Introduction
The style is often used in the humanities, especially in history, literature, and the arts.
The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition.
The University of Chicago also offers The Chicago Manual of Style Online, a website that provides additional resources.
Chicago-style source citations come in two varieties: (1) notes and bibliography and (2) author-date. If you already know which system to use, follow one of the links above to see sample citations for a variety of common sources. If you are unsure about which system to use, read on.
The notes and bibliography system is preferred by many working in the humanities—including literature, history, and the arts. In this system, sources are cited in numbered footnotes or endnotes. Each note corresponds to a raised (superscript) number in the text. Sources are also usually listed in a separate bibliography. The notes and bibliography system can accommodate a wide variety of sources, including unusual ones that don’t fit neatly into the author-date system.
The author-date system is more common in the sciences and social sciences. In this system, sources are briefly cited in the text, usually in parentheses, by author’s last name and year of publication. Each in-text citation matches up with an entry in a reference list, where full bibliographic information is provided.
Aside from the use of numbered notes versus parenthetical references in the text, the two systems share a similar style. Follow the links at the top of this page to see examples of some of the more common source types cited in both systems.
Most authors choose the system used by others in their field or required by their publisher. Students who are unsure of which system to use will find more information here.
For a more comprehensive look at Chicago’s two systems of source citation and many more examples, see chapters 14 and 15 of The Chicago Manual of Style.
Source: Chicago Manual of Style Online
Notes and Bibliography System
Notes
Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014), 129.
Hosea Ballou Morse, The Chronicles of the East India Company, Trading to China 1635-1834, vol. 1 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1926), 87.
Hosea Ballou Morse, The International Relations of the Chinese Empire, vol. 1 (Taipei: Ch'eng Wen Publishing Company, 1978), 299.
Bibliography entries
Huntington, Samuel P. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014.
Morse, Hosea Ballou. The Chronicles of the East India Company, Trading to China 1635-1834, vol. 1. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1926.
1. Susan Satterfield, “Livy and the Pax Deum,” Classical Philology 111, no. 2 (April 2016): 170.
2. Shao-Hsun Keng, Chun-Hung Lin, and Peter F. Orazem, “Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality and Income Inequality,” Journal of Human Capital 11, no. 1 (Spring 2017): 9–10, https://doi.org/10.1086/690235.
3. Peter LaSalle, “Conundrum: A Story about Reading,” New England Review 38, no. 1 (2017): 95, Project MUSE.
Shortened notes
4. Satterfield, “Livy,” 172–73.
5. Keng, Lin, and Orazem, “Expanding College Access,” 23.
6. LaSalle, “Conundrum,” 101.
Bibliography entries (in alphabetical order)
Keng, Shao-Hsun, Chun-Hung Lin, and Peter F. Orazem. “Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality and
Income Inequality.” Journal of Human Capital 11, no. 1 (Spring 2017): 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1086/690235.
LaSalle, Peter. “Conundrum: A Story about Reading.” New England Review 38, no. 1 (2017): 95–109. Project MUSE.
Satterfield, Susan. “Livy and the Pax Deum.” Classical Philology 111, no. 2 (April 2016): 165–76.
Journal articles often list many authors, especially in the sciences. If there are four or more authors, list up to ten in the bibliography; in a note, list only the first, followed by et al. (“and others”). For more than ten authors (not shown here), list the first seven in the bibliography, followed by et al.
Note
7. Rachel A. Bay et al., “Predicting Responses to Contemporary Environmental Change Using Evolutionary Response Architectures,” American Naturalist 189, no. 5 (May 2017): 465, https://doi.org/10.1086/691233.
Shortened note
8. Bay et al., “Predicting Responses,” 466.
Bibliography entry
Bay, Rachael A., Noah Rose, Rowan Barrett, Louis Bernatchez, Cameron K. Ghalambor, Jesse R. Lasky, Rachel B. Brem, Stephen R. Palumbi, and Peter Ralph. “Predicting Responses to Contemporary
Environmental Change Using Evolutionary Response Architectures.” American Naturalist 189, no. 5 (May 2017): 463–73. https://doi.org/10.1086/691233.
For more instructions and examples, please consult Chicago Manual of Style Online.
Source: Chicago Manual of Style Online
Author-Date System
Grazer, Brian, and Charles Fishman. 2015. A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Smith, Zadie. 2016. Swing Time. New York: Penguin Press.
In-text citations
(Grazer and Fishman 2015, 12)
(Smith 2016, 315–16)
For more examples, see 15.40–45 in The Chicago Manual of Style.
Journal articles
In the reference list, include the page range for the whole article. In the text, cite specific page numbers. For articles consulted online, include a URL or the name of the database in the reference list entry. Many journal articles list a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). A DOI forms a permanent URL that begins https://doi.org/. This URL is preferable to the URL that appears in your browser’s address bar.
Reference list entries (in alphabetical order)
Keng, Shao-Hsun, Chun-Hung Lin, and Peter F. Orazem. 2017. “Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality
and Income Inequality.” Journal of Human Capital 11, no. 1 (Spring): 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1086/690235.
LaSalle, Peter. 2017. “Conundrum: A Story about Reading.” New England Review 38 (1): 95–109. Project MUSE.
Satterfield, Susan. 2016. “Livy and the Pax Deum.” Classical Philology 111, no. 2 (April): 165–76.
In-text citations
(Keng, Lin, and Orazem 2017, 9–10)
(LaSalle 2017, 95)
(Satterfield 2016, 170)
Journal articles often list many authors, especially in the sciences. If there are four or more authors, list up to ten in the reference list; in the text, list only the first, followed by et al. (“and others”). For more than ten authors (not shown here), list the first seven in the reference list, followed by et al.
Reference list entry
Bay, Rachael A., Noah Rose, Rowan Barrett, Louis Bernatchez, Cameron K. Ghalambor, Jesse R. Lasky, Rachel B. Brem, Stephen R. Palumbi, and Peter Ralph. 2017. “Predicting Responses to
Contemporary Environmental Change Using Evolutionary Response Architectures.” American Naturalist 189, no. 5 (May): 463–73. https://doi.org/10.1086/691233.
In-text citation
(Bay et al. 2017, 465)
For more examples, see 15.46–49 in The Chicago Manual of Style.
For more instructions and examples, please visit Chicago Manual of Style Online.
Source: Chicago Manual of Style Online
The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition by