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Chicago Style: How to Cite Sources

This content is adapted from the WCC's workshop "How to Cite Sources in Chicago Style." It is intended to serve as an accessible, digital resource for UTC students working on writing in Chicago style. 

Introduction to Chicago Style

Who uses Chicago Style?

  • Fields or disciplines that tend to use Chicago's Notes-Bibliography format include history, fine arts, and theatre/literature 

  • Fields or disciplines that tend to use Chicago's Author-Date format include physical, natural, social, or computer sciences

Two formats: Notes-Bibliography & Author-Date

  • Notes-Bibliography: all sources referenced within the paper are cited in numbered footnotes or endnotes 

  • Author-Date: sources are briefly cited in-text using the author's last name and year of publication (similar to APA)

    • Note: both formats generally require a bibliography at the end of the paper

General Formatting Guidelines for Chicago Student Papers

  • Margins: between 1" and 1.5" (usually 1")

  • Text size and font: 12 pt. Times New Roman or 11 pt. Arial [Note: footnotes should be 10 pt.]

  • Page numbers: begin numbering on second page, top-right

  • Spacing: body of paper should be double spaced; notes and bibliography should be single spaced

  • Main sections: 

    • Title page

    • Body of paper with footnotes at the bottom of each page (or endnotes at the end)

    • Bibliography

Title Page

Bibliography

Formatting Notes

In-text citation: Notes-Bib Example

sample in-text citation in notes-bib format. explains that Superscript note reference number corresponds with numbered footnote; Footnote reference inserted after quotation marks or paraphrased reference in text; and Footnote contains author name, title or work, publication information, year, and page reference

Note formatting rules: 

  • All elements are separated by commas
  • Publication information (location and publisher) is enclosed in parentheses 
  • Author(s) name(s) presented First, Last
  • Titles of works are capitalized (each word)
  • Titles of larger works (books, journals, organizational websites) are italicized
  • Titles of smaller works (articles, chapters, webpages) are enclosed in "quotation marks"
  • Terms such as editor/edited by, translated/translated by, volume/number are abbreviated (i.e., ed. trans. vol. no.) 

Shao-Hsun Keng, Chun-Hung Lin, and Peter F. Orazem, “Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality and Income Inequality,” Journal of Human Capital 11, no. 1 (2017): 9–10, https://doi.org/10.1086/690235.

Journal article 

 Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman, A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015), 12.

Book with multiple authors

 Henry David Thoreau, “Walking,” in The Making of the American Essay, ed. John D’Agata (Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2016), 177–78.

Chapter in an edited collection 

Using Footnotes

Why Notes?

  • In Chicago style, notes are used instead of in-text citations to make it easier to read through papers
  • Inserting a note moves it to the bottom of the page (footnotes) or end of the paper (endnotes)

Inserting a Note: 

  • In Google Docs, select "Insert" from the top menu, then select "Footnote" 
  • In Word, select "References" from the top menu, then select either "Insert Footnote" or "Insert Endnote" 

example of inserting a footnote in Word

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sequencing and Placing Notes

  • All footnotes or endnotes should be numbered consecutively, beginning with 1
  • Notes should be inserted at the end of a sentence or clause, depending on where the cited material ends
  • Numbers can follow any punctuation mark except dashes

example of consecutive footnote placement

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shortened or Repeated Note

  • Once you provide a full citation in your note the first time, subsequent notes referring to the same source will be shortened
  • Shortened citations usually include the author's last name and a shortened version of the work's title 
  • If you have used Chicago in the past, note that the current edition of the Chicago Manual of Style discourages the use of "ibid" to refer to repeated consecutive source citations
Book Example Journal Example

First citation: 

Mary Zanarini, In the Fullness of Time: Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019), 87.                                                                                        

First citation: 

Stephen H. Mandy, “Satisfying Patient Expectations withSoft‐Tissue Augmentation,” Dermatology Online Journal 15, no. 7 (2009): 45–47, https://doi.org/10.1037/a0061540.

Subsequent citations: 

Zanarini, In the Fullness, 89.

Subsequent citations: 

Mandy, “Satisfying Patient Expectations with Soft‐Tissue Augmentation,” 47.

Repeated consecutive citations:

Zanarini, 89.

Repeated consecutive citations: 

Mandy, 45.

Footnotes vs. Bibliography

Books

Footnote version: 

Firstname Lastname, Title of Book (Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication), page number.

Rocky Johnson, Cosmopolis: The Hidden Agenda of Modernity (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990), 67. 

Bibliography version: 

Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication. 

Johnson, Rocky. Cosmopolis: The Hidden Agenda of Modernity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990. 

Book with two authors:

Footnote version

Firstname Lastname and Firstname Lastname, Title of Book (Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication), page number.

Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman, A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015), 12.

Bibliography version

Lastname, Firstname, and Firstname Lastname. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication.

Grazer, Brian, and Charles Fishman. A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015.

Book with more than two authors: 

Footnote version

Firstname Lastname of first author et al.

Margaret Zamudio et al., Critical Race Theory Matters: Education and Ideology (New York: Routledge, 2011), 110-65, ProQuest              Ebook Central.

Bibliography version

Lastname Firstname, Firstname lastname … (list all authors)

Zamudio, Margaret, Caskey Russell, Francisco A Rios, and Jacquelyn L Bridgeman. Critical Race Theory Matters: Education and              Ideology. New York: Routledge, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Chapters

Footnote version:

Firstname Lastname, “Title of Chapter,” in Title of Book, ed. Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), page range.

Michael E Lomax, “Jackie Robinson: Racial Pioneer and Athlete Extraordinaire in an Era of Change,” in Out of the Shadows: A Biographical History of African American Athletes, ed. David K Wiggins (Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2006), 169.

Bibliography version:

Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Chapter.” In Title of Book, edited by Firstname Lastname, page range. Place of publication: publisher, year.

Lomax, Michael E. “Jackie Robinson: Racial Pioneer and Athlete Extraordinaire in an Era of Change.” In Out of the Shadows: A Biographical History of African American Athletes, edited by David K Wiggins, 163–79. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2006.

Journal Articles

Footnote version: 

Firstname Lastname, "Article Title," Journal Title Volume, Number (Date): Pages, Online Location.

Saul Epstein and Sara Libby Robinson, “The Soul, Evil Spirits, and the Undead: Vampires, Death, and Burial in Jewish Folklore and Law,” Preternature 1, no. 2 (2012): 232–51, https://doi.org/10.5325/preternature.1.2.0232.

Shortened note version: 

Lastname(s), "Shortened Article Title," Pages.

Epstein and Robinson, "Soul, Evil Spirits, and the Undead," 235-47.

Bibliography version: 

Lastname, Firstname, and Firstname Lastname. "Article Title." Journal Title Volume, Number (Date): Pages. Online Location.

Epstein, Saul, and Sara Libby Robinson. “The Soul, Evil Spirits, and the Undead: Vampires, Death, and Burial in Jewish Folklore and Law.” Preternature 1, no. 2 (2012): 232–51. https://doi.org/10.5325/preternature.1.2.0232

 

Other Considerations for Chicago

Using primary sources, e.g. historical or archival documents 

  • In your note, be as specific as possible
    • Include (if accessible) document title, document date, location information, collection title, collection number, and repository name

Example: J. H. Campbell to James Groppi, Oct. 11, 1969, box 11, folder 1, James Groppi Papers, Milwaukee Mss EX, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives Department.

  • In your bibliography, you can be more general
    • Include the title of the collection, the author(s) of the items in the collection, and/or the repository name

Example: Groppi, James, Papers. Milwaukee Mss EX. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives Department.

Tips for using electronic sources

  • If available, use DOIs instead of URLs
    • If using a URL, short forms are preferred
    • Do not break up a URL across multiple lines on a page
  • Access dates are not needed in the current (17th) edition of the Chicago Manual of Style

Author-Date Format

In-text citation example:

 In Democracy and Other Neoliberal Fantasies, Jodi Dean (2009) argues that “imagining a rhizome might be nice, but rhizomes don’t describe the underlying structure of real networks” (30).
Some authors argue that theorizing on rhizomes does not adequately explain the way that social networks are formed and the bonds they create (Dean, 2009). 
  • Date follows the author's name in parentheses
  • Page # is cited parenthetically directly following the quote or paraphrase

More guidelines for Author-Date in-text citations

  • For no author, use organization instead

    • Ex: "An interesting and relevant quote or paraphrase" (New York Times, 2020). 

  • For two to three authors, include the last names of authors using commas and and (instead of &)

    • Ex "An interesting and relevant quote or paraphrase" (Smith, Smithson, and Johnson 2014).

    • Ex: As Smith, Smithson, and Johnson (2014) write, . . . 

  • For four or more authors, include the last name of the first author and et al.

    • Ex: (Keats et al. 2016) or Keats et al. (2016)

  • When editors, translators, or compilers are used as the author, do not include their role (trans., ed., comp.) in the in-text citation.

  • If an author has published multiple works in the same year, alphabetize the titles in the reference list and then add a, b,c, etc. to the year

    • (Lee 2015a), (Lee 2015b)

  • If the author's name appears in the sentence, do not include the name again in the parentheses

    • Ex: Smith (2016) indicates that good citation practices are important.

    • Ex: Some authors indicate the importance of good citation practices (Smith 2016)

  • To cite specific page(s), add a comma and the page number(s)

    • Ex: (Smith 2016, 21-23) or Smith (2016) . . . (21-23). 

Reference List Examples for Author-Date

*Note that Author-Date format uses a reference page rather than a bibliography page*

Lastname, Firstname. Year of publication. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher.
ExMcCormick, Stacie Selmon. 2019. Staging Black Fugitivity. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.

Book example

 Lastname, Firstname. Year of publication. “Title of article or chapter.” Journal or Book Title volume #, issue #, page range.
Ex: Youngquist, Paul. 1999. “Lyrical Bodies: Wordsworth’s Physiological Aesthetics.” European Romantic Review 10, no. 1: 152-162.

Journal article or Book chapter example 

Resources for Chicago Style

Print resources

Physical copies of the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition (2017)

Call number: Z253.U69 2017

  • One copy can be found at the 2nd floor Information Desk 
  • A second copy can be found in the Ground floor stacks 
  • A third copy can be found at the WCC, in Library 118

Online resources

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