote may also be appropriate.

So the German verb is somewhat broader than one single English equivalent, and context helps determine the best translation.