Demystifying the Chicago Style: Your Ultimate Citation Guide
Navigating the world of academic writing often feels like traversing a complex maze, especially regarding citations. Among the various citation styles, the Chicago Manual of Style stands out as a comprehensive and widely respected system. This guide simplifies the Chicago style, providing clear instructions and examples to help you cite any source accurately.
What is Chicago Style?
The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), now in its 17th edition, offers two primary citation methods:
- Notes and Bibliography: This system uses footnotes or endnotes to cite sources within the text, accompanied by a comprehensive bibliography at the end.
- Author-Date: This method includes brief in-text citations with the author's last name and publication year, with a corresponding list of references.
This guide focuses on the Notes and Bibliography style, a favorite in humanities disciplines like literature, history, and art history.
Core Components of Chicago Style
1. The Bibliography
- A bibliography lists all sources cited in your paper.
- Entries are single-spaced with a hanging indent (the second line of each entry is indented).
- Sources are alphabetized by the author's last name.
2. Footnotes and Endnotes
- Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page where the citation occurs.
- Endnotes are grouped at the end of a chapter or the entire document.
When you use information from a source, place a superscript number at the end of the sentence or clause, corresponding to a footnote or endnote with full citation details.
Example: "Would young Einstein be characterized as belonging somewhere on the autism spectrum?"¹
The corresponding footnote would look like this:
- 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.
Citing Different Types of Sources: Examples in Chicago Style
Books
Print Book with One Author
- Footnote/Endnote: First Name Last Name, Title of Book (Publication Place: Publisher, Year), page range.
- Bibliography: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publication Place: Publisher, Year.
Example:
- Footnote/Endnote: Sam Staggs, Born to Be Hurt: The Untold Story of Imitation of Life (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2009), 84.
- Bibliography: Staggs, Sam. Born to Be Hurt: The Untold Story of Imitation of Life. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2009.
Book with Multiple Authors
- Footnote/Endnote: First Name Last Name, and First Name Last Name, Title of Book (Publication Place: Publisher, Year), page range.
- Bibliography: Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name. Title of Book. Publication Place: Publisher, Year.
Example:
- Footnote/Endnote: Ella Shohat and Robert Stam, Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media (London: Routledge, 1994), 24-28.
- Bibliography: Shohat, Ella, and Robert Stam. Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media. London: Routledge, 1994.
Journals
Print Journal Article
- Footnote/Endnote: First Name Last Name, "Title of Article," Journal Title Volume Number, No. of issue (Year): Page range.
- Bibliography: Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Journal Title Volume Number, No. of issue (Year): Page range.
Example:
- Footnote/Endnote: Damien O'Brien and Brian Fitzgerald, "Digital Copyright Law in a YouTube World," Internet Law Bulletin 9, no. 6 (2007): 71-74.
- Bibliography: O'Brien, Damien, and Brian Fitzgerald. "Digital Copyright Law in a YouTube World." Internet Law Bulletin 9, no. 6 (2007): 71-74.
Online Journal Article
- Footnote/Endnote: First Name Last Name, "Article Title," Journal Title Volume Number, Issue No.(Year): Page range, URL or Name of Database.
- Bibliography: Last Name, First Name. "Article Title." Journal Title Volume Number, Issue No. (Year): Page range, URL or Name of Database.
Example:
- Footnote/Endnote: 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.
- Bibliography: 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.
Websites
- Footnote/Endnote: First Name Last name of Author, "Title of Article or Page," Title of Website, Date published or last modified or accessed, URL.
- Bibliography: Last name, First name or Organization Name. "Title of Article or Page." Title of Website. Date published or last modified or accessed. URL.
Example:
Subsequent Citations: Shortened Notes
To avoid repetition, use shortened citations for sources cited more than once:
- Shortened Footnote: Last Name, "Shortened Title," page number(s).
- If you cite the same source consecutively, the 17th edition of CMOS recommends using the shortened form rather than "ibid."
Example:
- Philip R. Cateora et al., International Marketing (New York: McGraw Hill, 2020), 292-294.
- Cateora et al., International Marketing, 28-29.
Important Considerations
- Consistency: Maintain consistency throughout your paper for formatting and citation details.
- Access Dates: Always include access dates for online sources, as URLs can change.
- Official Guidance: For nuanced situations, consult The Chicago Manual of Style directly or its official website for detailed instructions.
- Legal cases: For legal citations, it's recommended to refer to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, or the ALWD Guide to Legal Citation.
Leveraging Online Tools
Consider using online citation generators to streamline the process. For instance, the citation machine offers a Chicago citation generator that helps create accurate citations for various source types (Website, Book, Journal).
Citation Machine also features a helpful "plagiarism checker"
Final Thoughts
Whether you're working on a research paper, thesis, or dissertation, mastering the intricacies of the Chicago Manual of Style is essential for academic integrity and credibility. While it may seem overwhelming at first, this guide provides a structured approach to citing sources accurately.
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