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Free Chicago Citation Generator

Generate citations in Chicago style automatically, with MyBib!

😕 What is a Chicago Citation Generator?

A Chicago Citation Generator is a software tool that automatically generates citations and bibliographies in the Chicago citation style.

Citations can be created by entering an identifying piece of information about a source, such as a website URL, book ISBN, or journal article DOI to the generator. The generator will then create a fully formatted citation in the Chicago style containing all the required information for the source.

Chicago style citations are used to give credit to the authors of supporting work that has been used to write an academic paper or article.

👩‍🎓 Who uses an Chicago Citation Generator?

The Chicago style is primarily used by college and university students studying business, history, social sciences, the fine arts, amongst others.

🙌 Why should I use a Chicago Citation Generator?

Citing sources is often an afterthought in paper writing because formatting citations correctly is time-consuming and confusing, and staying on top of source management manually can be hard. A citation generator makes this easier by:

• Decreasing the time you would spend formatting citations correctly
• Managing the recording and organization of every citation for you

In short, there is no reason not to use a citation generator in academic writing.

⚙️ How do I use MyBib's Chicago Citation Generator?

To get started, scroll up back up to the tool at the top of the page and follow these steps:

• Select the type of source you want to cite
• If it's a website, enter the URL in the search bar. If it's a book, enter the ISBN or title. If it's a journal article, enter the DOI or title. For all other sources, enter the details of the source into the form
• Select the search result that most closely represents the source you referred to in your paper
• Shazam! The generator will automatically format the citation in the Chicago style. Copy it into your paper, or save it to your bibliography to download later
• Repeat for every other citation you need to create for your paper

MyBib supports the following for Chicago style:

Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.

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Chicago Citation Generator

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The ultimate guide to citing anything in chicago style, everything you ever needed to know about citing sources from the chicago manual of style, the basics of citing in chicago style.

The Chicago Manual of Style, currently in its 16th edition, was created to help researchers properly cite their sources. There are two types of referencing styles in Chicago: 1) Notes and Bibliography and 2) Author-Date.

This guide displays the Notes and Bibliography style of referencing and is not associated with the official publishers of the style.

Need help with other styles? Our thorough MLA format and APA format guides are available for all of your writing and citing needs!

Creating a Bibliography in Chicago Style

The bibliography is a list of all the sources used in the paper. The list includes the important publication details of the sources. The bibliography must also follow this format:

• The citation list or bibliography must be single spaced.
• The last names of the authors must be arranged alphabetically.
• The second line of the source must be indented.

Examples of Citing Different Sources in Chicago Style

Generally, Chicago citations require:

• Title of book/article
• Title of newspaper/journal
• Publication year
• Publication month and date
• City of publication
• Date of access
• Page numbers
• URL or Name of Database

How to Create Footnotes and Endnotes for Chicago Style

If you’re wondering how to format Chicago in-text citations, Notes and Bibliography formatting requires writers to use footnotes and endnotes. These footnotes and endnotes acknowledge the different sources used in the work.

When a source is used in a research paper, a roman numeral is placed at the end of the borrowed information as superscript (it is smaller than the normal line of text and raised). That number correlates with a footnote or endnote.

• Footnotes are found at the bottom of the page
• Endnotes are added at the end of the chapter or project
• A footnote or endnote contains the complete citation information
• The matching number in the footnote or endnote is normal sized and not raised
• It is up to the discretion of the writer to either place the citation at the bottom of the page where the superscript is placed (a footnote) or to place all citations together at the end of the work (endnotes)

One would wonder, "Would young Einstein be characterized as belonging somewhere on the autism spectrum? Would Erdos have been given a diagnosis of A.D.H.D.?" ¹

Chicago style footnotes are placed at the bottom of the page:

• Silver, Nate. "Beautiful Minds." The New York Times. July 13, 2013. Accessed August 04, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/books/review/the-boy-who-loved-math-and-on-a-beam-of-light.html?ref=books&_r=0 .

If a source is used more than once in a research project, follow these guidelines:

• When used again, instead of writing out the complete citation for a second time in the footnote, only include: the author’s last name, the title or a phrase for the title (if it’s more than four words), and the page number(s) that were used. This will reduce the bulk of citation information in the paper.
• Cohen, Micah, "Rubio is Losing Support Among Republican Voters." FiveThirtyEight. July 09, 2013. Accessed August 04, 2015. http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/rubio-is-losing-support-among-republican-voters/
• Wolf, Leon H. "Marco Rubio's Campaign Must Adapt or Die." RedState. August 04, 2015. Accessed August 04, 2015. http://www.redstate.com/2015/08/04/marco-rubios-campaign-must-adapt-die/ .
• Cohen, "Rubio Losing Support"

If a source is used consecutively, follow these guidelines for shortened citation and ibid :

If you are citing the same source continually throughout your text, use a shortened version of the full citation in your footnotes.

Previous versions of the style used the abbreviation “ibid,” short for “ibidem.” Ibidem is a Latin word that means “in the same place.” It was used when referring to a source that was just cited within a document (without other sources in between). Writers would use ibid instead of writing out the source information again. This was meant to save space since it’s fewer characters than citing the source again.

In the current version of Chicago, the 17th version, ibid is accepted but not preferred. This is because ibid requires readers to go back and search for the previous source cited, an inconvenience which outweighs the benefits of shortening the citation. Also, shortened citations are compact, so using ibid doesn’t always save line space.

Shortened citations

The first mention of a source should include all relevant information (e.g., full author name(s), full title, publisher, date published, etc.).

Subsequent mentions should be a shortened version using this formula:

Last Name, Title of the Work , page number(s).

Mentions after the shortened form can use the abbreviated formula:

Last Name, page number(s).

If there are two or three authors, list their full names in the order they appear in the source. If there are more than three authors, list the first author’s name followed by “et al.”

Examples of using shortened citations (preferred format in the 17th Edition):

• Philip R. Cateora et al., International Marketing (New York: McGraw Hill, 2020), 292-294.
• Cateora et al., International Marketing , 28-29.
• Cateora et al., 28-29.
• Cateora et al., 377.

Long titles that are more than four words are usually shortened. Focus on keeping key words from the title and omitting any beginning “a” or “the.” Examples:

• And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street = Mulberry Street
• Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe = Fried Green Tomatoes

If you are using the discontinued ibid notation, here are a few guidelines:

• When the same source is used consecutively, instead of typing in the citation information again, use the abbreviation “ibid.” Add the page numbers immediately following.
• If the same source AND same page number are used consecutively, simply write “Ibid.”

Same example above, but using ibid:

• Philip R. Cateora et al, International Marketing (New York: McGraw Hill, 2020), 292-294.

Another example with two sources that were mentioned earlier in the text:

• Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See (New York: Scribner, 2014), 82-84.
• Tatiana de Rosnay, Sarah's Key (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2007), 24-27.
• Ibid., 133-134.
• Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See , 397-401.
• Ibid., 405.
• Ibid., 411.

For further clarification on the Chicago in-text citation style of footnotes and endnotes, consult the Chicago Manual of Style's website . This site is full of helpful pages, so if you’re tempted to head to Google to type in, “in-text citations Chicago,” take a peek at the official site first.

Creating Your Citations in Chicago Style

As mentioned, when you're following The Chicago Manual of Style, you'll be required to create a list of all sources used in your paper. Even though full bibliographic information can be found in the footnotes and endnotes, it is still acceptable, and often required by instructors, to create a bibliography. The bibliography is placed at the end of an assignment.

How to Cite a Print Book in Chicago Style

In the footnotes and endnotes:

First name Last name, Title of Book (Publication Place: Publisher, Year), page range.

In the bibliography:

Last name, First name. Title of book . Publication Place: Publisher, Year.

Example of Chicago Style for Books with One Author

Sam Staggs, Born to Be Hurt: The Untold Story of Imitation of Life (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2009), 84.

Staggs, Sam. Born to Be Hurt: The Untold Story of Imitation of Life. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2009.

Don’t forget, Citation Machine allows you to generate Chicago citations for books quickly and accurately.

Example of Chicago Citation for Books with Multiple Authors

Ella Shohat and Robert Stam, Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media (London: Routledge,1994) 24-28.

Shohat, Ella, and Robert Stam. Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media . London: Routledge, 1994.

How to Cite Chapters or Articles from a Book in Chicago Style

First name, Last name of Chapter Author, “Chapter or Article Title,” in Book Title , ed. First Name Last Name of Editor (Publication Place: Publisher, Year), page range.

Last name, First name. "Chapter Title." In Book Title , edited by First Name Last Name, page range. Publication Place: Publisher, Year.

Looking for a simple and easy-to-use Chicago citation maker? Head to our homepage and start building your Chicago format references with ease!

Example of Chicago Citation for Chapters in a Book

Laura Aymerich-Franch and Maddalena Fedele, "Student's Privacy Concerns on the Use of Social Media in Higher Education," in Cutting-Edge Technologies and Social Media Use in Higher Education, ed. Vledlena Benson and Stephanie Morgan (Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference, 2014), 35-36.

Aymerich-Franch, Laura, and Maddalena Fedele. "Student's Privacy Concerns on the Use of Social Media in Higher Education." In Cutting-Edge Technologies and Social Media Use in Higher Education, edited by Vledlena Benson and Stephanie Morgan, 35-36. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference, 2014.

How to Cite Online E-books in Chicago Style

When citing e-books, include the URL or the name of the database. The URL or database name should be the last part of the citation.

First name Last name, Title of e-book (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), page range, URL, Database Name.

Last name, First name. Title of Book. Publication Place: Publisher, Year. URL, Name of Database.

Example of Chicago Citation for E-Books

Michael J. Baker, The Marketing Book (Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002), 89, https://htbiblio.yolasite.com/resources/Marketing%20Book.pdf .

Baker, Michael J. The Marketing Book. Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002. https://htbiblio.yolasite.com/resources/Marketing%20Book.pdf .

If you understand how to structure your references easily, thanks to this thorough guide, and are looking for help with the written portion of your paper, look no further! There are tons of Citation Machine grammar guides to help you write with ease. Here’s just one of our many useful pages: Positive & Negative Adjectives .

How to Cite E-books in Chicago Style E-books from a Kindle or E-book Reader

If there aren’t any clearly labeled page numbers, use chapter numbers or titles, section numbers or titles, or any other established numbering system in the text. It’s also acceptable to omit page information from Chicago style citations if there aren’t clearly labeled page numbers.

First name Last name, Title of the Book (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), page range, Type of E-reader

Last name, First name. Title of book . Publication Place: Publisher, Year. Type of e-reader.

Example of Chicago Citation for Kindle or E-book Reader

Corina Bomann, The Moonlight Garden (Washington: AmazonCrossing, 2016), chap. 8, Kindle.

Bomann, Corina. The Moonlight Garden . Washington: AmazonCrossing, 2016. Kindle.

How to Cite Print Journals in Chicago Style

First name Last name, "Title of Article," Journal Title Volume Number, No. of issue (Year): Page range.

Chicago style citation in the bibliography:

Last name, First name. "Title of Article," Journal Title Volume Number, No. of issue (Year): Page range.

Example of Chicago Citation for Print Journals

Damien O'Brien and Brian Fitzgerald, "Digital Copyright Law in a YouTube World," Internet Law Bulletin 9, no. 6 (2007): 71-74.

O'Brien, Damien, and Brian Fitzgerald, "Digital Copyright Law in a YouTube World." Internet Law Bulletin 9, no. 6 (2007): 71-74.

If you’re come this far and you’re still searching for in-text citation Chicago information, remember, this style uses footnotes and endnotes! Scroll up to find out more!

How to Cite Online or Database Journals in Chicago Style

First name Last name, "Article Title," Journal Title Volume Number, Issue No.(Year): Page range. URL or Name of Database.

Last name, First name. "Article Title." Journal Title Volume Number, Issue No. (Year): Page range. URL or Name of Database.

Example of Chicago Citation for Online or Database Journals

Trine Schreiber, "Conceptualizing Students’ Written Assignments in the Context of Information Literacy and Schatzki’s Practice Theory," Journal of Documentation 70, no. 3 (2014): 346-363. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-01-2013-0002 .

Schreiber, Trine. "Conceptualizing Students’ Written Assignments in the Context of Information Literacy and Schatzki’s Practice Theory." Journal of Documentation 70, no. 3 (2014): 346-363. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-01-2013-0002 .

Our Citation Machine Chicago citation generator helps you create your references in just a few clicks. Give it a whirl and watch the magic unfold!

How to Cite Print Magazines in Chicago Style

First name Last name, "Article Title," Magazine Title, Full Date, page range.

Last name, First name. "Article Title." Magazine Title, Full Date.

Example of Chicago Citation for Print Magazines

George J. Church, "Sunny Mood at Midsummer: Americans Take a Brighter View of Reagan," _Time, July 18, 1983, 56-59.

Church, George J. "Sunny Mood at Midsummer: Americans Take a Brighter View of Reagan" Time, July 18, 1983.

How to Cite Online Magazines in Chicago Style

First name, Last name, "Article Title," Title of Magazine, Full Date, URL.

Chicago style bibliography structure:

Last name, First name. "Article Title" Magazine Title, Full Date, URL.

Example of Chicago Citation for Online Magazines

Bill Donahue. “King of the Mountains,” Backpacker, September/October 2019, 76-82, http://backpacker.eoncontent.ebscohost.com/2226647#&pageSet=39

Donahue, Bill. “King of the Mountains.” Backpacker, September/October 2019. http://backpacker.eoncontent.ebscohost.com/2226647#&pageSet=39

How to Cite a Web Page in Chicago Style

Creating a footnote, endnote, or bibliographic information for web content isn’t always necessary. It’s acceptable to simply mention the source in the written portion of the paper. For example, “The Marco Polo page on History’s website, last updated on March 6, 2019, describes his travels along the Silk Road while....” Include formal Chicago citation style references if you or your professor prefers to do so.

A bit more:

• If the website page is missing a date of publication, include the date the source was last modified or accessed in the footnote and endnote.
• If the website page is missing the name of the author, begin the footnote with the “Title of the Article or Page.”

First name Last name of Author, "Title of Article or Page," Title of Website, Date published or last modified or accessed, URL.

Last name, First name or Organization Name. "Title of Article or Page." Title of Website. Date published or last modified or accessed. URL.

Figuring out how to style web references can be tricky, but thanks to our Chicago citation machine, we’ve made the whole process much easier for you. Try it out!

Example of Chicago Citation for a Web Page

Sujan Patel, "15 Must-have Marketing Tools for 2015," Entrepreneur, January 12, 2015. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/241570 .

Patel, Sujan. “15 Must-have Marketing Tools for 2015.” Entrepreneur. January 12, 2015. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/241570 .

Don’t forget, Citation Machine allows you to generate Chicago citations for websites quickly and accurately.

How to Cite The Bible or Religious Texts in Chicago Style

Bible references are often displayed in the text of a paper (similar to web content) or in footnotes and endnotes. Formal bible references in bibliographies are not necessary.

Abbreviated Title of Book, Chapter:Verse (Edition).

Example of Chicago Citation for Bible

2 Cor. 11:7 (New Standard Version).

If you’re looking for other resources to help you with the written portion of your paper, we have quite a few handy grammar guides. Two of our favorites? Adjectives starting with X and List of verbs .

How to Cite Blogs in Chicago Style

*According to the 17th edition of the manual, blogs are not typically cited in bibliographies. They are generally cited in the footnotes/endnotes section. Of course, if the writer or professor prefers a full bibliographic reference, one can be created.

Style notes and bibliographic references the same way as you would an online newspaper, but include (blog) in parentheses immediately following the title of the blog.

First name Last name, "Title of Blog Post," Title of Blog (blog), Title of Larger Blog, if part of a larger one, Month Day Year of post, URL.

Last Name, First Name. "Title of the Blog." Name of Blog Site (blog). Title of Larger Blog, if part of a larger one, Month Day Year of post. URL.

Example of Chicago Citation for Blogs

Shannon Miller, "Valentine Ideas Using Digital Tools, Hands, Creativity, and a Little Love for Padlet," The Library Voice (blog), January 20, 2016, http://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/2016/01/valentine-ideas-using-digital-tools.html .

Miller, Shannon. "Valentine Ideas Using Digital Tools, Hands, Creativity, and a Little Love for Padlet." The Library Voice, January 20, 2016. http://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/2016/01/valentine-ideas-using-digital-tools.html .

Chicago style bibliographies aren’t as complicated as they seem, especially when you have a generator to do the work for you. Head to our homepage and try ours out!

How to Cite TV Broadcasts in Chicago Style

Title of Series , episode number, “Title of Episode,” directed by First Name Last Name, written by First Name Last Name, featuring First Names Last Names of actors, aired Month Day, Year, on Station Name, URL.

Last Name, First Name, dir. Title of Series . Season Number, episode number, “Title of Episode.” Aired Month Day, Year, on Station Name. URL.

Example of Chicago Citation for Broadcasts

Riverdale , episode 15, “American Dreams,” directed by Gabriel Correra, written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, featuring KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart, and Cole Sprouse, aired March 13, 2019, on CW.

Bibliography Chicago style:

Correra, Gabriel, dir. Riverdale . Season 3, episode 15, “American Dreams.” Aired March 13, 2019, on CW.

How to Cite a Case Study in Chicago Style

First name Last name. Title of Case Study. (Publication Place: Publisher, Year).

Last name, First name. Title of Case Study.

Example of Chicago Citation for Case Study

Peter Finn. Disulfiram.

Finn, Peter. Disulfiram.

How to Cite Conference Proceedings in Chicago Style

First Name Last Name, “Title of Conference Paper” (format, Title of Conference, Location, Full Date).

Last name, First name. “Title of Conference Paper.” Format presented at Title of Conference, Location, Date. URL.

Example of Chicago Citation for Conference Paper

Craig Myerson, “Historical Markings in New Castle, Delaware” (Power-Point presentation, The University of Delaware, Newark, DE, June 18, 2019.

Myerson, Craig. “Historical Markings in New Castle, Delaware.” Power-point presentation presented at The University of Delaware, Newark, DE, June 18, 2019.

How to Cite Court or Legal Cases in Chicago Style

The 17th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style recommends referring to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation , or the ALWD Guide to Legal Citation to learn how to create court or legal references. Both guides are widely used by those in legal fields and have become the standard for referencing legal cases.

The examples below reflect the format found in The Bluebook .

Legal cases are rarely documented in bibliographies, usually only in notes.

Plaintiff v. Defendant, Court Case Number (Abbreviated Name of the Court. Year).

Example of Chicago Citation for Legal Cases

Michael Clum v. Jackson National Life Insurance Co., 10-000126-CL (Ingham Cty. 2011).

How to Cite Dictionary and Encyclopedia Entries in Chicago Style

According to The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition, well-known reference books, including major dictionaries and encyclopedias, are normally cited in notes rather than bibliographies. Lesser known reference books can be cited in the bibliography.

The abbreviation "s.v." means sub verbo , which is Latin for "under the word."

Chicago style formatting in the footnotes and endnotes:

Name of dictionary or encyclopedia , Numbered ed. (Year), s.v. “term.”

If found online:

Name of dictionary or encyclopedia , s.v. "term," accessed Month Day Year, url.

Last name, First name of Author. Title of Dictionary or Encyclopedia . Numbered ed. Location of Publisher: Publisher, Year.

Example of Chicago Citation for Dictionary and Encyclopedia Entries

Encyclopedia Britannica , s.v. “pressure,” accessed September 15, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/science/pressure .

Gover, Emily. Encyclopedia of Birds . 4th ed. New York: Chegg, 2016.

How to Cite Dissertations in Chicago Style

First name Last name, "Title of Dissertation" (type of paper, school, year), url.

Last name, First name. "Title of Dissertation." Type of Paper, School, Year. URL or Database(Identification Number).

Example of Chicago Citation for Dissertations

Michele Kirschenbaum, "Young Students' Online Searching Capabilities" (master's thesis, Drexel University, 2009).

Kirschenbaum, Michele. "Young Students' Online Searching Capabilities." Master's thesis, Drexel University, 2009.

How to Cite DVDs, Video, and Film in Chicago Style

Title , directed by First Name Last name (Year; City, State Abbrev: Producer), Format.

Last Name, First Name, dir. Title . Year; City, State Abbrev: Producer, Year. Format.

Example of Chicago Citation for Film, DVDs, or Videos

_Home Lone , directed by Chris Columbus (1990; Los Angeles, CA: 20th Century Fox), DVD.

Columbus, Chris, dir. Home Alone . 1990; Los Angeles, CA: 20th Century Fox. DVD.

Don’t forget, Citation Machine allows you to generate Chicago citations for films quickly and accurately.

How to Cite Facebook Pages in Chicago Style

Title of Facebook Page, “Text of Post,” Facebook, Month Day, Year, URL.

Title of Facebook Page. “Text of Post.” Facebook, Month Day, Year. URL.

Example of Chicago Citation for Facebook Post

Awakenings, “Maceo Plex gave us goosebumps during Awakenings Festival! We can't wait to hear what he has in store during Maceo Plex x Lone Romantic | Awakenings ADE Elementenstraat on October 19:awak.enin.gs/2KMxDCH,” Facebook, September 12, 2019, https://www.facebook.com/pg/awakenings/posts/?ref=page_internal .

Awakenings. “Maceo Plex gave us goosebumps during Awakenings Festival! We can't wait to hear what he has in store during Maceo Plex x Lone Romantic | Awakenings ADE Elementenstraat on October 19:awak.enin.gs/2KMxDCH.” Facebook, September 12, 2019. https://www.facebook.com/pg/awakenings/posts/?ref=page_internal .

How to Cite Government Publications in Chicago Style

Title of Publication , prepared by Organization (City, State Abbrev, Year).

Firm/Department. Title of Publication . City, State Abbrev, Year.

Example of Chicago Citation for Government Publication

Audit of the Federal Bureau of Prisons Annual Financial Statements Fiscal Year 2014 , prepared by The Department of Justice (Washington, DC, 2014).

Department of Justice. Audit of the Federal Bureau of Prisons Annual Financial Statements Fiscal Year 2014 . Washington, DC, 2014.

How to Cite Interviews in Chicago Style

Published Interviews are treated in Chicago format style like an article in a magazine or a newspaper. Use one of those formats to cite your interview.

How to Cite an E-mail in Chicago Style

According to The Chicago Manual of Style , 17th edition, personal communications, such as letters, e-mails, text messages, and phone calls are usually referenced in the footnotes and endnotes or explained in the text of the paper. They are rarely listed in the Chicago style bibliography. In addition, an e-mail address belonging to an individual should be omitted, unless given permission by its owner.

Individual's First name Last name, type of communication, Month Day Year of correspondence.

Example of Chicago Citation for E-mail

Michele Kirschenbaum, e-mail message to author, January 18, 2016.

How to Cite Musical Recordings in Chicago Style

"Title of Song," Year of recording date, Platform, track number on Artist’s Name, Album Title, Producer, Year.

Last name, First name of performer. Title of Album. Recorded Year. Producer.

Example of Chicago Citation for Recordings

"Sucker,” Spotify, track 1, on Jonas Brothers, Happiness Begins , Republic Records, 2019.

Jonas Brothers. Happiness Begins . 2019. Republic Records.

Still wondering how to style a Chicago in-text citation? Remember, this style uses footnotes and endnotes! Head to the top of this page to learn more!

How to Cite Online Videos in Chicago Style

First name Last name of individual who posted the video, “Title of Video,” Producer, published on Month Day, Year, Site video, Length, URL.

Last name, First name. "Title of Video." Producer. Published on Month Day, Year. Site video, Length. URL.

Example of Chicago Citation for Online Videos

“Habitats Work in Texas After Hurricane Harvey,” Habitat for Habitat for Humanity, published on September 11, 2019, YouTube video, 01:35, https://youtu.be/EPPALfWYGRo .

“Habitats Works in Texas After Hurricane Harvey.” Habitat for Humanity. Published on September 11, 2019. YouTube video, 01:35. https://youtu.be/EPPALfWYGRo .

How to Cite Images in Chicago Style

First name Last name, Title of Image , Year, format, Location, State, URL.

Last Name, First Name. Title of Image . Date. Format. Location, State, URL.

Example of Chicago Citation for Photographs and Images

Jerome Liebling, May Day , New York, 1948, photograph, The Jewish Museum, New York.

Liebling, Chris. May Day , New York. 1948. Photograph. The Jewish Museum, New York.

How to Cite Live Performances in Chicago Style

Since most live performances are not retrievable by the reader, simply refer to them in the text of the paper or in the notes, and omit it from the bibliography. If it’s a recorded performance, follow the Chicago style format for musical recordings.

Title of Play , music and lyrics by First Name Last Name, dir. First Name Last name, chor. Name of Theatre, City, State Abbrev, Date of Live Performance.

Example of Chicago Citation for Live Performances

The Lion King , Julie Taymor, dir. Garth Fagan, chor. Minskoff Theatre, New York, NY, August 8, 2019.

How to Cite Podcasts in Chicago Style

When citing podcasts in Chicago Style, treat it as an article in a periodical or a chapter in a book. If found online, include the url.

How to Cite Poems in Chicago Style

When citing poems in Chicago Style, cite it as you would a chapter in a book.

How to Cite Presentations and Lectures in Chicago Style

Follow the same guidelines as in the “Conference Papers” section above.

How to Cite Sheet Music in Chicago Style

According to the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, cite sheet music the same way as you cite books.

Once you’ve styled each and every reference, take a minute to run your paper through our plagiarism checker . It’s the perfect go-to resource when you’re in need of another set of eyes to scan your paper!

Updated January 8, 2020

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Wendy Ikemoto. Michele Kirschenbaum has been an awesome school librarian since 2006 and is an expert in citing sources. Wendy Ikemoto has a master’s degree in library and information science and has been working for Citation Machine since 2012.

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BibGuru Chicago Citation Generator

Cite websites, books, articles, ...

What is a Chicago citation generator and how can it help you?

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If you need to know more about Chicago citations check out our How do I cite in Chicago style? section or our detailed Chicago citation guides .

Why, when, and what do I have to cite?

Why The broad scientific knowledge we have today is the accomplishment of many researchers over time. To put your own contribution in context , it is important to cite the work of the researchers who influenced you. Cited sources can provide key background information, support or dispute your thesis, or offer important definitions and data. Citing also shows that you have personally read the work.

When In addition to crediting the ideas of others that you used to build your own argument, you need to provide documentation for all facts and figures that are not common knowledge. Common knowledge is knowledge that is known by everyone, or nearly everyone, and can basically concern any subject. An example for common knowledge would be "There are seven days in a week".

What The number of sources you cite in your work depends on the intent of the paper. In most cases, you will need to cite one or two of the most representative sources for each key point. However, if you are working on a review article, the aim is to present to the readers everything that has been written on a topic, so you will need to include a more exhaustive list of citations.

What is the Chicago citation style?

The Chicago format was developed by the University of Chicago Press in 1906. The first edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, a compilation of the typographical rules in force at the University of Chicago Press, had 203 pages and evolved into a comprehensive reference style guide of 1,146 pages in its seventeenth edition. It was one of the first editorial style guides published in the US and has largely impacted research methodology standardization, particularly citation style.

The style guide specifically focuses on American English and also deals with aspects of editorial practice, including grammar and usage, as well as document preparation and formatting. For citations, the Chicago style offers authors the choice between two formats:

• The notes and bibliography system: Preferred by many working in the humanities (literature, history, the arts,..). Sources are cited in numbered footnotes or endnotes in the text and listed in a separate bibliography.
• The author-date system: Often used in the sciences and social sciences. Sources are briefly cited in the text (usually in parentheses, author's last name and year of publication), and matched up with an entry in a reference list with full bibliographic information.

Aside from the use of numbered footnotes vs. parenthetical citations in-text, the two systems share a similar style. If you are not sure which system to use in your paper, ask your instructor. Using the correct system can have a great impact on your grade, so be sure clarify that before starting with your paper.

How to cite in the notes and bibliography system?

Instead of naming the authors in the text, which can be distracting to the reader, numbers are used to denote citations in the notes and bibliography system. These numbers in the text are linked to a full reference in footnotes or endnotes and in your bibliography. Cited publications are numbered in the order in which they are first referred to in the text. Please make sure to follow the rules below when citing in this system:

• Check whether footnotes or endnotes are required for your work. Footnotes are found at the bottom of a page and endnotes are located at the end of a document, or sometimes at the end of a chapter or section.
• All notes end with a full stop (in both footnotes/endnotes and bibliography).
• In the footnotes, author names should be first name followed by last name, for example 'Gregg Levoy'. In the bibliography, author names should be last name followed by first name, for example 'Levoy, Gregg'.
• If there are up to three authors of a source, give their names in your references in the order they are shown in the source. For four or more authors, give the name of the first author, followed by 'et al.' in the footnotes, but list all the authors in the bibliography. The first author's name is given in the bibliography as last name, first name, but other authors are written as first name last name.
• Italicize the title of books, journals and websites. Titles of articles, chapters, unpublished sources and web pages within a website are placed within double quotation marks.
• In your bibliography, also include sources you have read but not cited, in addition to your footnotes/endnotes.
• The first time you cite a source give full details in the footnotes/endnotes. Subsequent entries of the same source can be abbreviated to the author's last name and the first few words of the title, plus a page number number.
• When citing internet addresses (URLs) and Digital Object Identifiers (DOI), the URL is given in full; the accessed date is placed before the URL; and DOIs should be used if they are available as they are a permanent locator, instead of URLs. If using a DOI, you do not need to give the accessed date.
• Formatting: The first line of footnotes should be indented by 1/2 inch (1.3cm) and subsequent lines are not indented. For the bibliography the first line of references is not indented, but the second and subsequent lines have a hanging indent of 1/2 inch (1.3cm).

The citation order for a book in the notes and bibliography system would be:

• Title (in italics)
• Edition (only if it is not the first edition)
• Place of publication: publisher, year of publication (all in round brackets in footnote, but not in bibliography)
• Comma then page reference in footnote

David Halliday, Robert Resnick, and Jearl Walker, Fundamentals of Physics (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2013), 18.

Bibliography:

Halliday, David, Robert Resnick, and Jearl Walker. Fundamentals of Physics. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2013.

Here is the citation order and an example for a citation of a journal article:

• Title of article (in double quotation marks)
• Title of journal (in italics)
• Volume number, issue number
• Year of publication (in round brackets)
• Colon then page reference in footnote or page span in bibliography

Peter Leach, "James Paine's Design for the South Front of Kedleston Hall: Dating and Sources," Architectural History 40 (1997): 160.

Leach, Peter. "James Paine's Design for the South Front of Kedleston Hall: Dating and Sources." Architectural History 40 (1997): 159-70

How to cite in the author-date system?

As with APA or Harvard style, the Chicago author-date format uses in-text citations comprising the author's name and year of publication (and specific page reference if required). A reference list (rather than a bibliography) at the end of the work provides full bibliographical details for the sources used, listed in alphabetical order.

The major difference between the two systems in the form of the references is the position of the year of publication. In the notes and bibliography system the year comes towards the end of the reference, whereas in the author-date system it is on the second place in the reference, right after the author's name.

Axler, Sheldon. 2017. Linear Algebra Done Right. New York: Springer.

While all the specific rules of the Chicago citation style might sound very complicated, you don't need to worry about getting them wrong with BibGuru.

Use our Chicago citation generator above to create the fastest and most accurate Chicago citations possible.

If you want to know more about Chicago citations check out our Chicago citation guides to get detailed information on the various publication types.

Getting citations and reference lists correctly done can be very confusing and time-consuming. The BibGuru Chicago citation generator will help you focus on the content of your work instead of worrying about how to get their reference list correctly done.

You can create a reference in the BibGuru Chicago citation generator by entering the URL/title/doi or other identifier of your source into the search box, choose a category, click enter, and that's it. You have a 100% correct reference in Chicago style in seconds.

Yes, you can create in-text citations in the BibGuru Chicago citation generator. All you have to do is click on the 'Bibliography and in-text citations' button at the top of the reference list, and this will automatically create an in-text citation for every reference.

Yes, the BibGuru Chicago citation generator is free.

The Chicago style is used mainly in the humanities (literature, history, the arts,..) or in the social sciences (business). While the notes and bibliography is mainly used in the humanities, the author-date system is preferably used in the social sciences.

The text in your paper should be double-spaced. Footnotes and bibliographies are single-spaced, but need to have a double-space in between the entries.

Yes, the Chicago style has guidelines for a title page. Some of the key guidelines are:

• The title should be centered a third of the way down the page
• Other information (your name, class, etc.) follows several lines later
• All text is aligned in the center and double-spaced
• No page number is included on the title page

In the notes and bibliography system, you always include page numbers. In in-text citations you give a page number when you are paraphrasing or quoting directly from the text, or referring to information from a specific section.

While The Chicago Manual of Style does not include a prescribed system for formatting headings and subheads, it makes several recommendations. You can read some of them here .

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Chicago style is a system used by researchers to structure their written work and references. Other popular systems include MLA format and APA, and Chicago is simply another style to add to the bunch. MLA is often used for language and literature studies, APA format is widely used by science writers, and Chicago is often the preferred choice for those working in history and other social sciences. Many other disciplines use Chicago as well.

If your teacher has requested Chicago citations in Turabian, don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place. Chicago is a system used by professional researchers and scholars. Kate Turabian is an educator who created a spin-off style, specifically for students and others who are using the style for assignments, not to get professionally published. Turabian’s structure for references are the same as Chicago. The only difference between between the two is that Turabian’s manual focuses more on the design and structure of a research paper, rather than a formally published piece.

If you’re a student and you’re trying to figure out how to create a Chicago style title page or Chicago style cover page, click here and check out the student resources.

One style, Two Varieties

Researchers have two options to choose from when they’re ready to reference work in this style. They can either choose to format their references using the “Notes and Bibliography” system or the “Author-Date” system.

Notes and Bibliography

This system uses footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies. It’s most often used by those working in history, literature, and art.

Author-Date

This system uses in-text citations and bibliographies to structure Chicago citations. It’s most often used by those working in social sciences and sciences.

This page focuses on Notes and Bibliography, rather than Author-Date.

Footnotes and Endnotes

Instead of Chicago in-text citations, Notes and Bibliography uses footnotes or endnotes. A bibliography is also found at the very end of the paper.

A footnote is a reference found at the footer of the page. As readers read through a paper, they come across superscript numbers like this¹

At the footer of the page, readers locate the superscript number and view the reference information.

The reference information is found at the bottom of the page.

Endnotes are found at the end of the chapter. They’re similar to footnotes in that they use superscript numbers like this¹. Writers may choose to use footnotes OR endnotes in their paper.

Whether you choose to include footnotes at the footer of each page, or endnotes, at the end of the chapter, a bibliography is always included at the end of the paper.

The remainder of this guide explains how to structure references both in the notes and bibliographies.

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How to Reference a Website Using the Chicago Manual of Style

The most basic entry for a website consists of the author name(s), page title, website title, web address, and date published or accessed.

First Name Last Name of Author, “Title of Page,” Title of Website, Month Day, date published or accessed, web address.

Bibliography:

Last Name, First Name of Author. “Page Title.” Website Title. Month Day, Date published or accessed. Web address.

Example Notes and Bibliography:

John Smith, “Obama Inaugurated as President,” CNN, accessed February 1, 2009, http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/01/21/obama inaugurated/index.html. Smith, John. “Obama Inaugurated as President.” CNN. Accessed February 1, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/01/21/obama inaugurated/index.html.

In the bibliography, the first author’s name should be reversed, with a comma placed after the last name and a period after the first name (or any middle name). Titles and affiliations associated with the author should be omitted. A suffix, such as a roman numeral or Jr./Sr., should appear after the author’s given name, preceded by a comma.

For a page with two or more authors , list them in the order as they appear on the website. Only the first author’s name should be reversed, while the others are written in normal order. Separate author names by a comma.

Smith, John, and Jane Doe. “Obama Inaugurated as President.” CNN. Accessed February 1, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/01/21/obama_inaugurated/index.html.

If no author is available, begin the citation with the website owner.

CNN. “Obama Inaugurated as President.” Accessed February 1, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/01/21/obama_inaugurated/index.html.

In Chicago style formatting, the full page title, which is followed by a period, should be placed within quotation marks. Place the period within the quotation marks.

Next, place the published date, or if one is not included, include the accessed date with “Accessed” written out prior to including the date. Include the web address of the page at the end. Conclude the citation with a period.

For websites without formal titles, use descriptive phrases in your citation in place of website titles.

Need more styles ? We have thousands available! From popular to obscure ones, we bet we have what you’re looking for!

How to Reference a Journal Article Using the Chicago Manual of Style

The most basic entry for a journal article consists of the author name(s), article title, journal name, volume number, date published, and page numbers.

First Name Last Name of Author, “Article Title,” Journal Name Volume Number, no. of issue (Date published): Page-Range, DOI address.

Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Journal Name Volume Number, no. of issue (Date Published): Page-Range. DOI address.

John Smith, “Studies in Pop Rocks and Coke,” Weird Science 12, no. 3 (Spring 2009): 78-93, https://doi.org/10.1086/5422323.

Smith, John. “Studies in Pop Rocks and Coke.” Weird Science 12, no. 3 (Spring 2009): 78-93. https://doi.org/10.1086/5422323.

In the Chicago style bibliography, the first author’s name should be reversed (last name, then first name), with a comma placed after the last name and a period after the first name (or any middle name). The name should not be abbreviated and should be written exactly as it appears in the journal. Titles and affiliations associated with the author should be omitted. A suffix, such as a roman numeral or Jr./Sr. should appear after the author’s given name, preceded by a comma.

For an article written by two or more authors , list them in order as they appear in the journal. Only the first author’s name should be reversed, while the others are written in normal order. Separate author names with a comma.

Smith, John, and Jane Doe. “Studies in Pop Rocks and Coke.” Weird Science 12, no. 3 (Spring 2009): 78-93. https://doi.org/10.1086/5422323.

The full article title, which is followed by a period, should be placed within quotation marks. Place the period within the quotation marks. Although Chicago citation style traditionally uses the headline style of capitalizing the first letter of each word in the title, sentence style is also acceptable. Be consistent in your bibliography in using either style.

The article title is followed by the name of the journal, which is italicized. Omit any introductory articles (e.g., A, An, The) from the journal name. Journal names are usually given in full. You can abbreviate a journal name if you wish, except if it consists of one word. It is common to abbreviate journal names from scientific works (e.g., Comp Tech Evol ).

Include the volume number after the journal name. If an issue number is available, include it after the volume number and before the year published. Precede the issue number with a comma and the text “no.”

Put the year of publication in parentheses. Afterwards, include a colon, the page numbers the article appears on, and a period. You may include the month or season in parentheses before the year, although it is not necessary if you include an issue number.

If the article was published online, include the web address of the article. Conclude the citation with a period.

Remember, BibMe has a Chicago citation generator, which helps develop your Chicago style citations for you!

How to Reference a Book Using the Chicago Manual of Style

The most basic entry for a book consists of the author’s name, the title of the book, publisher city, publisher name, the year of publication, and the page range.

First Name Last Name of Author, Title of Book (Publisher City: Publisher Name, Year of Publication), page range.

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book . Publisher City: Publisher Name, Year Published.

Dan Brown, The DaVinci Code (New York: Scholastic, 2004), 17-19.

Brown, Dan. The DaVinci Code . New York: Scholastic, 2004.

In the bibliography, the first author’s name should be reversed, with a comma placed after the last name and a period after the first name (or any middle name/initial). The name should generally be written as it appears on the title page, although certain adjustments may need to be made. Titles and affiliations associated with the author should be omitted. A suffix, such as a roman numeral or Jr./Sr. should appear after the author’s given name, preceded by a comma.

If you’re wondering how to cite Chicago style for a book written by two or more authors , list them in the order as they appear on the title page. Only the first author’s name should be reversed, while the others are written in normal order. Separate author names by a comma.

Smith, John, Jane Doe, and Bob Anderson. The Sample Book . Pittsburgh: BibMe, 2008.

The full title of the book, including any subtitles, should be stated and italicized. If the book has a subtitle, the main title should be followed by a colon (unless the main title ends with a question mark, exclamation point, or dash). The complete title should be followed by a period.

The publication information can generally be found on the title page of the book. If it is not available there, it may also be found on the copyright page. List the publication city, followed by a colon and the publisher name.

The publisher name may be given in full or it can be abbreviated. In all cases, introductory articles (e.g., The, A, An) and some business titles (e.g., Inc., Ltd., S.A.) are omitted. Other business titles (e.g., Co., & Co., Publishing Co.) are often omitted, but can be retained.

“Books” is usually retained. “Press” may be omitted or retained – if it is used with a university name, it must be retained. The word “University” can be abbreviated as “Univ.” The publisher is followed by a comma, and then the year of publication. End the Chicago citation with a period.

Full publisher name: The Good Book Company Name in citation: Good Book

Full name: Lowell Libson, Ltd. Name in citation: Lowell Libson

Full name: University of Hawai'i Press Name in citation: Univ. of Hawai'i Press

If you are citing a specific chapter from the book, include the following information before the book title: the chapter name and a period in quotations. Also include either the inclusive page numbers of the chapter (along with a period after the year of publication) or the chapter number (along with the text “Chap.”, preceding the “In” text before the book title).

Smith, John. “The First Chapter.” In The Sample Book BibMe, 2008.

In the notes:

John Smith. “The First Chapter,” in The Sample Book (Pittsburgh: BibMe, 2008) 47-61.

When a book has no edition number/name present, it is generally a first edition. If you have to cite a later edition of a book, you should indicate the newer edition in your Chicago citation.

If the book is a revised edition or an edition that includes substantial new content, include the number, name, or year of the edition and the abbreviation “ed.” in parentheses between the book title and the period that follows it.

“Revised edition” should be abbreviated as “Rev. ed.” and “Abridged edition” should be abbreviated as “Abr. ed.” “Second edition, revised and enlarged” can be abbreviated simply as “2nd ed.” The edition can usually be found on the title page, as well as on the copyright page, along with the edition’s date.

Smith, John. The Sample Book . 2nd ed. Pittsburgh: BibMe, 2008.

Smith, John. The Sample Book . Rev. ed. Pittsburgh: BibMe, 2008.

If the book is a reprint edition and is a newly republished version of an older book, include the original year of publication and a period after the period that follows the book title. Place the word “Reprint” and a comma before the publication city. The publication year at the end of the citation should be the year of the book’s reprinting.

Smith, John. The Sample Book . 1920. Reprint, Pittsburgh: BibMe, 2008.

Whether you’re creating a reference for a print book, e-book, or book found on a database, our Chicago citation maker assembles your book references for you! If you’ve come this far, still confused, and find yourself typing “in-text citations Chicago” into Google, remember this version uses footnotes and endnotes, not parenthetical references in the text!

How to Reference a Newspaper Using the Chicago Manual of Style

The most basic entry for a newspaper consists of the author name(s), article title, newspaper name, publication date, and web address or name of database.

First Name Last Name of Author, “Article Title,” Newspaper Name , Publication Date, web address or name of database.

Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Newspaper Name , Publication Date. Web address or name of database.

John Smith, “Steelers Win Super Bowl XLIII,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , February 2, 2009, https://post-gazette.com/local/city/feb22009steelerswin.

Smith, John. “Steelers Win Super Bowl XLIII.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , February 2, 2009. https://post-gazette.com/local/city/feb22009steelerswin.

In the bibliography of your Chicago style paper, the first author’s name should be reversed, with a comma placed after the last name and a period after the first name (or any middle name). The name should not be abbreviated and should be written exactly as it appears in the newspaper. Titles and affiliations associated with the author should be omitted. A suffix, such as a roman numeral or Jr./Sr. should appear after the author’s given name, preceded by a comma.

For an article written by two or more authors, list them in order as they appear in the newspaper. Only the first author’s name should be reversed, while the others are written in normal order. In Chicago citation style, separate author names by a comma.

Smith, John, and Jane Doe. “Steelers Win Super Bowl XLIII.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , February 2, 2009. https://post-gazette.com/local/city/feb22009steelerswin.

The full article title, which is followed by a period, should be placed within quotation marks. Place the period within the quotation marks. Although this style traditionally uses the headline style of capitalizing the first letter of each word in the title, sentence style is also acceptable. Be consistent in your bibliography in using either style.

The article title is followed by the name of the newspaper, which is italicized and followed by a comma. The Chicago Manual of Style states to omit any introductory articles (e.g. A, An, The) from the newspaper name. If the publication city is not in the newspaper name, add it, in parentheses (and italics, if it’s a North American newspaper), to the end of the newspaper name. If the publication city shares its name with other cities or the location of the publication city is unclear, include the state/province name, in parentheses and italics, after the city within the newspaper name.

Smith, John. “Steelers win Super Bowl XLIII.” Star Ledger (Newark) , February 2, 2009.

Smith, John. “Steelers win Super Bowl XLIII.” Ottawa (IL) Daily Times , February 2, 2009.

Smith, John. “Steelers win Super Bowl XLIII.” Guardian (Manchester) , February 2, 2009.

Complete the citation by giving the complete publication date of the newspaper in the month-day-year format, followed by the web address or database name and a period.

Smith, John. “Steelers win Super Bowl XLIII.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , February 2, 2009. LexisNexis Academic.

If you’re searching for a Chicago style citation maker to do the work for you, look no further! Head to our homepage and create your newspaper references in Chicago style format!

How to Reference a Magazine Using the Chicago Manual of Style

When citing a magazine, use the same structure to cite a newspaper.

The most basic entry for a magazine consists of the author’s name, the title of the book, publisher city, publisher name, the year of publication, and the web address or database name.

First Name Last Name of Author, “Article Title,” Magazine Title , Month Date, Year of Publication, web address OR database name.

Last Name, First Name of Author. “Article title.” Magazine Title , Month Date, Year of publication. Web address OR Database name.

Dan Chan, “The Art of Pandas,” Panda Magazine , November 10, 1985, www.pandamagazine.com.

Chan, Dan. “The Art of Pandas.” Panda Magazine , November 10, 1985. www.pandamagazine.com.

In the bibliography, the first author’s name should be reversed, with a comma placed after the last name and a period after the first name (or any middle name/initial). The name should generally be written as it appears on the article, although certain adjustments may need to be made. Titles and affiliations associated with the author should be omitted. A suffix, such as a roman numeral or Jr./Sr., should appear after the author’s given name, preceded by a comma.

The full article title, which is followed by a period, should be placed within quotation marks. Place the period within the quotation marks. Although Chicago style citations traditionally use the headline style of capitalizing the first letter of each word in the title, sentence style is also acceptable. Be consistent in your bibliography in using either style. The article title is followed by the name of the magazine, which is italicized. Place a comma after the magazine name.

The complete date of the magazine article should be written in the “month day, year” format. The publication date may consist of a complete date (January 1, 2009), a period that spans multiple months (March – April 2009), or simply a month and year (February 2009). Give whatever publication date information is available.

End the citation with a period after the publication date if you’re citing a print magazine. If you’re citing an online magazine, follow the period after the date with the full web address or the name of the database.

Chan, Dan. “The Art of Pandas.” Panda Magazine , November 10, 1985. World Animal Database.

Need more information? Trying to learn the ins and outs and feeling the need to type “bibliography Chicago style” into Google? Check out this read !

How to Reference a Film Using the Chicago Manual of Style

The most basic entry for a film consists of the title, medium, director name(s), distributor, distributor city, and year of release.

Film Title , directed by First Name Last Name (Distributor City, St: Distributor, Year of Release), Medium.

Remember, instead of a Chicago style in-text citation, this Chicago format style uses footnotes and endnotes!

Last Name, First. Film Title . Medium. Directed by First Name Last Name. Distributor City: Distributor, Year of Release.

BibMe: The Movie , directed by Jane Doe (Los Angeles: Columbia, 2001), DVD.

Doe, Jane, dir. BibMe: The Movie . Los Angeles: Columbia, 2001. DVD.

In the bibliography, begin the citation by including any personnel responsible for the content being cited, including composers, writers, or performers. The first person’s name should be reversed, with a comma placed after the last name and a period after the first name (or any middle name). Titles and affiliations associated with the author should be omitted. A suffix, such as a roman numeral or Jr./Sr. should appear after the author’s given name, preceded by a comma.

For a film with two or more personnel, list them in order as they are credited in the film. In a Chicago style citation, only the first person’s name should be reversed, while the others are written in normal order. Separate names by a comma.

Doe, Jane, and Joe Anderson, dirs. BibMe: The Movie . Los Angeles: Columbia, 2001. DVD.

After the personnel are listed with their role, italicize the film title, and follow it with a period.

After the title, include the city in which the film’s distributor is located, followed by a colon, the distributor’s name, a comma, and the year of release. If film was re-released in a more recent year and you are citing content new to that particular version of the film, include both dates in the citation as follows:

Doe, Jane, dir. BibMe: The Movie . 1997; Los Angeles: Columbia, 2001. DVD.

If you are citing a commentary or an individual scene, cite it like a chapter from a book. Place the commentary or film chapter name, along with a period, in quotations, after the initial personnel and before the film title.

Doe, Jane, dir. “Humble Beginnings.” BibMe: The Movie . Los Angeles: Columbia, 2001. DVD.

End with the medium of the copy of the film you viewed (e.g., VHS, DVD, Laser Disc), along with a period.

This guide may not have a Chicago style example paper, but we do have a Chicago style citation generator on BibMe.org! Head to our homepage and create your references with ease!

How to Reference a Lecture Using the Chicago Manual of Style

Readers are generally unable to access the content of a lecture viewed in person, so for that reason, it’s recommended to include information about the lecture in the text of the paper, or in the notes.

Chicago format example:

During Professor Maxwell Green’s lecture, The Fall of Rome , at New York University’s Jurow Lecture Hall on October 3, 2019….

The most basic entry for a lecture consists of the speaker’s name, presentation title, venue, city, state and date conducted.

Title of Lecture , instruction by First Name Last Name, prof. Venue, City, ST, Month, Day Year.

The Fall of Rome , instruction by Maxwell Green, prof. Jurow Lecture Hall, New York, NY, October 3, 2019.

Need some more information on the style? Here’s further information .

How to Reference an Interview Using the Chicago Manual of Style

The citation format for an interview depends on how it was conducted and published. If the interview was read in a periodical, follow the guidelines for newspapers or magazines. If the interview was read on a website, refer to the structure for websites, found towards the top of this guide.

Published interview from Radio/TV program:

First Name Last Name, “Title of Interview,” interview by First Name Last Name, Title of Program , Station, Month Day, Year, medium, length, web address. Last Name, First Name. “Title of Interview.” Interview by First Name Last Name. Title of Program , Station, Month Day, Year broadcasted. Medium, Length. Web address.

Unpublished interview:

Similar to lectures, unpublished interviews are untraceable, so The Chicago Manual of Style recommends to include information about the personal interview only in the text of the paper, or in the notes.

First Name Last Name of person being interviewed (Role and other information to allow the reader to understand their significance) in discussion with the author, Month, Year of interview.

Krishna Patel (archaeologist, Metropolitan Museum of Natural History, NYC), in discussion with the author, November, 2019.

How to reference an Encyclopedia Entry using the Chicago Manual of Style

If you’re citing a familiar reference work, such as World Book Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Britannica , Webster’s Dictionary , Roget’s Thesaurus , or another popular reference book, it’s acceptable to display the information only in Chicago style footnotes or endnotes.

The most basic entry for an encyclopedia/dictionary consists of the encyclopedia/dictionary name, edition, “s.v.” followed by the entry title or word, and sometimes the date accessed and web address, if consulted online. The abbreviation “s.v.” is for the Latin term “sub verbo,” which basically means “under the heading.”

If the reference book was found in print:

Title of Reference Book , Numbered ed. (Year published), s.v. “entry word.”

Chicago style citation example:

World Book Online , 12th ed. (2011), s.v. “revolution.”

If the reference book was found online:

Title of Reference Book , Version ed. (if a specific version is named), s.v. “entry word,” accessed Month Day, Year, web address.

World Book Online , Student ed., s.v. “revolution,” accessed November 18, 2019, http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/topic/revolution.

Include the encyclopedia/dictionary name in italics, a comma, the encyclopedia/dictionary’s edition, and the abbreviation “ed.” Then include a comma and the abbreviation “s.v.”, and then place the entry word, along with a comma, in quotation marks.

If consulted online, add the date the reference work was accessed and the web address. End the citation with a period.

Made it this far and still confused about a Chicago in-text citation? Feeling the need to type into the Google search bar, “in-text citation Chicago?” Keep in mind that this specific version uses footnotes and endnotes, not references in the sentences of your paper.

Chicago Author-Date Basics

Need to make citations using Chicago Author-Date format? Then this guide is for you! Below you will find information on how to cite a variety of sources using Chicago Author-Date.

The easiest method to cite using the Author-Date formatting system is to simply move the year published up in the citation to follow the author’s name. For example, this notes-bibliography citation:

Would look like this in the Author-Date system:

Smith, John. 2009. “Steelers Win Super Bowl XLIII.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , February 2, 2009. https://post-gazette.com/local/city/feb22009steelerswin.

Need more help? Here are examples of how to cite some of the most popular source types in Chicago Author-Date.

How to cite a book in Chicago Author-Date

Reference list

Last Name, First Name. Year Published. Title of Book . Publisher City: Publisher Name.

Brown, Dan. 2004. The DaVinci Code . New York: Scholastic.

(Author Last Name Year, page #).

(Brown 2004, 12).

How to cite a journal article in Chicago Author-Date

Author Last Name. Year. “Article Title.” Journal Title volume #, no. [issue #] (Season or Month Published): page range. DOI as a URL.

Smith, John. 2009. “Studies in Pop Rocks and Coke.” Weird Science 12, no. 3 (Spring): 78-93. https://doi.org/10.1086/5422323.

(Smith 2009, 78-93).

How to cite a website in Chicago Author-Date

Author Last Name, First Name. Last Modified Year. "Page Title." Website Title. Last modified Month Day, Year. URL.

DeSilver, Drew. 2018. "The Real Value of a $15 Minimum Wage Depends on Where You Live." Pew Research Center. Last modified October 10, 2018. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/10/10/the-real-value-of-a-15-minimum-wage-depends-on-where-you-live/.

(Author Last Name Year).

(DeSilver 2018).

After you’re through writing your paper, run it through the BibMe plagiarism checker . Its advanced technology provides grammar suggestions and spots instances of accidental plagiarism. Try it out now!

Updated March 10, 2020

Edited and written by Elise Barbeau and Michele Kirschenbaum. Elise is a citation expert and has her master’s degree in public history/library science. She has experience in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing. Michele is a certified library media specialist who loves citations and teaching. She’s been writing about citing sources since 2014.

Referencing a website in Chicago or Turabian format

In Chicago format, website citations are often left out of the bibliography and are instead mentioned in a note or within the text. If your instructor would like a formal citation, use the explanation below.

The most basic entry for a website consists of the author name(s), page title, website title, web address, and date accessed. For an article written by two or more authors, list them in order as they appear in the newspaper. If there's no author listed, begin your citation with the name of the website. The article title is followed by the name of the magazine, which is italicized. Place a comma after the magazine name.

The full page title, which is followed by a period, should be placed within quotation marks. Place the period within the quotation marks. Then include the website title, followed by a period. If the website title is not available, use the website's owner's name.

Example: Last Name, First Name. “Page Title.” Website Title. Web Address (retrieved Date Accessed).

For informal websites (such as a personal home page or fan sites), or websites without formal titles, use descriptive phrases in your citation in place of page or website titles.

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What is the Chicago Style Citation?

Chicago citations are used by students, writers and researchers worldwide to acknowledge the use of other people’s words and ideas in their written work, thereby lending credibility to their statements and conclusions without committing plagiarism.

There are two two documentation systems:

• Notes-Bibliography System (NB) is made up of footnotes or endnotes (or both), and a bibliography
• Author-Date System consists of parenthetical author-date citations and a corresponding reference list including full publication information

The style offers academic writers the choice between these two formats; choosing which system you are going to apply to your work will depend on your discipline and the type of sources you are citing. If you are unsure which system you should be using, make sure you consult your tutor before you begin.

This guide is not officially associated with the citation style, but it will give you a good overview of the rules and format. So read on to see how both Chicago variants work.

The notes and bibliography system is primarily used in the humanities – including literature, history, and the arts – because it is a flexible style that accommodates unusual source types and opens up space for commentary on the sources cited. A superscript number at the end of the sentence signals to the reader that a source has been used, and summary details of the source can be found using the numbered footnote at the bottom of the page. Full details of the source information can be located in the bibliography, which is presented at the end of the essay in alphabetical order by author. Read more here about creating footnotes.

The Chicago style citation also has an author-date variant, which is commonly used by those in the physical, natural, and social sciences. Sources are briefly cited in the text and enclosed within parentheses. Each parenthetical citation includes the author’s last name, date of publication, and sometimes a page number, and is keyed to a corresponding citation in a complete list of references, where full bibliographic information is provided.

Whether you are using the notes and bibliography system or the author-date style in your work, the Cite This For Me citing tool will generate your citations. Simply log in to your account, or create one for free, and select either the “note-bib” or “author-date” option.

Popular Chicago Citation Examples

• Chapter of a book
• Image online or video
• Presentation or lecture
• Video, film, or DVD

Cite This For Me Chicago Citation Generator

Our mission at Cite This For Me is to educate students in the benefits of utilizing multiple sources in their written work and the importance of accurately citing all source material. This guide has been written to support students, writers and researchers by offering clear, well-considered advice on the usage of Chicago citations.

We understand that it is easy to inadvertently plagiarize your work under the mounting pressure of expectation and deadlines. That’s why we’ve created this citation generator to automate the citing process, allowing you to save valuable time transcribing and organizing your citations. So, rather than starting from scratch when your essay, article, or research is due, save yourself the legwork with the world’s most accurate <a href=”http://www.citethisforme.com/citation-generator”>citation generator</a>. It’s a quick and easy way to cite any source.

There are thousands of other citation styles out there – the use of which one varies according to scholarly discipline, college requirements, your professor’s preference or the publication you are writing for. Sign up to Cite This For Me to select from over 7,000+ styles, including college variations of each.

If you are looking to cite your work using <a href=”http://www.citethisforme.com/citation-generator/mla”>MLA formatting</a>, or your discipline requires you to use the <a href=”http://www.citethisforme.com/citation-generator/apa”>APA citation</a> style or <a href=”http://www.citethisforme.com/citation-generator/harvard”>Harvard referencing</a>, you’ll find the style you need on the <a href=”http://www.citethisforme.com/”>Cite This For Me website</a>. As well as the Chicago citation generator above, you can find citation generators and style guides for styles such as <a href=”http://www.citethisforme.com/citation-generator/asa”>ASA</a>, <a href=”http://www.citethisforme.com/citation-generator/ieee”>IEEE</a> or <a href=”http://www.citethisforme.com/citation-generator/ama”>AMA</a>. You can find your college’s style by logging into your Cite This For Me account and setting your institution in ‘My Profile’. Whichever style you’re using, make sure that you apply the recommended method consistently throughout your work.

Keep reading our comprehensive guide for practical advice and examples that will help you create each Chicago style citation with ease. If you need further information or examples, consult <a href=”/citation-generator/chicago/chicago-style-17th-edition-updates”>The Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.)</a>.

How Do I Create and Format Chicago Style Citations?

Whilst the Cite This For Me generator ensures ultimate accuracy whether you are writing a college assignment or preparing a research project, you are encouraged to review your citations manually for consistency, accuracy and completeness according to this guide.

I. Notes-Bibliography System

• Formatting a footnote

Rather than a parenthetical Chicago citation, you should insert a footnote to acknowledge your source material. Whenever you cite a source, whether it is using a direct quote, paraphrasing another author’s words, or simply referring to an idea or theory, you should:

• Insert a superscript number (raised slightly above the line) at the end of the sentence containing the source – begin with number 1 and continue numerically throughout the paper: This is an example. 1
• The superscript number should follow any punctuation mark (full stops, parentheses and commas, etc.). Do not put any punctuation after the number
• Each number must correspond to a matching number at the foot of the page – whilst note numbers in-text are set as superscript numbers, the notes themselves are full size
• A footnote generally lists the author (first name first), title, and facts of publication (enclosed in parentheses), in that order – each should be separated by commas. Titles are capitalized, titles of books and journals are italicized, titles of smaller works (e.g., chapters or articles) are presented in Roman and enclosed in double quotation marks
• A footnote, or Chicago style citation, should always end with a period.
• Notes should be separated from the main body of text with a typed line 1 ½ inches long
• Notes are single-spaced, and the first line of each footnote is indented two spaces from the page margin. Double-space between each note
• Abbreviations include editor/edited by/ edition (ed/eds.), translator/translated by (trans.), volume (vol.), chapter (chap.), no date (n.d), part (pt.), and others (et al.) and revised/revised by/revision/review (rev.)

Read more about formatting your footnotes here . You can also consult sections 14.24-14.60 of the CMOS for more detailed information on notes.

• Formatting a shortened note

Whilst the first Chicago style citation for each source should include all relevant bibliographic information, if you cite the same source again you can use a shortened form of the note.

• The short form need only include enough information to remind your reader of the full title, or to direct them to the appropriate entry in the bibliography
• Include the surname of the author, a shortened form of the title of the work cited (if more than four words), and page number(s) in the Chicago citation
• If a work has two or three authors, cite in full the first time and subsequently provide only the last name of the first author
• Ethan Carr, Carol Grove, and Keith N. Morgan, “Why History Matters,” View , no. 17 (Summer 2017): 61-66, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26476461.
• Carr, “Why History Matters,” 64.
• Citing one source multiple times in the same paragraph? You can cite it either parenthetically in-text or in subsequent shortened notes

Sections 14.29-14.36 of the CMOS contain more information on shortened notes.

Formatting an endnote

If you are drawing on multiple sources, a page cluttered with footnotes can overwhelm your reader. Whilst readers of scholarly works generally prefer footnotes for ease of reference, endnotes are less intrusive and will not interrupt the flow of your work. You should judge for yourself whether footnotes or endnotes would best compliment your assignment, and then the Cite This For Me Chicago style citation maker will generate them for you.

• Whilst footnotes are added at the end of the page on which the source is cited, endnotes will be compiled at the end of each chapter or at the end of the entire work (this usually depends on the length of your work)
• Notes should be numbered consecutively (beginning with number 1) throughout each chapter or article
• At the end of the chapter or assignment, list the endnotes under the heading ‘Notes’

I. Author-Date System

If you are using the author-date system to format your Chicago style citations, you must indicate each source with a brief parenthetical citation:

• Include the last name of author and the year of publication in parentheses, with each element separated by a comma. Include a page number if you are quoting a particular section of a source
• Position the parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence referring to the source, and place just inside a mark of punctuation – unless it is a block quotation , in which case it is placed outside the punctuation
• Where the author’s name appears in the text, you don’t need to repeat it in the Chicago style in-text citation
• When citing works with more than three authors, only the name of the first author is used, followed by et al. – e.g., (Schonen et al. 2009)
• Compile a list of all source material in a reference list at the end of your assignment

Chapter 15 of the CMOS is devoted to the author-date reference system.

Recent revisions to the format have allowed for a certain degree of flexibility. For instance, you may prefer to use a combination of footnotes and parenthetical author-date citations (especially if you have an excess of notes) – you could use author-date citations to indicate sources within the text, and numbered footnotes or endnotes to add comments.

Why not give the Cite This For Me web tool a try? Save yourself the bother of formatting each Chicago style citation and have the whole thing done using our state-of-the-art automated technology. Simply search for the author or title of the book you want to cite and leave the rest to us.

Creating My Bibliography and Reference List

Each Chicago citation in the body of your written work should be directly keyed to a bibliography or reference list entry. Compiling a full list of all the source material that has contributed to your research and writing process is the perfect opportunity to show your reader the effort you have gone to in researching your chosen topic, ensuring that you get the grade you deserve.

Have you been wondering how to organize all of your fully-formatted Chicago style citations in a comprehensive list? Well look no further, because here’s the lowdown on how to structure your bibliography and you can always find more in sections 14.61-14.71 of the CMOS:

• Arrange sources alphabetically by author’s last name (if no author or editor is listed then by the title or keyword that readers are most likely to seek)
• Usually titled ‘Bibliography’, and placed at the end of your work but preceding the index
• A full bibliography may include all relevant sources that provided further reading, even if they were not directly cited in your work – check with your tutor whether or not this is necessary
• Each bibliographic entry should include: author name (last name first, separating last and first name with a comma), title of work (italicized, titles of articles and chapters etc. enclosed in quotation marks instead), publication information (publisher name, location, year of publication – not enclosed in parentheses)
• The majority of the main elements in the Chicago citation are separated by periods rather than commas
• Terms such as editor, edition, translator, volume are abbreviated, but edited by, translated by must be spelled out in the bibliography
• Do not include specific page numbers, but for easier location of chapters or journal articles, include the beginning and ending page numbers of the whole chapter or article
• Go here to find more information on accurately compiling a bibliography

II. Author-Date System

If you are adopting the author-date variant of Chicago style citations, read the above list for a guide on how to compile your reference list. CMOS sections 15.10-15.20 will also be able to give you more guidance on the nuances of the author-date reference list. There are two basic differences from the notes-bibliography system:

• Instead of a bibliography your list should be titled ‘References’
• The year of publication comes directly after the author’s name – this facilitates the easy lookup of reference list entries because it copies the format of the in-text citation

Are you spending too much time on completing your bibliography? The Cite This For Me Chicago citation generator is here to take a weight off your mind. Sign up to Cite This For Me to save and export your completed bibliography.

Chicago Format Examples (17th Edition)

Carefully follow these examples when compiling and formatting both your in-text citations and bibliography in order to avoid losing marks for citing incorrectly.

Each example in this section includes a numbered footnote, a shortened form of the note, and a corresponding bibliography entry.

Book with single author or editor:

• Full Chicago citation in a footnote:

5. Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (New York: Penguin, 2006), 99-100.

• Shortened citation in a footnote:

5. Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma , 3.

• Bibliography entry:

Pollan, Michael, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals . New York: Penguin, 2006.

Book with multiple authors:

For a book with two authors, note that only the first-listed name is inverted in the bibliography entry.

• Full Chicago style citation in a footnote:

3. Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns, The War: An Intimate History, 1941–1945 (New York: Knopf, 2007), 52.

3. Ward and Burns, War , 52.

Ward, Geoffrey C., and Ken Burns. The War: An Intimate History, 1941–1945 . New York: Knopf, 2007.

Print journal article:

89. Walter Blair, “Americanized Comic Braggarts,” Critical Inquiry 4, no. 2 (1977): 331-32.

89. Blair, “Americanized Comic Braggarts,” 335.

Blair, Walter. “Americanized Comic Braggarts.” Critical Inquiry 4, no. 2 (1977): 331-49.

Online journal article:

When citing electronic sources consulted online, the Chicago style citation manual recommends including an electronic resource identifier, where possible, to lead your reader directly to the source.

A URL is a uniform resource locator, which directs the reader straight to the online source. When using a URL, simply copy the address from your browser’s address bar when viewing the article. You must include the source’s full publication information as well.

12. Wilfried Karmaus and John F. Riebow, “Storage of Serum in Plastic and Glass Containers May Alter the Serum Concentration of Polychlorinated Biphenyls,” Environmental Health Perspectives 112 (May 2004): 645, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3435987.

12. Karmaus and Riebow, “Storage of Serum,” 645.

Karmaus, Wilfried, and John F. Riebow. “Storage of Serum in Plastic and Glass Containers May Alter the Serum Concentration of Polychlorinated Biphenyls.” Environmental Health Perspectives 112 (May 2004): 643-647. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3435987.

A DOI is a digital object identifier; a unique and permanent name assigned to a piece of intellectual property, such as a journal article, in any medium in which it is published. If it is available, a DOI is preferable to an ISBN.

3. William J. Novak, “The Myth of the ‘Weak’ American State,” American Historical Review 113 (June 2008): 758, https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr.113.3.752.

3. Novak, “Myth,” 770.

Novak, William J. “The Myth of the ‘Weak’ American State,” American Historical Review 113 no. 3 (June 2008): 752-72. https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr.113.3.752.

5. Kathy Ishizuka, “Steal this Infographic: Librarians as Tech Leaders,” The Digital Shift, Library Journal, December 10, 2013, http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2013/12/k-12/steal-infographic/.

5. Ishizuka “Steal this Infographic.”

Ishizuka, Kathy. “Steal this Infographic: Librarians as Tech Leaders.” The Digital Shift, Library Journal. December 10, 2013. http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2013/12/k-12/steal-infographic/.

II. Author-Date System:

Each example in this section includes a Chicago style in-text citation and a corresponding reference list entry.

Article with single author or editor, author mentioned in text:

• In-text citation:

Here we empirically demonstrate that workers’ and regulatory agents’ understandings of discrimination and legality emerge not only in the shadow of the law but also, as Albiston (2005) suggests…

• Reference list entry:

Albiston, Catherine R. 2005. “Bargaining in the Shadow of Social Institutions: Competing Discourses and Social Change in the Workplace Mobilization of Civil Rights.” Law and Society Review 39, no. 1: 11-47.

Article with multiple authors, author not mentioned in text:

• Chicago in-text citation:

As legal observers point out, much dispute resolution transpires outside the courtroom but in the “shadow of the law” (Mnookin and Kornhauser 1979)…

Mnookin, Robert, and Lewis Kornhauser. 1979. “Bargaining in the Shadow of the Law: The Case of Divorce.” Yale Law Journal 88, no. 5: 950-97.

*For a work with four or more authors, include all the authors in the reference list entry. However, in the in-text citation you need only cite the last name of the first-listed author, followed by et al. (e.g., Barnes et al. 2008, 118-19)

• In the text:

(Ishizuka 2013)

• Reference List:

Ishizuka, Kathy. 2013. “Steal this Infographic: Librarians as Tech Leaders.” The Digital Shift, Library Journal. http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2013/12/k-12/steal-infographic/.

For more examples, see chapters 14 and 15 of the Chicago style citation handbook (17th Edition), or find more information available here .

A Brief History of the Style

The Chicago format dates back to 1891 when the Univ. of Chi. Press opened. The Press housed typesetters and compositors who were working on setting and deciphering complicated scientific material in fonts such as Hebrew and Ethiopic. A style sheet was devised with the aim of maintaining consistency throughout the typesetting process; from the typesetter, to the compositor, to the proofreader.

Over the years the ‘University Press stylebook and style sheet’ developed into a pamphlet used by the entire college community, before becoming a 200-page book in 1906. Today’s thousand-page 17th edition Chicago style citation manual provides authors, editors, publishers, copywriters and proofreaders across the globe with the authoritative text on the style.

The Chicago style is continually evolving, with each edition undergoing revisions that reflect technological developments. For instance, the publication of the 13th edition in 1982 addressed the use of personal computers and word processors for the first time. When the World Wide Web became a global phenomenon in the 1990s, the very nature of research and communication shifted dramatically. The style’s editorial staff tackled this development by releasing a comprehensive 15th edition (2003) that incorporated the role of computer technology in the publishing industry by providing guidance on citing electronic sources.

The 16th edition of the Chicago citation manual (2010) was the first edition to be published both in hardcover and online. The manual reflects the changes undergone by the publishing industry in response to the digital age, and the subsequent evolution in the way in which authors and publishers work. It addresses a diverse range of source types that define academic publishing today; from URLs and DOIs to ebooks, Instagram and foreign languages, and provides comprehensive examples that illustrate how to cite online and digital sources.

The 16th edition also revamped the Chicago style citation system in order to move towards a more uniform style that closes the gap between the Notes-Bibliography and Author-Date systems. By recommending a single approach to each stylistic matter, rather than a myriad of confusing options and exceptions to the rule, the style offers efficient and logical solutions to the sometimes-complex citing process.

The latest manual of Chicago citation style, released in 2017, is the 17th edition. It features many modifications, clarifications, and updates. One of the biggest updates is the inclusion of URL strings in references displaying a DOI number. In addition, numerous technology-related sources, such as social media platforms and apps, now have specific structures in place. Lastly, the use of the latin abbreviation, ibid., which translates to “in the same place,” was once placed in footnotes to mark a repetitive source. Now, writers are encouraged to use shortened footnotes for repetitive sources, rather than “ibid.” The use of ibid. can be confusing for readers. Presenting a shortened footnote, displaying the author’s name, title, and date, allows readers to clearly see and understand the origin of a source.

Why is Citing Important?

Plagiarism occurs when a writer does not properly credit their source material; stealing the ideas or words of another and passing them off as one’s own is literary theft. Failure to acknowledge the sources upon which you’ve built your work is a breach of academic integrity, and this can result in a failed grade, expulsion from college or even legal action from the original author. The proper use of a referencing system, such as the Chicago format, protects writers from committing plagiarism and being accused of plagiarizing their work.

Both courtesy and copyright laws require you to identify the following in your work:

• Where you directly quote another author’s words
• Where you paraphrase or summarize another author’s words or ideas
• Where you include information, facts or ideas that are not generally known or easily checked

As a general rule, you must highlight any borrowed source material that might appear to be your own if it is not cited correctly. When in doubt, remember that it is much better to over-cite your work than under-cite.

It is important to bear in mind, however, that simply citing your sources does not keep your paper free from plagiarism. Plagiarism can occur if you use an exact quote but do not identify the exact quote as such with quotation marks even if you do cite it. Additionally, if you paraphrase a source but just change a few words here and there instead of making it your own, you could be committing plagiarism even with a citation. For more information on incorporating the work of others into your paper, the CMOS offers some helpful guidelines in sections 13.1-13.6.

The importance of attributing your research goes beyond avoiding plagiarism, and whilst it may seem like a tedious process, attributing and documenting your sources is an essential practice for all academic writers. The use of accurate Chicago style citations help to validate your work by demonstrating that you have thoroughly researched your chosen subject and found a variety of scholarly opinions and ideas to support, or challenge, your thesis. As an academic writer, your written work is a chance to engage in conversation with the scholars that you are citing by placing your own ideas in the context of the larger intellectual conversation about your topic. In correctly using citations, you also lead your reader directly to the sources you have consulted, thereby enabling them to form their own views on your opinions and appreciate your contribution to the topic.

Here at Cite This For Me we know that citing can be an arduous and time-consuming process. Luckily for you, you can work more efficiently – and avoid being marked down for plagiarism – by using the Cite This For Me Chicago style citation generator.

How Do I Know What Types of Sources I Should be Citing?

As you research and write your paper, you will come across all types of material. It is important to know what kinds of sources are appropriate for research papers and what types are not as you begin to write and cite the material you are building your research on. There are three kinds of sources that you will come across as you delve into your research topic:

• reference (sometimes called tertiary)

Each type of source has a different role to play in the research and writing process.

When you first begin to write, you will often have a broad topic or research question in mind. This is the perfect time to use reference sources to begin to understand the basics surrounding your topic and the current research on it.

Reference sources include those that summarize information about topics. You might read some pages on Wikipedia, check out an encyclopedia entry on your topic, look at a specialized dictionary entry (e.g., a literary or philosophical dictionary), or even read news articles that provide a concise overview of the topic at hand. These sources will help you to understand your topic broadly, but generally are not sources considered acceptable to cite in scholarly work. They are, however, excellent starting points and may point you to important and relevant scholarly literature you should read.

Primary Sources

An important part of research is finding and analyzing primary sources , or sources that provide original material about your given topic or question. What is considered to be a primary source will vary significantly depending on your field of research and the time period about which you are writing.

For example, if you are writing about Renaissance literature, a text by Shakespeare might be one of your primary sources. If you are studying Renaissance history, you might be looking at letters written during that time in an archive or published critical edition. If you are looking at modern current events, social media posts revealing reactions to these events or posting videos of the events might be your primary source. For social sciences, data collected through surveys might be your primary source. Primary sources provide the evidence for the argument you are going to make in your paper.

Secondary Sources/

Secondary sources are sources that are aimed at scholars, well-researched, and generally based on primary sources. these are sources you will engage frequently in your research as they help to show your readers that you are informed on the topic, know what the current field of research looks like, and that you have considered multiple viewpoints on the topic before taking your stance. secondary sources include scholarly books, journal articles, published reports, and other similar types of material..

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Published October 1, 2015. Updated June 5, 2020.

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

General Format

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This section contains information on The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) method of document formatting and citation. These resources follow The Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition), which was issued in 2017.

Since The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is primarily intended as a style guide for published works rather than class papers, these guidelines will be supplemented with information from, Kate L. Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (8th ed.), which is largely based on CMOS with some slight alterations.

To see a side-by-side comparison of the three most widely used citation styles, including a chart of all CMOS citation guidelines, see the Citation Style Chart.

Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in CMOS.

A Note on Citations

Unlike many citation styles, CMOS gives writers two different methods for documenting sources: the Author-Date System and the Notes-Bibliography (NB) System.  As its name suggests, Author-Date uses parenthetical citations in the text to reference the source's author's last name and the year of publication. Each parenthetical citation corresponds to an entry on a References page that concludes the document. In these regards, Author-Date is very similar to, for instance, APA style.

By contrast, NB uses numbered footnotes in the text to direct the reader to a shortened citation at the bottom of the page. This corresponds to a fuller citation on a Bibliography page that concludes the document. Though the general principles of citation are the same here, the citations themselves are formatted differently from the way they appear in Author-Date.

If you are using CMOS for school or work, don't forget to ensure that you're using your organization's preferred citation method. For examples of these two different styles in action, see our CMOS sample papers:

Author-Date Sample Paper

NB Sample Paper

General CMOS Guidelines

• Text should be consistently double-spaced, except for block quotations, notes, bibliography entries, table titles, and figure captions.
• A prose quotation of five or more lines, or more than 100 words, should be blocked.
• CMOS recommends blocking two or more lines of poetry.
• A blocked quotation does not get enclosed in quotation marks.
• A blocked quotation must always begin a new line.
• Blocked quotations should be indented with the word processor’s indention tool.
• Page numbers begin in the header of the first page of text with Arabic number 1.
• For CMOS and Turabian’s recommendations, see “Headings,” below.

Supplemental Turabian Style Guidelines

• Margins should be set at no less than 1”.
• Typeface should be something readable, such as Times New Roman or Courier.
• Font size should be no less than 10 pt. (preferably, 12 pt.).

Major Paper Sections

• The title should be centered a third of the way down the page.
• Your name, class information, and the date should follow several lines later.
• For subtitles, end the title line with a colon and place the subtitle on the line below the title.
• Double-space each line of the title page.

CMOS Title Page

• Different practices apply for theses and dissertations (see Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, ad Dissertations [8 th ed.].
• Titles mentioned in the text, notes, or bibliography are capitalized “headline-style,” meaning first words of titles and subtitles and any important words thereafter should be capitalized.
• Book and periodical titles (titles of larger works) should be italicized.
• Article and chapter titles (titles of shorter works) should be enclosed in double quotation marks.
• The titles of most poems should be enclosed in double quotation marks, but the titles of very long poems should be italicized.
• Titles of plays should be italicized.
• For example, use lowercase terms to describe periods, except in the case of proper nouns (e.g., “the colonial period,” vs. “the Victorian era”).
• A prose quotation of five or more lines should be “blocked.” The block quotation should match the surrounding text, and it takes no quotation marks. To offset the block quote from surrounding text, indent the entire quotation using the word processor’s indentation tool. It is also possible to offset the block quotation by using a different or smaller font than the surrounding text.
• Label the first page of your back matter, your comprehensive list of sources, “Bibliography” (for Notes and Bibliography style) or “References” (for Author-Date style).
• Leave two blank lines between “Bibliography” or “References” and your first entry.
• Leave one blank line between remaining entries.
• List entries in letter-by-letter alphabetical order according to the first word in each entry, be that the author's name or the title of the piece..
• For two to three authors, write out all names.
• For four to ten authors, write out all names in the bibliography but only the first author’s name plus “et al.” in notes and parenthetical citations.
• When a source has no identifiable author, cite it by its title, both on the references page and in shortened form (up to four keywords from that title) in parenthetical citations throughout the text.
• Write out publishers’ names in full.
• Do not use access dates unless publication dates are unavailable.
• If you cannot ascertain the publication date of a printed work, use the abbreviation “n.d.”
• Provide DOIs instead of URLs whenever possible.
• If no DOI is available, provide a URL.
• If you cannot name a specific page number when called for, you have other options: section (sec.), equation (eq.), volume (vol.), or note (n.).

CMOS Bibliography Page

• Note numbers should begin with “1” and follow consecutively throughout a given paper.
• Note numbers are superscripted.
• Note numbers should be placed at the end of the clause or sentence to which they refer and should be placed after all punctuation, except for the dash.
• Note numbers are full-sized, not raised, and followed by a period (superscripting note numbers in the notes themselves is also acceptable).
• In parenthetical citation, separate documentation from brief commentary with a semicolon.
• Do not repeat the hundreds digit in a page range if it does not change from the beginning to the end of the range.

For more information on footnotes, please see CMOS NB Sample Paper .

While  The Chicago Manual of Style does not include a prescribed system for formatting headings and subheads, it makes several recommendations.

• Maintain consistency and parallel structure in headings and subheads.
• Use headline-style for purposes of capitalization.
• Subheadings should begin on a new line.
• Subheadings can be distinguished by font-size.
• Ensure that each level of hierarchy is clear and consistent.
• Levels of subheads can be differentiated by type style, use of boldface or italics, and placement on the page, usually either centered or flush left.
• Use no more than three levels of hierarchy.
• Avoid ending subheadings with periods.

Turabian has an optional system of five heading levels.

Turabian Subheading Plan

Here is an example of the five-level heading system:

CMOS Headings

Tables and Figures

• Position tables and figures as soon as possible after they are first referenced. If necessary, present them after the paragraph in which they are described.
• For figures, include a caption, or short explanation of the figure or illustration, directly after the figure number.
• Cite a source as you would for parenthetical citation, and include full information in an entry on your Bibliography or References page.
• Acknowledge reproduced or adapted sources appropriately (i.e., photo by; data adapted from; map by...).
• If a table includes data not acquired by the author of the text, include an unnumbered footnote. Introduce the note by the word Source(s) followed by a colon, then include the full source information, and end the note with a period.

How to Cite the Purdue OWL in CMOS

On the new OWL site, contributors’ names and the last edited date are no longer listed at the top of every page. This means that most citations will now begin with the title of the resource, rather than the contributors' names.

Footnote or Endnote (N):

Corresponding Bibliographical Entry (B):

“Title of Resource.” List the OWL as Publishing Organization/Web Site Name . http://Web address for OWL resource.

“General Format.” The Purdue OWL. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/02/.

Author Date In-text Citation:

("General Format" 2017).

Author Date References Page Citation:

Year of Publication. “Title of Resource.” List the OWL as Publishing Organization/Web Site Name . http://Web address for OWL resource.

2017. “General Format.” The Purdue OWL . https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/02.

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How to use capitalize my title.

• Select your title capitalization style above by clicking on a tab. If you have questions, read our title capitalization rules below.
• Enter your title in the text box.
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• If you want to, you can press “Enter” on your keyboard or click the Copy button next to the text box to copy the text to your clipboard.
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Quick Links: How to Use Capitalize My Title , What to Capitalize in a Title ( What Is Title Case , What Is Sentence Case ), Title Capitalization Rules by Style ( APA , Chicago , AP , MLA , BB , AMA , NY Times , Wikipedia )

Case Converter Options

You have multiple options to capitalize and change the case of your titles, headlines, song titles, book titles, email subjects, and more. Below is a description of the ways you can use our case converter.

The top tabs allow you to select which style of capitalization you want to use. You can learn more in the Title Capitalization Rules by Style section.

• APA : Capitalize using the APA style guide.
• Chicago : Capitalize using the Chicago Manual of Style capitalization rules.
• AP : Use the Associated Press Stylebook capitalization guidelines.
• MLA : Use the MLA Handbook title capitalization rules.
• BB: Use the Bluebook title capitalization rules.
• AMA: Use the AMA Manual of Style capitalization rules.
• NY Times: Use the NY Times style guidelines.
• Wikipedia: Use Wikipedia’s capitalization rules.
• Email: Use proper capitalization rules for email.

Bottom Buttons

The buttons at the bottom let you choose specific case conversion options for the various styles.

• Title Case: Capitalize only the words that should be capitalized according to the top tab style guide.
• Sentence Case : Capitalize only the first word of each sentence.
• Uppercase: Convert your title from lowercase to uppercase .
• Lowercase: Convert your title from uppercase to lowercase .
• First Letter / Proper Case: Capitalize the first letter of every word.
• Alt Case: Capitalize every other letter of your text starting with the first letter being capitalized.
• Toggle Case: Change the case of every letter in your string. Similar to the Microsoft Word feature.

Other Options

• Straight quotes: Curly quotes (“,”,‘,’) are used in good typography . If you need to use straight quotes, enable this feature.
• Get Headline Score/Get Email Subject Score: Find out how strong your headline or email subject is by using our convenient tools.

Common Case Converter Uses

Title case converter.

Quickly convert your title or text to title case by simply clicking the “Title Case” button in the tool above.

Sentence case converter

Quickly convert your title or text to sentence case by simply clicking the “Sentence case” button in the tool above.

Uppercase to lowercase converter

If you left caps lock on accidentally, you can quickly convert your title from uppercase to lowercase by selecting the “lower” button above. This will uncapitalize your text. You can also use this tool to do it automatically.

Lowercase to uppercase converter

Alternatively, you can use our tool to convert text from lowercase to uppercase by clicking the “UPPER” button. You can also use this tool to do it automatically.

Uppercase to title case converter

If you want to change your title from uppercase to title case, you can select the “Title Case” button above.

All caps converter

You can quickly convert your text or title to all caps by selecting the “UPPER” button on the tool. This will convert your text to uppercase.

What to Capitalize in a Title

Understanding what to capitalize in a title is important to make sure that your titles and headlines look correct. If you’re confused about what words to capitalize in a title or headline, we recommend using our title capitalization tool above, but if you want specific capitalization rules, they are as follows.

First, it is important to note that there are four main title capitalization styles: Chicago style, APA style, MLA style, and AP style . Each of these capitalization styles has slightly different rules for which words are capitalized and each of these styles can be written using title case capitalization or sentence case capitalization.

What Is Title Case Capitalization?

Title case is the most common form of title and headline capitalization and is found in all four major title capitalization styles. Title case is also commonly used for book titles, movies titles, song names, plays, and other works.

In general, the following capitalization rules apply across the four styles in title case:

• Capitalize the first word in the title
• Capitalize the last word in the title
• Capitalize the important words in the title

Important words in that last bullet generally refer to:

• Adjectives (tiny, large, etc.)
• Adverbs (quietly, smoothly, etc.)
• Nouns (tablet, kitchen, book)
• Pronouns (they, she, he)
• Subordinating conjunctions (when fewer than 5 letters)
• Verbs (write, type, create)

Title case is the most common title capitalization for book titles, headlines, articles titles, etc. When multiple letters in a title need to be capitalized, use title case capitalization.

Words Not Capitalized in Title Case

While the above words are generally capitalized in titles regardless of style, there are some words that are generally not capitalized when using title case. Again, these will depend on the specific style you choose (see Title Capitalization Rules by Style section). These include short words and conjunctions:

• Articles (a, an, the)
• Coordinating Conjunctions (and, but, for)
• Short (fewer than 4 letters)
• Prepositions (at, by, to, etc.)

What Is Sentence Case?

The other major type of title capitalization standard is sentence case. Sentence case simply means you capitalize the first letter of a sentence, proper nouns , and nothing else as opposed to capitalizing almost every first letter in title case. It is the same across all of the four styles.

For more specific title capitalization rules, you can see the following sections which cover each style of title capitalization rules or check out our FAQs for common capitalization questions. Our tool lets you convert the case of your text easily into sentence case.

Title Capitalization Rules by Style

Chicago manual of style 17th edition capitalization rules.

Chicago Style is one of the most used and respected headline capitalization methods used in journalism. The rules are fairly standard for title case:

• Capitalize the first and the last word.
• Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (including phrasal verbs such as “play with”), adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions.
• Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions (regardless of length).
• Lowercase the second word after a hyphenated prefix (e.g., Mid-, Anti-, Super-, etc.) in compound modifiers (e.g., Mid-year, Anti-hero, etc.).
• Lowercase the ‘to’ in an infinitive (e.g., I Want to Play Guitar ).

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th Edition Capitalization Rules

Making sure you have the right capitalization for APA headings is crucial for scholarly articles. The following rules apply to APA headline capitalization and title capitalization:

• Capitalize the first word of the title/heading and of any subtitle/subheading
• Capitalize all major words (nouns, verbs including phrasal verbs such as “play with”, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns) in the title/heading, including the second part of hyphenated major words (e.g., Self-Report not Self-report)
• Capitalize all words of four letters or more.

Modern Language Association (MLA) Handbook, 9th Edition Capitalization Rules

Making sure you have the right capitalization for MLA headings is crucial for scholarly articles. The following rules apply to MLA headings:

• Capitalize the first word of the title/heading and of any subtitle/subheading.
• Capitalize all major words (nouns, verbs including phrasal verbs such as “play with”, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns) in the title/heading, including the second part of hyphenated major words (e.g., Self-Report not Self-report).
• Do not capitalize articles, prepositions (regardless of length), and coordinating conjunctions.
• Do not capitalize ‘to’ in infinitives (e.g., I Want to Play Guitar ).

The Associated Press (AP) 2020 Edition Stylebook Capitalization Rules

AP style capitalization is mainly used by writers for the Associated Press but is also used widely throughout journalism. The capitalization rules are as follows:

• Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions.
• Lowercase the second word in a compound modifier (e.g., Mid-year or On-site).
• Capitalize words with four or more letters (including conjunctions and prepositions).
• Capitalize both parts of a hyphenated word ( new as of 4/25/23 ).
• Capitalize the ‘to’ in an infinitive (e.g., I Want To Play Guitar ).

Bluebook 21st Edition Capitalization Rules

Bluebook style capitalization is mainly used by lawyers. The capitalization rules are as follows:

• Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions of four letters or fewer.
• Lowercase “to” in the infinitive (though not defined in the stylebook).

American Medical Association ( AMA) Manual of Style 11th Edition Capitalization Rules

AMA style capitalization is mainly used in the scientific community. The capitalization rules are as follows:

• Capitalize the first and the last word of titles and subtitles.
• Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (including phrasal verbs such as “play with”), adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions (major words).
• Lowercase “to” in the infinitive.
• Lowercase the second word in a hyphenated compound when it is a prefix or suffix (e.g., “Anti-itch”,”world-wide”) or part of a single word.
• Capitalize the second word in a hyphenated compound if both words are equal and not suffices or prefixes (e.g., “Cost-Benefit”)
• Capitalize the first non-Greek letter after a lowercase Greek letter (e.g., “ω-Bromohexanoic”)
• Lowercase the first non-Greek letter after a capital Greek letter (e.g., “Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol”)
• Capitalize the genus but not the species epithet

NY Times Style Capitalization Rules

NY Times style capitalization is mainly used by writers for the NY Times but is also used widely throughout journalism. The capitalization rules are as follows:

• Capitalize major words, e.g. nouns, pronouns, verbs.

Wikipedia Style Capitalization Rules

Wikipedia editors must follow certain capitalization rules for any posts to Wikipedia. The capitalization rules are as follows:

• Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions.
• Lowercase indefinite and definite articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions.
• Prepositions that contain five letters or more.
• The word “to” in infinitives.
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• Chicago Style Footnotes | Citation Format & Examples

Chicago Style Footnotes | Citation Format & Examples

Published on September 18, 2019 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on December 5, 2022.

The notes and bibliography style is one of two citation options provided by the Chicago Manual of Style . Each time a source is quoted or paraphrased , a superscript number is placed in the text, which corresponds to a footnote or endnote containing details of the source .

Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page, while endnotes appear on a separate page at the end of the text.

Pay attention to the punctuation (e.g., commas , quotation marks ) in your footnotes.

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Table of contents

Full notes and short notes, placement of footnotes, content of chicago footnotes, footnote examples for different source types, footnotes vs endnotes, frequently asked questions about chicago style footnotes.

There are two types of footnote in Chicago style: full notes and short notes.

Full notes contain the full publication details of the source. The first citation of each source should be a full note.

Full note example

1. Virginia Woolf, “Modern Fiction,” in Selected Essays , ed. David Bradshaw (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 11.

Short notes contain only the author’s last name, the title (shortened if longer than four words), and the page number (if relevant). They are used for all subsequent citations of the same source. It’s also acceptable to use “ ibid. ” instead to refer to the immediately preceding source.

Short note example

2. Woolf, “Modern Fiction,” 11.

The guidelines for use of short and full notes can vary across different fields and institutions. Sometimes you might be required to use a full note for every citation, or to use a short note every time as long as all sources appear in the Chicago style bibliography . Check with your instructor if you’re unsure.

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Footnotes should be used whenever a source is quoted or paraphrased in the text. They appear at the bottom of the relevant page, corresponding to reference numbers in the text. You can easily insert footnotes in Microsoft Word .

The reference number appears in superscript at the end of the clause or sentence it refers to. It is placed after any punctuation except a dash :

Johnson argues that “the data is unconvincing.” 1

Johnson argues that “the data is unconvincing” 1 —but Smith contends that …

Notes should be numbered consecutively, starting from 1, across the whole text. Your first citation is marked with a 1, your second with a 2, and so on. The numbering does not restart with a new page or section (although in a book-length text it may restart with each new chapter).

The footnote contains the number of the citation followed by a period and then the citation itself. The citation always includes the author’s name and the title of the text, and it always ends with a period. Full notes also include all the relevant publication information in parentheses (which varies by source type ).

If you quote a source or refer to a specific passage, include a page number or range. However, if the source doesn’t have page numbers, or if you’re referring to the text as a whole, you can omit the page number.

In short notes, titles of more than four words are shortened. Shorten them in a way that retains the keyword(s) so that the text is still easily recognizable for the reader:

1. Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus , ed. M.K. Joseph (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 91. 2. Shelley, Frankenstein , 91.

Combining multiple citations

Do not place multiple footnotes at the same point in your text (e.g. 1, 2, 3 ). If you need to cite multiple sources in one sentence, you can combine the citations into one footnote, separated by semicolons :

1. Hulme, “Romanticism and Classicism”; Eliot, The Waste Land ; Woolf, “Modern Fiction,” 11.

Sources with multiple authors

Footnotes for sources with two or three authors should include all the authors’ names. When there are four or more authors, add “ et al. ” (Latin for “and others”) after the first author’s name.

Missing information

You sometimes won’t have all the information required for your citation. You might be missing page numbers, the author’s name, or the publication date.

If one of your sources (e.g., a website ) has no page numbers, but you still think it’s important to cite a specific part of the text, other locators like headings , chapters or paragraphs can be used. Abbreviate words like “paragraph” to “par.” and “chapter” to “chap.”, and put headings in quotation marks :

1. Johnson, “Literature Review,” chap. 2.1 . 2. Smith, “Thematic Analysis,” under “Methodology.”

If the source lacks a stated publication date, the abbreviation “n.d.” (no date) should replace the year in a full note:

1. Smith, Data Analysis (New York: Norton, n.d. ), 293.

If a text doesn’t list its author’s name, the organization that published it can be treated as the author in your citation:

1. Scribbr , “Chicago Style Citation.”

If you use a website name as an author, you may end up repeating the same information twice in one citation. Omit the website name from its usual place if you’ve already listed it in place of the author.

Short notes usually look similar regardless of source type—author, title, page number. However, the information included in full notes varies according to the source you’re citing. Below are examples for several common source types, showing how the footnote should look in Chicago format .

Chicago book citation

Italicize the book title. If the book states an edition (other than the first), include this and abbreviate it (e.g., 2nd ed., rev. ed.). Add the URL if you consulted the book online instead of in a physical copy.

Chicago book chapter citation

Sometimes you’ll cite from one chapter in a book containing texts by multiple authors—for example, a compilation of essays. In this case, you’ll want to cite the relevant chapter rather than the whole book.

The chapter title should be enclosed in quotation marks , while the book title should be italicized. The short note only contains the chapter title.

The author is the one who wrote the specific chapter you’re citing. The editor of the whole book is listed toward the end of the footnote (with the abbreviation “ed.”), and left out of the short note.

Chicago journal article citation

The article title should be enclosed in quotation marks, while the journal name should be italicized. Volume and issue numbers identify which edition of the journal the source appears in.

A DOI is a digital object identifier. This is generally more reliable than the URL when linking to online journal content.

Chicago website citation

The page title should be enclosed in quotation marks. Italicization is not used for website names.

If the publication date is unknown, you can instead list the date when you accessed the page at the end of the citation (e.g., accessed on September 10, 2019).

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All of the above information also applies to endnotes. Endnotes are less commonly used than footnotes, but they’re a perfectly valid option.

Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page they refer to.

• Footnotes allow the reader to immediately check your citations as they read …
• … but if you have a lot of footnotes, they can be distracting and take up space on the page.

Endnotes appear in their own section at the end of the text, before the bibliography.

• Endnotes take up less space in the body of your text and reduce distraction …
• … but they are less accessible, as the reader has to flip to the end to check each note.

Endnote citations look exactly the same as those in footnotes. Unless you’ve been told which one to use, choose whichever you prefer. Just use one or the other consistently.

Footnotes appear at the bottom of the relevant page.  Endnotes appear in a list at the end of the text, just before the reference list or bibliography. Don’t mix footnotes and endnotes in the same document: choose one or the other and use them consistently.

In Chicago notes and bibliography style , you can use either footnotes or endnotes, and citations follow the same format in either case.

In APA and MLA style , footnotes or endnotes are not used for citations, but they can be used to provide additional information.

In Chicago notes and bibliography style , the usual standard is to use a full note for the first citation of each source, and short notes for any subsequent citations of the same source.

However, your institution’s guidelines may differ from the standard rule. In some fields, you’re required to use a full note every time, whereas in some other fields you can use short notes every time, as long as all sources are listed in your bibliography . If you’re not sure, check with your instructor.

In Chicago author-date style , your text must include a reference list . It appears at the end of your paper and gives full details of every source you cited.

In notes and bibliography style, you use Chicago style footnotes to cite sources; a bibliography is optional but recommended. If you don’t include one, be sure to use a full note for the first citation of each source.

Page numbers should be included in your Chicago in-text citations when:

• You’re quoting from the text.
• You’re paraphrasing a particular passage.
• You’re referring to information from a specific section.

When you’re referring to the overall argument or general content of a source, it’s unnecessary to include page numbers.

In a Chicago style footnote , list up to three authors. If there are more than three, name only the first author, followed by “ et al. “

In the bibliography , list up to 10 authors. If there are more than 10, list the first seven followed by “et al.”

The same rules apply in Chicago author-date style .

To automatically generate accurate Chicago references, you can use Scribbr’s free Chicago reference generator .

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Caulfield, J. (2022, December 05). Chicago Style Footnotes | Citation Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 4, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/chicago-style/footnotes/

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