The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition by | Notes & Bibliography System | Chicago - The Basics |
Online version of The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition. Includes, in addition to the searchable manual, a question and answer section and tools for manuscript preparation. Click here for support.
An extensive overview of Chicago Manual of Style style from Purdue University with examples of formatting, in-text citation, and references.
An extensive overview of citing sources in Chicago style from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with examples of in-text citations and references.
Chicago citation style was created by the University of Chicago Press and is generally used in many other Humanities disciplines, such as History and Theology and Religious Studies.
In-Text Citations
Unlike APA and MLA, Chicago in-text citations consist of footnote notations that direct the reader to simplified citations of the cited source at the bottom of the page. The superscript1 notations should begin with "1" and continue through until the end of the paper2. The footnote contains the basic citation information like author, title, publisher/journal title, date and page number. You can see how to format footnotes for books, articles and websites below.
Full Citations
Chicago full citations usually start with the main author's last name followed by the author's first name. Then, depending on the type source that is being cited, the citation contains other pieces of information such as the work's title, publisher or journal title, place of publication or more. Below are general examples of Chicago citations for a print book, journal article from a database, and a website:
Footnote: 1. Firstname Lastname, Title of Book (Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication), page number.
1. William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom! (New York: Vintage Books, 1990), 271.
Bibliography: Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication.
Faulkner, William. Absalom, Absalom!. New York: Vintage Books, 1990.
Footnote: 1. Firstname Lastname, "Article Title," Journal Title Volume Number, issue number (Date): page.
1. Susan Peck MacDonald, “The Erasure of Language,” College Composition and Communication 58, no. 4 (2007): 619.
Bibliography: Lastname, Firstname. "Article Title." Journal Title Volume Number, issue number (Date): page numbers.
MacDonald, Susan Peck. “The Erasure of Language.” College Composition and Communication 58, no. 4 (2007): 585-625.
Footnote: 1. Firstname Lastname, “Title of Web Page,” Publishing Organization or Name of Website in Italics, publication date and/or access date if available, URL.
1. Mister Jalopy, “Effulgence of the North: Storefront Arctic Panorama in Los Angeles,” Dinosaurs and Robots, last modified January 30, 2009, http://www.dinosaursandrobots.com/2009/01/effulgence-of-north-storefront-arctic.html.
Bibliography: Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Web Page.” Publishing Organization or Name of Website in Italics. Publication date and/or access date if available. URL.
Mister Jalopy. “Effulgence of the North: Storefront Arctic Panorama in Los Angeles.” Dinosaurs and Robots. Last modified January 30, 2009. http://www.dinosaursandrobots.com/2009/01/effulgence-of-north-storefront-arctic.html.