Usage: This element is not necessarily a comment in the formal sense of commentary. In the <mixed-citation> element, text, numbers, and special characters such as punctuation are allowed everywhere, so the element <comment> will rarely be needed. Inside <mixed-citation>, any non-specific text can merely be left as untagged text.

In the <element-citation> element, the element <comment> can be used to contain additional information within a citation that is not appropriate in any of the other specific, named information elements.

Best Practice: In <mixed-citation>s, the <comment> element should be used only to mark substantive text; it should not be used to mark punctuation that occurs between elements. In contrast, in <element-citation>s, the <comment> element can be used to preserve any text, spacing, remarks, or punctuation that will not fit in any of the named reference elements. Frequently, there is material at the end of an element-styled citation that can fit into a <comment>.