Chicago Documentation Style (Doc. 11)

Chicago documentation style (Doc. 11)

In Chicago style, superscript numbers in the text of the paper refer readers to notes with corresponding numbers either at the foot of the page (footnotes) or at the end of the paper (endnotes). A bibliography is often required as well; it appears at the end of the paper and gives publication information for all the works cited in the notes.

The guidelines presented here are consistent with advice given in The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. (2010).

TEXT

A Union soldier, Jacob Thompson, claimed to have seen Forrest order the killing, but when asked to describe the six-foot-two “a little bit of a man.”12

FOOTNOTE OR ENDNOTE

12. Brian Steel Wills, A Battle from the Start: The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest (New York: HarperCollins, 1992), 187.

BIBLIOGRAPHY ENTRY

Wills, Brian Steel.A Battle from the Start: The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest. New York: HarperCollins, 1992.

Bottom of Form

First and subsequent notes for a source

The first time you cite a source, the note should include publication information for that work as well as the page number on which the passage being cited may be found.

1. Peter Burchard, One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment (New York: St. Martin’s, 1965), 85.

For subsequent references to a source you have already cited, you may simply give the author’s last name, a short form of the title, and the page or pages cited. A short form of the title of a book is italicized; a short form of the title of an article is put in quotation marks.

4. Burchard, One Gallant Rush, 31.

When you have two consecutive notes from the same source, you may use “Ibid.” (meaning “in the same place”) and the page number for the second note. Use “Ibid.” alone if the page number is the same.

5. Jack Hurst, Nathan Bedford Forrest: A Biography (New York: Knopf, 1993), 8.

6. Ibid., 174.

Chicago-style bibliography

A bibliography, which appears at the end of your paper, lists every work you have cited in your notes; in addition, it may include works that you consulted but did not cite. For advice on constructing the list, click here. For a sample bibliography click here.

NOTE: If you include a bibliography, The Chicago Manual of Style suggests that you shorten all notes, including the first reference to a source, as described on this page. Check with your instructor, however, to see whether using an abbreviated note for a first reference to a source is acceptable.

Model notes and bibliography entries

The following models are consistent with guidelines set forth in The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. (2010). For each type of source, a model note appears first, followed by a model bibliography entry. The note shows the format you should use when citing a source for the first time. For subsequent citations of a source, use shortened notes.

Some online sources, typically periodical articles, use a permanent locator called a digital object identifier (DOI). Use the DOI, when it is available, in place of a URL in your citations of online sources.

When a URL (Web address) or a DOI must break across lines, do not insert a hyphen or break at a hyphen if the URL or DOI contains one. Instead, break the URL after a colon or a double slash or before any other mark of punctuation.

Books (print and online)

1. Basic format for a print book

1. Mary N. Woods, Beyond the Architect’s Eye: Photographs and the American Built Environment (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009).

Woods, Mary N. Beyond the Architect’s Eye: Photographs and the American Built Environment. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009.

2. Basic format for an online book

2. John Dewey, Democracy and Education (1916; ILT Digital Classics, 1994), chap. 4,

Dewey, John. Democracy and Education. 1916. ILT Digital Classics, 1994.

3. Basic format for an e-book (electronic book)

3. Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace, trans. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (New York: Knopf, 2007), Kindle edition, vol. 1, pt. 1, chap. 3.

Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace.Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. New York: Knopf, 2007. Kindle edition.

4. Two or more authors: For a work with two or three authors, give all authors’ names in both the note and the bibliography entry. For a work with four or more authors, in the note give the first author’s name followed by “et al.” (for “and others”); in the bibliography entry, list all authors’ names.

4. Chris Stringer and Peter Andrews, The Complete World of Human Evolution (London: Thames and Hudson, 2005), 45.

Stringer, Chris, and Peter Andrews.The Complete World of Human Evolution. London: Thames and Hudson, 2005.

4. Lynn Hunt et al., The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures, 3rd ed. (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009), 541.

Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, R. Po-chia Hsia, and Bonnie G. Smith. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009.

5. Organization as author

5. Dormont Historical Society, Images of America: Dormont (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2008), 24.

Dormont Historical Society.Images of America: Dormont. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2008.

7. Multiple works by the same author: In the bibliography, use six hyphens in place of the author’s name in the second and subsequent entries. Arrange the entries alphabetically by title.

Harper, Raymond L. A History of Chesapeake, Virginia. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2008.

------. South Norfolk, Virginia, 1661-2005. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2005.

8. Edited work without an author

8. Jack Beatty, ed., Colossus: How the Corporation Changed America (New York: Broadway Books, 2001), 127.

Beatty, Jack, ed. Colossus: How the Corporation Changed America. New York: Broadway Books, 2001.

9. Edited work with an author

9. Ted Poston, A First Draft of History, ed. Kathleen A. Hauke (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2000), 46.

Poston, Ted. A First Draft of History.Edited by Kathleen A. Hauke. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2000.

11. Edition other than the first

11. ArnoldoDeLeon, Mexican Americans in Texas: A Brief History, 3rd ed. (Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 2009), 34.

DeLeon, Arnoldo. Mexican Americans in Texas: A Brief History. 3rd ed. Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 2009.

12. Volume in a multivolume work

12. Charles Reagan Wilson, ed., Myth, Manner, and Memory, vol. 4 of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006), 198.

Wilson, Charles Reagan, ed. Myth, Manner, and Memory. Vol. 4 of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006.

13. Work in an anthology

13. Zora Neale Hurston, “From Dust Tracks on a Road,” in The Norton Book of American Autobiography, ed. Jay Parini (New York: Norton, 1999), 336.

Hurston, Zora Neale. “From Dust Tracks on a Road.”In The Norton Book of American Autobiography, edited by Jay Parini, 333-43. New York: Norton, 1999.

17. Letter in a published collection: Use the day-month-year form for the date of the letter. If the letter writer’s name is part of the book title, begin the note with only the last name but begin the bibliography entry with the full name.

17. Mitford to EsmondRomilly, 29 July 1940, in Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford, ed. Peter Y. Sussman (New York: Knopf, 2006), 55-56.

Mitford, Jessica. Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford.Edited by Peter Y. Sussman. New York: Knopf, 2006.

18. Work in a series

18. R. Keith Schoppa, The Columbia Guide to Modern Chinese History, Columbia Guides to Asian History (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000), 256-58.

Schoppa, R. Keith. The Columbia Guide to Modern Chinese History.Columbia Guides to Asian History. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.

19. Encyclopedia or dictionary entry

19. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed., s.v. “Monroe Doctrine.”

19. Bryan A. Garner, Garner’s Modern American Usage (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), s.v. “brideprice.”

Garner, Bryan A. Garner’s Modern American Usage. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.

The abbreviation “s.v.” is for the Latin sub verbo (“under the word”).

Well-known reference works such as encyclopedias do not require publication information and are usually not included in the bibliography.

21. Source quoted in another source

21. Ron Grossman and Charles Leroux, “A Local Outpost of Democracy,” Chicago Tribune, March 5, 1996, quoted in William Julius Wilson and Richard P. Taub, There Goes the Neighborhood: Racial, Ethnic, and Class Tensions in Four Chicago Neighborhoods and Their Meaning for America (New York: Knopf, 2006), 18.

Grossman, Ron, and Charles Leroux.“A Local Outpost of Democracy.”Chicago Tribune, March 5, 1996. Quoted in William Julius Wilson and Richard P. Taub, There Goes the Neighborhood: Racial, Ethnic, and Class Tensions in Four Chicago Neighborhoods and Their Meaning for America (New York: Knopf, 2006), 18.

Articles in periodicals (print and online)

22. Article in a print journal: Include the volume and issue numbers and the date; end the bibliography entry with the page range of the article.

22. T. H. Breen, “Will American Consumers Buy a Second American Revolution?,” Journal of American History 93, no. 2 (2006): 405.

Breen, T. H. “Will American Consumers Buy a Second American Revolution?” Journal of American History 93, no. 2 (2006): 404-8.

23. Article in an online journal: Give the DOI if the article has one, if there is no DOI, give the URL for the article. For unpaginated online articles, you may include in your note a locator, such as a numbered paragraph or a heading from the article.

23. Brian Lennon, “New Media Critical Homologies,” Postmodern Culture 19, no. 2 (2009),

Lennon, Brian. “New Media Critical Homologies.”Postmodern Culture 19, no. 2 (2009).

25. Article in a print magazine Provide a page number in the note and a page range in the bibliography.

25. Tom Bissell, “Improvised, Explosive, and Divisive,” Harper’s, January 2006, 42.

Bissell, Tom. “Improvised, Explosive, and Divisive.”Harper’s, January 2006, 41-54.

26. Article in an online magazine Include the URL for the article. If the article is paginated, give a page number in the note and a page range in the bibliography.

26. Katharine Mieszkowski, “A Deluge Waiting to Happen,” Salon, July 3, 2008,

Mieszkowski, Katharine. “A Deluge Waiting to Happen.”Salon, July 3, 2008.

27. Magazine article from a database: Give whatever identifying information is available in the database listing: a DOI for the article; the name of the database and the number assigned by the database; or a “stable” or “persistent” URL for the article.

27. Facing Facts in Afghanistan,” National Review, November 2, 2009, 14, Expanded Academic ASAP (A209905060).

“Facing Facts in Afghanistan.”National Review, November 2, 2009, 14. Expanded Academic ASAP (A209905060).

28. Article in a print newspaper: Page numbers are not necessary; a section letter or number, if available, is sufficient.

28. Randal C. Archibold, “Neighbors Are Good Ones without a New Fence,” New York Times, October 22, 2008, sec. A.

Archibold, Randal C. “Neighbors Are Good Ones without a New Fence.”New York Times, October 22, 2008, sec. A.

Online sources

34. Web site: For most Web sites, include an author if a site has one, the title of the site, the sponsor, the date of publication or modified date (date of most recent changes), and the site’s URL. Do not italicize a Web site title unless the site is an online book or periodical. Use quotation marks for the titles of sections or pages in a Web site. If a site does not have a date of publication or modified date, give the date you accessed the site (“accessed January 3, 2010”).

34. Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, National Park Service, last modified April 9, 2010,

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park.National Park Service.Last modified April 9, 2010.

Hacker, Diana and Barbara Fister.“Chicago Documentation Style.” Research and Documentation Online, 5thed. Last modified 2013.