turabian essay template

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Writing Style Guides

Turabian Format Quick Guide

Additional Navigation

Note to students using Grammarly: See this resource on Grammarly’s Place in the Writing Process

Have a formatting question?

Online students.

See a list of all services available to online students at www.liberty.edu/onlinewritingcenter

Residential Students

See a list of all services available to residential students at www.liberty.edu/writing

Sample Paper in notes-bibliography for all students

Turabian Template for assignments with NO headings ( NOTE : do not add quotation marks around the titles of your papers; all macro-enabled fields in the template have those marks to denote the macros; just click each field and type your content)

Turabian Template for assignments WITH headings ( NOTE : do not add quotation marks around the titles of your papers; all macro-enabled fields in the template have those marks to denote the macros; just click each field and type your content)

Dissertation-style title page with basic Dissertation Template

Visit the Chicago Manual of Style database in Liberty University’s Jerry Falwell Library by logging in and choosing that database (search for database by name, then “C,” and “Chicago Manual of Style”).

Discussion Board Posts

A discussion board is designed to mimic a real-time discussion between you and your classmates (and sometimes professors), so it should be fairly formal (i.e., proper citations and academic tone), but most can be slightly informal in the sense that if you wanted to refer to something a classmate said, you’d just write something like “As Christy wrote in her initial thread, xyz” or “I appreciate how Mike clarified xyz in his response to Marsha.”

Be sure to check with your professor for his or her expectations if you are required to cite your classmates’ content.

Below is a basic template. Remember to include footnote citations to credit your scholarly sources, along with a corresponding bibliography list . Prepare your thread in MS Word and save that file, then use Control-A to select all content, Control-C to copy all content, and Control-V in Canvas to paste your content.)

Discussion Board basic template

Helpful Resources

Turabian Chart of Citations
Turabian Annotated Bibliography Sample
Sacred Book Reference List
Capitalization Glossary
Choosing Appropriate Resources for Academic Papers

Video Tutorials

Insert heading levels into template and populate Contents page
Remove Contents page from template if not necessary for your assignment
Using MS Word in insert footnote numbering/placement ( shows some outdated formatting element; just focus on steps to take in MS Word )
Plagiarism series – Video #1 of 4: Introduction: How often can students quote other sources?
Plagiarism series – Video #2 of 4: How and when to cite your sources
Plagiarism series – Video #3 of 4: The three kinds of plagiarism
Plagiarism series – Video #4 of 4: Proactive and foolproof steps to avoid plagiarism

Page Formatting

Use one-inch margins on all sides.
The preferred font/size is Times New Roman, 12 pt.
Indent all paragraphs in the body of the paper ½”.
Double-space the entire paper, except block quotes, footnotes, bibliography entries, reference lists, table titles, and figure captions. Those elements should be single-spaced, with one extra blank line before/after to separate them from other elements.
The paper should be written in the 3rd person (he, she, it) with an active voice, rather than passive voice .
Unless a professor specifically asks for a paper in 1st person (I, me, we, us, our) or 2nd person (you, your) language, avoid these in a paper.
Be specific and concise.
In historical writing, use simple past tense verbs. When referring to an author’s written work, use the present tense.
Note that Turabian requires additional spacing before each heading level, which is already programmed into the templates.
Headline case = all significant words, usually those with 4+ letters, must be capitalized. Use headline case for titles of works; names of journals; and first-, second-, and third-level headings.
Sentence case = only the first letter of the first word, proper nouns, and the word following a colon, if any, should begin with capital letters. Use sentence case for fourth- and fifth-level headings.
Add quotation marks around the titles of shorter works (i.e., articles or poems); use italics for the names of larger works (i.e., books or plays).
Liberty University now uses Turabian’s “student” title page format for all programs and levels of study except dissertations and theses, which follow Turabian’s “dissertation” title page format.
See the links to all templates and sample papers above.
The title page is technically page one, but it never has a page number
Pagination for the fore matter, if any (including the table of contents), uses lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii), in the center bottom of the page. Begin with ii, to account for the title page position.
The body of the paper for all Liberty University classes uses Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3) in the top-right corner. It begins with page 1. All templates provided by Liberty University are already programmed with proper pagination.
See the pagination video tutorial .
The word Introduction is no longer included in student papers unless the instructions specifically require such.
The first paragraph in the body of academic papers should include an introductory paragraph (with no label, title, or heading above it).
Incorporating research that is credible and relevant helps to support and validate a paper’s argument. The page dedicated to incorporating research and avoiding plagiarism includes information on how to integrate summaries and paraphrases, quotations, and block quotes.
With plagiarism, it’s better to be safe than sorry: if it’s not yours, cite it !

Subheadings

Turabian uses up to five heading and subheading levels. Though Turabian provides significant flexibility in formatting, all departments across Liberty University have universally adopted the following formats (see heading levels and table of contents video tutorial ):
First level : centered, boldface, in headline case
Second level : centered, not bolded, in headline case
Third level : left-justified, boldface, in headline case
Fourth level : left-justified, not bolded, in sentence case
Fifth level : indented ½”, not bolded, italicized, in sentence case with a period, then one space, and begin your content on the same line

Footnotes versus Parenthetical Citations

Include a citation whenever another author’s work is directly quoted or paraphrased.
There are two formats in Turabian: author-date and notes-bibliography. Liberty University allows only notes-bibliography format, except for book reviews (which use author-date format).
In notes-bibliography, include relevant publishing details along with the author’s name and year of publication as footnotes.
All programs of study at Liberty University still require the use of ibid . for consecutive footnotes of the same resource on the same page in notes-bibliography format , and shortened notes for non-consecutive subsequent citations, even though the Turabian 9th edition manual recommends not using ibid .
See the Turabian Chart of Citations for visuals of the citations and reference entries in notes-bibliography format. The section of this Quick Guide on author-date format (permitted at Liberty University only for book reviews) includes a link to a chart of citations in that format.

Notes-Bibliography Citation Style

Used in all programs of study using Turabian format (except book reviews, which use Author-Date format).
Footnotes are the preferred method to indicate in-text citations throughout this format. Liberty University does not permit endnotes.
A bibliography is used to compile sources in one list at the end of the paper.

Author-Date citation style

Only permitted for book review assignments at Liberty University.
Sample paper in Author-Date format for book review assignments only.
Template for paper in Author-Date format .
Chart of Citations in Author-Date format for book reviews only.
Note that the list of compiled resources cited in author-date format is titled References (rather than Bibliography).
The Bible is only cited parenthetically at Liberty University, effective Summer of 2022. The phrase “unless otherwise noted” (used in years past) is no longer used at Liberty University.
It is not necessary to write out full quotes of verses from the Bible since your readers can find the references that you cite. When an author needs to make a specific observation, however, he or she will include a direct quote.
When your paper cites from only one translation, you only name the version with the first citation in your paper. If you use multiple translations or versions of the Bible, then you would have to spell out the version used the first time you use each, and then use a series of abbreviations for subsequent citations in parentheses (NASB, ESV, KJV) sufficient for your reader to discern which version you are citing from in subsequent citations.
The abbreviations for the books of the Bible can be used only in parentheses within the text or in footnotes. For example, you may make a reference to Romans 1:16, but if you state that Christians should not be ashamed of the gospel ( Rom. 1:16), then you should use the abbreviation within parentheses.
Turabian includes a comprehensive list of abbreviations for the books of the Bible in sections 24.6.1-24.6.4 (sections 10.44 , 10.45 , 10.47 , and 10.48 in the Chicago Manual of Style database on Liberty University’s Jerry Falwell Library ). See the Sacred Book Reference List and Capitalization Glossary .

Bibliography

Use the word Bibliography for notes-bibliography format.
Center and bold the word “Bibliography” (without quotation marks) on the top line of a new page following your conclusion.
Single-space entries, with one blank line separating each.
Use hanging indents (left-justify the first line of each entry and indent lines two+ of each entry ½” from the left margin).
Alphabetize all entries by the first word in each (usually the first author’s last name for each).
Invert the first author’s name (last name, first, middle), but not the remaining authors’ names in each entry.
Cite classical works (including the Bible) and personal communications in the body of the paper, but do not include them in the reference or bibliography list.
Include periods after both URLs and DOIs.
Check Google Scholar or crossref.org for DOIs of all articles published since 2007, if one is not readily denoted on the article itself.
Only include the access date for online content that is likely to change (such as wikis).

Material on this page adapted from Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations , 9th ed.

Turabian Style

Cite: Why? When?
Books or Ebooks
Theses and Manuscripts
Reference and Sacred Works
Audio/Visual
Government Documents
Music Resources
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

Format Your Paper

Shortened Notes

Turabian Paper Examples

Turabian Paper Example
Turabian Annotated Bibliography Example
Chicago Paper Example (Purdue Owl)

Formatting Guidelines

Margins (a.1.1).

Paper size - 8 1/2 x 11 inches
1 inch at top, bottom, and both sides

Font (A.1.2)

Use easy to read font, such as Times New Roman
12-point font size

Spacing and Indentation (A.1.3)

Block quotations
Table elements (titles and captions)
Lists in appendixes
Footnotes/endnotes and bibliography lists are single-spaced but with a blank line between items.

Pagination (A.1.4)

Do not number the title page
Page numbers start on the first page of the text using arabic numbers
Can be placed in the center or right side of top or bottom of the paper

Title Page (A.1.5)

Center all elements on the page
Font size can increase slightly for the title.
Preferred format is boldface for title
Title placed approximately 1/3 down page.
Two-thirds down page place name, class title, and date

Text (A.2.2)

Align the text to the left with a 1/2-inch left indent
Double-space
Include sections: introduction, chapters/sections , and conclusion
Spell out long organization names and add the abbreviation in parenthesis, then just use the abbreviation
Write out numbers up to nine and use a number for 10 or more
Use a number for units of measurement, in tables, to represent statistical or math functions, and dates or times
Capitalize major words in the titles of books and articles

Bibliography (A.2.3.5)

Begins on a new page following the text of your paper and includes complete citations for the resources you've used in your writing.

Center "Bibliography" at the top of the new page, leaving two spaces between title and first entry
Single-space and use hanging indents (where the first line is on the left margin and the following lines are indented a half inch from the left)
List authors' last name first followed by the first and middle initials (ex. Skinner, B.F.) t
Alphabetize the list by the first author's last name of of each citation, hen alphabetically by title if you list multiple works by one author.
Add full-sentence annotations on a new line indented from the left margin.
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Last Updated: Apr 18, 2024 8:43 AM
URL: https://libguides.uww.edu/turabian

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Turabian Writing Guide: Formatting

Bibliography
Citing the Bible

Writing Center Help

The Liberty University Writing Center is available to provide writing coaching to students. Residential students should contact the On-Campus Writing Center for assistance. Online students should contact the Online Writing Center for assistance.

Sample Papers

The Writing Center has a sample paper available here and has also made templates available depending on the length of the paper:

Turabian Template for papers with no headings . These are typically undergraduate papers with less than ten pages in the body.
Turabian Template for papers requiring headings . These are typically graduate or doctoral papers with more than ten pages in the body. See page 9 of the Sample Paper for specific instructions for setting the paper's headings.

General Formatting

The paper should use Times New Roman, 12 point font. Footnotes use Times New Roman, 10 point font
1" margins all around
For bound theses or dissertations (rare), include a 1.5" left margin

Spacing and Indentation

The body of the paper should be double-spaced.
Quotes should be blocked if the citations are five or more lines.
Footnotes should be single-spaced, but add a blank line between individual footnotes.

Footnotes and Bibliography

Indent Footnotes on the first line
In Word, use “Insert Footnote” under the “References” ribbon (not “Insert Citation”). This will insert a superscripted number in the body text and the footnote below. The Turabian manual shows footnote numbers that are not superscripted and are followed by a period, but Liberty University programs require superscripted numbers with no periods, which is the Word default.
To renumber footnotes, add section breaks between chapters.
Use hanging indents for bibliography citations.
The bibliography is single-spaced, with a blank line between entries.

Page Numbers

In general, page numbers in Turabian Style should begin after the title page and any front matter; they should continue through the rest of the paper. To format your page numbering properly, you would need to add section breaks after the front matter. You can find a guide to adding page numbers to your paper in Word here .

The paper’s body, bibliography, and appendices display Arabic numerals (i.e., 1, 2, 3) placed flush-right in the header, beginning with page 1 on the first page of the body of the paper.

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Last Updated: Aug 28, 2023 2:25 PM
URL: https://libguides.liberty.edu/Turabian

Turabian Style Guide: Sample Papers in Turabian

Turabian (& Chicago)
Sample Papers in Turabian
Research Paper Topics
Research Tools This link opens in a new window

Sample Turabian Papers

Turabian Style paper (Austin Peay State University) from Austin Peay State University, Academic Support Center
"Turabian Tutor" (Tennessee Temple University) Tennessee Temple University, Turabian-style paper
Intro to Chicago-Turabian Style (paper) (University of North Alabama) University of North Alabama, turabian-style paper
Sample Turabian Bibliography from Carpenter Library, UNF

Turabian formatting in Word

Turabian title page in Word

Simple Formatting Guidelines

Paper size - 8.5 inch x 11 inch
1 inch on all four edges of the page
Typeface/Font size
Easily read; preferably serifed, ex. Times New Roman
12-point is accepted size
Spacing/Indentation
Double-space text with exceptions that are single-spaced:
Block quotations
Table elements, ex. titles and figure captions
Appendices' lists
Footnotes/endnotes are single-spaced but separated by a space between each item.
Items in a bibliography/reference list are single-spaced but each item is separated by a space.
Do not number the title page.
Start arabic numbers (at 1) on first page of paper that is not considered front matter (front matter = title page).
Place page numbers consistently in same location throughout paper:
Options for page numbers include: centered in footer OR right-hand of footer OR centered in header OR right-hand of header
Title Page elements
Center all elements
Use consistent typeface and font size
font size can increase slightly for title elements
preferred format is boldface for title
Employ Headline Capitalization with All Elements (first letter of each noun/pronoun is capitalized) ( definition of Headline Style Capitalization)
Title is placed approx. 1/3 down the page. A subtitle follow the main title with a colon and starts on a new line.
Two-thirds down the page, your name, any title page information provided by your professor, and the date should be included.
Body of Paper (Text)
Includes
Introduction
Quotations, including block quotations, should follow Turabian's standard formatting rules.
Text Formatting
Be consistent throughout body of paper with typeface, font size, and other formatting elements.
Make sure text is aligned left.
Do not add color in the text (hyperlinked text will automatically become blue; this is unavoidable).
Block quotations should be set apart by blank space above and below and, internally, should be single-spaced.
Back Matter elements
Notes (endnotes section) ( http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocChicago_Notes_Formatting.html )
Bibliography OR References OR Works Cited (your choice as to heading)
Center page titles
Font size can increase slightly for title elements.
Preferred format is boldface for title
Leave two blank spaces between heading and first endnote/work referenced.
Notes section
Use standard paragraph indentations for each endnote.
Single-space each endnote and separate each by a blank space.
Use standard-size numbers with periods to enumerate your endnote list.
Bibliography/References/Works Cited section
Use hanging indentations for works referenced (first line is not indented; second and remaining lines are indented standard tab of five spaces)
This section is typically arranged alphabetically by author, then alphabetically by title if you list multiple works by one author.

All information comes from

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations : Chicago Style for Students & Researchers . 8th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013.

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Last Updated: Mar 6, 2023 10:35 AM
URL: https://library.cbc.edu/Turabian