citing an essay chicago

Chicago/Turabian Citation

• Citing a Book

Basic Chapter Citation

Example chapter of a book, example chapter of an ebook, example foreword/preface of a book.

• Citing an Article
• Citing a Webpage
• Additional Resources

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Footnote/Endnote

Author First M. Last Name, "Chapter or Essay Title," in  Book Title , ed. First M. Last Name (Place of Publication: Publisher, date), page cited.

Short version: Author Last Name, "Chapter or Essay Title (shortened if necessary)," page cited.

Bibliography

Author Last Name, First M.   "Chapter or Essay Title."  In  Book Title ,   edited by First M. Last Name,  page range.   Place of Publication: Publisher, date.

Eric Charry, "Music and Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa," in  The History of Islam in Africa , eds. Nehwmia Levtzion and Randall L. Pouwels  (Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2000), 550.

Short version: Charry, "Music and Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa," 550.

Charry, Eric.   "Music and Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa."  In  The History of Islam in Africa ,   edited by Nehwmia Levtzion and Randall L. Pouwels,   545-573.   Athens, OH: Ohio  University Press, 2000.

Alan Liu, "Where is Cultural Criticism in the Digital Humanities?," in  Debates in the Digital Humanities , ed. Matthew K. Gold (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2013), accessed January 23, 2014,  http://dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/debates/text/20. 

Short version: Liu, "Where is Cultural Criticism."

Liu, Alan.  "Where is Cultural Criticism in the Digital Humanities?."   In  Debates in the Digital Humanities ,   edited by Matthew K. Gold.   Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2013.   A ccessed January 23, 2014.   http://dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/debates/text/20. 

Strobe Talbott, foreword to   Beyond Tianamen: The Politics of U.S.-China Relations 1989-2000 , by Robert L. Suettinger (Washington, D. C.: Brookings Institute Press, 2003), x.

Short version: Talbott, foreword, x.

Talbott, Strobe.   Foreword to   Beyond Tianamen: The Politics of U.S.-China Relations 1989-2000 ,   by Robert L. Suettinger,  ix-x.   Washington, D. C.: Brookings Institute  Press, 2003.

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Author-Date: Sample Citations

Go to Notes and Bibliography: Sample Citations

The following examples illustrate the author-date system. Each example of a reference list entry is accompanied by an example of a corresponding in-text citation. For more details and many more examples, see chapter 15 of The Chicago Manual of Style . For examples of the same citations using the notes and bibliography system, follow the Notes and Bibliography link above.

Reference list entries (in alphabetical order)

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 1 5 . 40 – 45 in The Chicago Manual of Style .

Chapter or other part of an edited book

In the reference list, include the page range for the chapter or part. In the text, cite specific pages.

Reference list entry

Thoreau, Henry David. 2016. “Walking.” In The Making of the American Essay , edited by John D’Agata, 167–95. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press.

In-text citation

(Thoreau 2016, 177–78)

In some cases, you may want to cite the collection as a whole instead.

D’Agata, John, ed. 2016. The Making of the American Essay . Minneapolis: Graywolf Press.

(D’Agata 2016, 177–78)

For more details, see 15.36 and 15.42 in The Chicago Manual of Style .

Translated book

Lahiri, Jhumpa. 2016.  In Other Words . Translated by Ann Goldstein. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

(Lahiri 2016, 146)

For books consulted online, include a URL or the name of the database in the reference list entry. For other types of e-books, name the format. If no fixed page numbers are available, cite a section title or a chapter or other number in the text, if any (or simply omit).

Austen, Jane. 2007. Pride and Prejudice . New York: Penguin Classics. Kindle.

Borel, Brooke. 2016. The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking . Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ProQuest Ebrary.

Kurland, Philip B., and Ralph Lerner, eds. 1987. The Founders’ Constitution . Chicago: University of Chicago Press. http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/.

Melville, Herman. 1851. Moby-Dick; or, The Whale . New York: Harper & Brothers. http://mel.hofstra.edu/moby-dick-the-whale-proofs.html.

(Austen 2007, chap. 3)

(Borel 2016, 92)

(Kurland and Lerner 1987, chap. 10, doc. 19)

(Melville 1851, 627)

Journal article

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.

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.

(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.

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.

(Bay et al. 2017, 465)

For more examples, see 1 5 . 46–49 in The Chicago Manual of Style .

News or magazine article

Articles from newspapers or news sites, magazines, blogs, and the like are cited similarly. In the reference list, it can be helpful to repeat the year with sources that are cited also by month and day. Page numbers, if any, can be cited in the text but are omitted from a reference list entry. If you consulted the article online, include a URL or the name of the database.

Manjoo, Farhad. 2017. “Snap Makes a Bet on the Cultural Supremacy of the Camera.” New York Times , March 8, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/08/technology/snap-makes-a-bet-on-the-cultural-supremacy-of-the-camera.html.

Mead, Rebecca. 2017. “The Prophet of Dystopia.” New Yorker , April 17, 2017.

Pai, Tanya. 2017. “The Squishy, Sugary History of Peeps.” Vox , April 11, 2017. http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/4/11/15209084/peeps-easter.

Pegoraro, Rob. 2007. “Apple’s iPhone Is Sleek, Smart and Simple.” Washington Post , July 5, 2007. LexisNexis Academic.

(Manjoo 2017)

(Mead 2017, 43)

(Pegoraro 2007)

Readers’ comments are cited in the text but omitted from a reference list.

(Eduardo B [Los Angeles], March 9, 2017, comment on Manjoo 2017)

For more examples, see 15 . 49 (newspapers and magazines) and 1 5 . 51 (blogs) in The Chicago Manual of Style .

Book review

Kakutani, Michiko. 2016. “Friendship Takes a Path That Diverges.” Review of Swing Time , by Zadie Smith. New York Times , November 7, 2016.

(Kakutani 2016)

Stamper, Kory. 2017. “From ‘F-Bomb’ to ‘Photobomb,’ How the Dictionary Keeps Up with English.” Interview by Terry Gross. Fresh Air , NPR, April 19, 2017. Audio, 35:25. http://www.npr.org/2017/04/19/524618639/from-f-bomb-to-photobomb-how-the-dictionary-keeps-up-with-english.

(Stamper 2017)

Thesis or dissertation

Rutz, Cynthia Lillian. 2013. “ King Lear and Its Folktale Analogues.” PhD diss., University of Chicago.

(Rutz 2013, 99–100)

Website content

It is often sufficient simply to describe web pages and other website content in the text (“As of May 1, 2017, Yale’s home page listed . . .”). If a more formal citation is needed, it may be styled like the examples below. For a source that does not list a date of publication or revision, use n.d. (for “no date”) in place of the year and include an access date.

Bouman, Katie. 2016. “How to Take a Picture of a Black Hole.” Filmed November 2016 at TEDxBeaconStreet, Brookline, MA. Video, 12:51. https://www.ted.com/talks/katie_bouman_what_does_a_black_hole_look_like.

Google. 2017. “Privacy Policy.” Privacy & Terms. Last modified April 17, 2017. https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.

Yale University. n.d. “About Yale: Yale Facts.” Accessed May 1, 2017. https://www.yale.edu/about-yale/yale-facts.

(Bouman 2016)

(Google 2017)

(Yale University, n.d.)

For more examples, see 1 5 . 50–52 in The Chicago Manual of Style . For multimedia, including live performances, see 1 5 . 57 .

Social media content

Citations of content shared through social media can usually be limited to the text (as in the first example below). If a more formal citation is needed, a reference list entry may be appropriate. In place of a title, quote up to the first 160 characters of the post. Comments are cited in reference to the original post.

Conan O’Brien’s tweet was characteristically deadpan: “In honor of Earth Day, I’m recycling my tweets” (@ConanOBrien, April 22, 2015).

Chicago Manual of Style. 2015. “Is the world ready for singular they? We thought so back in 1993.” Facebook, April 17, 2015. https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoManual/posts/10152906193679151.

Souza, Pete (@petesouza). 2016. “President Obama bids farewell to President Xi of China at the conclusion of the Nuclear Security Summit.” Instagram photo, April 1, 2016. https://www.instagram.com/p/BDrmfXTtNCt/.

(Chicago Manual of Style 2015)

(Souza 2016)

(Michele Truty, April 17, 2015, 1:09 p.m., comment on Chicago Manual of Style 2015)

Personal communication

Personal communications, including email and text messages and direct messages sent through social media, are usually cited in the text only; they are rarely included in a reference list.

(Sam Gomez, Facebook message to author, August 1, 2017)

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Table of Contents

Chicago citations: notes-bibliography system 17th edition.

The Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed. Ref. Z 253.U69 2017 or  online ) is composed of two different documentation systems:

• Notes-Bibliography style : preferred by those in the humanities
• Author-Date system : preferred by those in the sciences

The examples on this page are in the Notes-Bibliography Style . Be sure to find out from your professor which Chicago documentation system they would like you to use.*

*Note: The Fairfield University History Department requires its students to use Notes-Bibliography style.

Choose a book type

More in-text Footnote Citation Information

Book with One Author

Chicago Manual 14.23

Book with Author and Editor/Translator

Chicago Manual 14.23 and 14.104

Book with Two or Three Authors

Chicago Manual 14.23 and 14.76

Book with Four or More Authors

Book with organization as author.

Chicago Manual 14.84

Governmental and Organizational Reports

Chicago Manual 14.291 and 14.84

Chicago Manual 14.79

Foreword, Preface, Introduction, and Afterwords

Chicago Manual 14.110

Book Chapter

Chicago Manual 14.107

Collection of Essays

Chicago Manual 14.104, 14.106 , 14.107

Chicago Manual 14.106 , 14.107, 14.108

Chicago Manual 14.253 - 254 , 14.106 - 107

Edition other than First

Chicago Manual 14.113

Translated Work

Chicago Manual 14.104

Multivolume Work (Citing Only One Volume)

Chicago Manual 14.118 - 119 (see also 14.116 , 14.120 , 14.121 , 14.122 )

Multivolume Work (Citing All the Volumes)

Chicago Manual 14.117 (see also 14.116 , 14.120 , 14.121 , 14.122 )

Encyclopedia Entry

Chicago Manual 14.232 , 14.233 , 14.234

Choose an ebook type

More Footnote Information with Examples

Ebook (Chapter)

Chicago Manual 14.107 and  14.159 , 14.160 , 14.161 , 14.162 , 14.163

Ebook (Entire Book)

Chicago Manual 14.23, and 14.159 ,  14.160 , 14.161 ,  14.162 , 14.163

Journal Article

Choose a journal type

Note: For the treatment of author variations, such as multiple authors, corporate authors, or no author listed, please see  Book  citation as a model for this element of the citation. 

More in-text Citation Information

Journal Article from Library Database

Chicago Manual 14.23 and 14.175

Online Journal Article

Print journal article.

Chicago Manual 14.23 and 14.168 ,  14.169 ,  14.170,   14.171,   14.172 , 14.173 ,  14.174

Chicago Manual 14.201 , 14.202 , 14.203 , and 14.204

Magazine Article

Choose a magazine type

Magazine Article from Library Database

Chicago Manual 14.188 - 14.189,   14.198 , and 15.49(AD)

Magazine Article from Online Website

Chicago Manual 14.188 - 14.189 , 14.198 , and 15.49 (AD)

Print Magazine Article

Chicago Manual 14.188 - 14.189,   14.198  and 15.49 (AD)

Newspaper Article

Choose a newspaper type

Newspaper Article From a Library Database

Chicago Manual 14.191

Article From Newspaper Website

Print newspaper article, newspaper article with an unknown author.

Chicago Manual 14.199

Letter to the Editor

Chicago Manual 14.196

Generative AI

For more information see the Chicago Manual of Style’s website.

Always check your syllabus to see what your professor’s policy on AI is. If it’s not on the syllabus, just ask.

Website, Blog, or Social Media

Choose a source type

Chicago Manual 14.207

Website, No Author

Blog posting.

Chicago Manual 14.208

Social Media

Chicago Manual 14.209

E-mail, List-serv or Personal Communication

Chicago Manual 14.214

Electronic Mailing List (List-serv)

Chicago Manual 14.210

Personal Communication

Audio/video, online video.

Chicago Manual 14.267

Motion Picture

Chicago Manual 14.265

Sound Recording

Chicago Manual 14.263

Television Episode

Television series.

Note: The Chicago manual does not provide specific guidance on how to cite Television Series , but the library suggests that you cite as described below based on guidelines for similar citations.

Image or Advertisement

Online images.

Chicago Manual 14.235 and 8.198

Work of Art

Advertisement.

Note: The Chicago manual does not provide specific guidance on how to cite Advertisements, but the library suggests that you cite as described below based on guidelines for similar citations.

Secondary Sources

Chicago Manual 14.260 , 14.291

A secondary source is a source that quotes or paraphrases another source. An example would be Sontag's  On Photography  cited in Zelizer's book  Remembering to Forget . Use the format below only if you are unable to examine the original source material (e.g. Sontag's On Photography). The Chicago Manual of Style discourages the use of secondary sources.

Footnote Information with Examples

Choose an example

Numbering Footnotes and Positioning Footnote Numbers

Chicago Manual 14.24,   14.25 ,  14.26 , 14.27 , and 14.28

Shortened Notes

Chicago Manual 14.29, 14.30 , 14.31 , 14.32 , 14.33 , 14.34 , 14.35 ,   and 14.36

Several Sources Cited in One Note

Chicago Manual 14.28 and 14.57

Using Ibid.

Chicago Manual 14.34

Citations plus Commentary

Chicago Manual 14.37

The Bible and Other Classical Works

Chicago 14.238 , 14.239 , 14.240 , and 14.241

Other Resources

For more examples and information on how to format your paper: online resources.

• Chicago Manual of Style (E-book)
• Chicago Manual of Style Quick Guide
• Purdue Owl Writing Lab
• Chicago NB Sample Paper Chicago NB Sample Paper from Purdue OWL

Print Resources

• The Chicago Manual of Style , 17th ed. (Ref. Z 253.U69 2017)

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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 method of document formatting and citation. These resources follow the seventeenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style , which was issued in 2017.

General Model for Citing Books in the Chicago Notes and Bibliography System

Footnote or endnote (n):, corresponding bibliographical entry (b):, book by one author  , book by multiple authors.

Two or more authors should be listed in the order they appear as authors, and not necessarily alphabetically.

Translated work with one author

Book with author and editor.

In notes, CMOS prefers the abbreviation of “editor(s)” as “ed.” or “eds.,” and translator(s) as “trans.” In bibliographic entries, these abbreviations are not used. Instead, titles are spelled out in full. This information appears in  The Chicago Manual of Style , section 14.103.

Chapter from a single-authored book

CMOS supplies two correct forms for bibliographic entries. Both are noted here.

Or, in some cases, you may want to emphasize the entire collection in the bibliographic entry.

Contributions from an edited collection with various authored chapters

When citing work by a single author that appears in a book with multiple authors, the contributing author’s name is cited first, followed by the title of their contribution, the word 'in' and the title of the book, along with the name(s) of the editors, and other standard information .

Introduction, Preface, or Afterword in a Book

Unlike other citations for books, bibliographic entries of this kind include the page number range for the part cited.  

Anonymous works--Unknown authorship

Sources that have no known author or editor should be cited by title. Follow the basic format for "Footnote or Endnote" and "Corresponding Bibliographical Entry" that are exemplified above, omitting author and/or editor names and beginning respective entries with the title of the source.

Citing indirect sources

Because authors are generally expected to be intimately familiar with the sources they are citing, Chicago discourages the use of a source that was cited within another (secondary) source. In the case that an original source is utterly unavailable, however, Chicago requires the use of "quoted in" for the note:

Self-published or Privately Published Books 

Books published by the author should be cited according to information available on the title page or copyright page. In place of publisher, include language such as “self-published” (abbreviated as “self-pub” in notes, but not a bibliography) or “printed by the author” is usually appropriate. For self-published e-books, add the name of the application or device required to read the book or the name of the file format, or both.

Extended Essay: Chicago Citation Syle

• Extended Essay- The Basics
• Step 1. Choose a Subject
• Step 2. Educate yourself!
• Using Brainstorming and Mind Maps
• Identify Keywords
• Do Background Reading
• Define Your Topic
• Conduct Research in a Specific Discipline
• Step 5. Draft a Research Question
• Step 6. Create a Timeline
• Find Articles
• Find Primary Sources
• Get Help from Experts
• Search Engines, Repositories, & Directories
• Databases and Websites by Subject Area
• Create an Annotated Bibliography
• Advice (and Warnings) from the IB
• Chicago Citation Syle
• MLA Works Cited & In-Text Citations
• Step 9. Set Deadlines for Yourself
• Step 10. Plan a structure for your essay
• Evaluate & Select: the CRAAP Test
• Conducting Secondary Research
• Conducting Primary Research
• Formal vs. Informal Writing
• Presentation Requirements
• Evaluating Your Work

Getting Started

The Chicago Manual of Style is often used to document sources for research papers. The purpose of documentation is to:

• Identify (cite) other people’s ideas and information used within your essay.
• Indicate the authors or sources of these in a  Bibliography  at the end of your paper.

T he Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.) recognizes two basic documentation systems: (1) Notes and Bibliography (used for papers in the humanities, e.g. literature, history, political science, and the arts) and (2) Author-Date (used for papers in the physical, natural, and social sciences).  This guide is intended as a guideline for the Notes and Bibliography system only.

Be sure to check with your instructor to find out which citation style you should use for an assignment.

See these sections for information and examples that will help you to cite the sources that you come across during your research.

General Guidelines Books Articles Websites Audiovisual Media Images and Works of Art Other ...

The examples in this guide cover frequently used citation forms only. While this guide provides helpful examples, it may not be perfect. For more detailed information refer to  The Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.) ,  available at the librarian's desk at the WSA Library.  See the PDF handouts and website links in the Learn More box below, or ask for help!

How to Cite in Chicago/Turabian Style: A Three Minute Tutorial

Formatting of papers in Chicago Style:

Citations and bibliographies in Chicago Style:

Acknowledgement

This guide based on templates from Red Deer College Library in Alberta, Canada and the Library at Montana State University, Billings.

Chicago Manual of Style

This guide is based on the 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style.

Fo r citation exam ples and more inform ation, consult the WSA Library copy of  The Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.) ,  located at the librarian's desk. 

The librarian is always happy to help you!

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Citing tables, figures, and images: Chicago (17th ed) citation guide

On this page.

This guide is based on The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. It provides examples of citations for commonly-used sources, using Notes and bibliography style only . For more detailed information consult directly The Chicago Manual of Style  (17th ed.) [ print ]. 

For the Author-date style, see the  Social sciences/sciences system .

In Chicago Style, the term figure can refer to illustrations or images that are displayed or reproduced separately from the text. Illustrations or images, in this case, can refer to a wide range of visual materials, including photographs, maps, drawings, and charts placed within a text. [ 3.1 ] [ 3.5 ]

Figures can be used to more easily refer to illustrations cited in your writing. This is particularly helpful where there are several cited illustrations. An example of a textual reference to a figure might look like the following: "as figure 2 shows..."; "when comparing figures 3 and 4." The lowercase  figure  should be used when making references to figures in the text. [ 3.9 ]

Figure captions

Captions are usually included immediately below a figure, and provide a text explanation of the visual. [ 3.9 ] The amount of detail in captions can vary from a few words to several sentences. Caption text should, where appropriate, be formatted as complete sentences with capitalization and punctuation. [ 3.21 ]

The titles of works, such as those from which the figures are taken, should be reproduced according to the standard Chicago Style rules, discussed in Chapter 8 of the manual, for notes and textual references. [ 3.22 ]

A credit line, which includes a statement about the figure's source, should be included.  [ 3.29 ] This credit line often appears at the end of a caption. [ 3.30 ]

Figure 4. Frontispiece of Christian Prayers and Meditations (London: John Daye, 1569), showing Queen Elizabeth at prayer in her private chapel. Reproduced by permission of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Trustees of the Lambeth Palace Library.

Figure 3. Detailed stratigraphy and geochronology of the Dubawnt Supergroup.

Citing figures found in other works

When citing a figure, such as an illustration included within another text, you can include the abbreviation  fig.  to refer to the figure.

     1. First Name Last Name of creator, Title of Work  (Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication), page number,  figure number.

     1. Kate van Orden, Music, Authorship, and the Book in the First Century of Print (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013), 38, fig. 2.

Images are sometimes referred to as illustrations, artwork, or art in the Chicago Style, and refer to images presented separately from text (as opposed to an embedded chart or figure). Images, or illustrations, can come in a range of forms, including charts, maps, line drawings, paintings, and photographs. [ 3.1 ]

• Information about paintings, photographs, sculptures, or other works of art can usually be presented in the text rather than in a note or bibliography. [ 14.235 ]
• If note or bibliography entry is needed, follow the guidelines below. 

     1. First Name Last Name of creator, Title of Work, date of creation or completion, medium, Name of Institution, location (if applicable), URL.

As illustrated in Three Planets Dance over La Sill [1] ,  the phenomenon of 'syzygy' is when celestial bodies align in the sky. 

     1. Yuri Beletsky, Three Planets Dance over La Silla , June 3, 2013, photograph, European Southern Observatory, https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1322a/ .

Incorporating images into the text of your paper

• If you chose to incorporate images into the text of your paper, the image should appear as soon as possible after the first text reference to it. [ 3.8 ]
• Images should bear numbers, and all text references to them should be by the numbers (eg. “as figure 1 shows…”) The word “figure” should be lowercased and fully spelled out, unless in parenthetical references (where “fig” may be used). [ 3.9 ]
• Below the image, the caption will begin with “Figure” or “Fig.” followed by a number and period. (Eg. Figure 1.) [ 3.23 ]
• A caption may consist of a word or two, an incomplete or a complete sentence, several sentences, or a combination. [ 3.21 ]
• Within a caption, most titles (including those for paintings, drawings, photographs, statues, and books) will be capitalized and italicized. [ 3.22 ]
• A brief statement of the source of an illustration, known as a credit line, is usually appropriate and sometimes required by the owner of the illustration.[ 3.29 ]
• A credit line usually appears at the end of a caption, sometimes in parentheses. [ 3.30 ]
• In addition to author, title, publication details, and (occasionally) copyright date, the credit line should include any page or figure number. If the work being credited is listed in the bibliography or reference list, only a shortened form need appear in the credit line [ 3.32 ]
• Illustrations from works in the public domain may be reproduced without permission. For readers’ information, however, a credit line is appropriate. [ 3.35 ]

Chicago in-text citation example

When celestial bodies are in alignment (see fig. 1) it is called syzygy.

*Note: The above formatting is meant as a guideline only. There is no definitive format for a figure caption. For example, see some examples of captions from the Chicago manual:                        

• Figure 1. Frontispiece of  Christian Prayers and Meditations  (London: John Daye, 1569), showing Queen Elizabeth at prayer in her private chapel. Reproduced by permission of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Trustees of the Lambeth Palace Library.
• Figure 2. Francis Bedford,  Stratford on Avon Church from the Avon, 1860s. Albumen print of collodion negative, 18.8 × 28.0 cm. Rochester, International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House.
• Figure 3. The myth that all children love dinosaurs is contradicted by this nineteenth-century scene of a visit to the monsters at Crystal Palace. (Cartoon by John Leech. “Punch’s Almanack for 1855,”  Punch  28 [1855]: 8. Photo courtesy of the Newberry Library, Chicago.)

Bibliography 

General format.

Last name First name. Title of Work. Date of creation or completion. Medium. Name of Institution. Location (if applicable). URL.

Beletsky, Yuri. Three Planets Dance over La Silla.  June 3, 2013. Photograph. European Southern Observatory. https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1322a/ .

In Chicago Style, a table is defined as list presented as an array with horizontal rows and vertical columns. [ 3.2 ]

When more than one table is included, table numbering is recommended. However, this numbering should be separate from figure/illustration numbering (for example, fig. 1, fig 2., table 1, fig 3.). [ 3.50 ]

References to tables in the text should use the lowercase form of the word table. [ 3.50 ] A numbered table should be included as soon as possible after it is first referenced in the text. [ 3.51 ]

Notes to a table come in several types, and are always included directly below a table. These notes should have a separate numbering scheme from the text notes. [ 3.76 ]

For tables taken from another source, acknowledgement needs to be made in an unnumbered footnotes starting with  Source:  or  Sources:  [ 3.77 ]

Sources: Data from Richard H. Adams Jr., “Remittances, Investment, and Rural Asset Accumulation in Pakistan,” Economic Development and Cultural Change 47, no. 1 (1998): 155–73; David Bevan, Paul Collier, and Jan Gunning, Peasants and Government: An Economic Analysis (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989), 125–28.

Sources: Data from Adams (1998); Bevan, Collier, and Gunning (1989).

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Chicago Style / How to Cite an E-book in Chicago

How to Cite an E-book in Chicago

Given the prevalence of e-books and the devices and platforms used to access them, it is likely that you may need to cite an e-book when completing a paper or project. Chicago style guidelines indicate that citations should specify if the book was consulted in an e-book format because of the potential for differences between versions. Besides adding information about the e-book’s format, e-book citations are very similar to  print books citations in Chicago  style. This guide will show you how to cite an e-book in notes-bibliography style using the 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style .

Guide Overview

• Citing an e-book from an e-reader
• Citing an e-book accessed online
• Citing an e-book found in a database
• Citing an e-book on CD-ROM
• Citing an e-book with no page numbers
• What you need

Citing an E-Book from an E-Reader (Kindle, iPad, Nook, etc.)

Citation structure:.

1. First name Last name, Book Title (City: Publisher, year published), page or location number, E-Reader name.

Bibliography:

Last name, First name. Book Title . City: Publisher, year published. E-Reader name.

Citation Example:

1. Bram Stoker,   Dracula (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2000), 25, Kindle.

Stoker, Bram.  Dracula . Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2000. Kindle.

Citing an E-Book Accessed Online

1. First name Last name, Book Title (City: Publisher, year published), page or location number, URL.

Last name, First name. Book Title . City: Publisher, year published. URL.

1. Carol J. Clover, The Medieval Saga (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1982), 19, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctvn1t9s7.

Clover, Carol J. The Medieval Saga . Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1982. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctvn1t9s7.

Citing an E-Book Found in a Database

If you access an e-book via a commercial or institutional database for which a URL is not available or would not be accessible for your reader, you should include the name of the database instead of a URL.

1. First name Last name, Book Title (City: Publisher, year published), page or location number, Database Name.

Last name, First name. Book Title . City: Publisher, year published. Database Name.

1. John Stolle-McAllister, Intercultural Interventions: Politics, Community, and Environment in the Otavalo Valley (Amherst, NY: Cambria Press, 2019), MD-SOAR.

Stolle-McAllister, John. Intercultural Interventions: Politics, Community, and Environment in the Otavalo Valley . Amherst, NY: Cambria Press, 2019. MD-SOAR.

Note: Some e-books may be available online through your library’s databases or catalogs.

Citing an E-Book on CD-ROM

While it is no longer common to access e-books via CD-ROM, some textbooks or other similar books come with CD versions that you may need to cite. In such cases, the format should be placed at the end of the citation instead of the URL/database name/e-reader name.

1. First name Last name, Book Title (City: Publisher, year published), page or location number, CD-ROM.

Last name, First name. Book Title . City: Publisher, year published. CD-ROM.

1. Ana C. Jarvis, Basic Spanish , Spanish ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin College Division, 2007), chap. 1, CD-ROM.

Jarvis, Ana C.  Basic Spanish . Spanish ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin College Division, 2007. CD-ROM.

Citing an E-Book with No Page Numbers

When citing e-books in Chicago style (especially e-book versions of older books), it is preferable to use a version with scanned pages in order to be able to use the original page numbers. However, such versions may not be available. If you are citing an e-book that does not have page numbers, you should use whatever location information is available in place of the page number in a note. For example, you can use the chapter number or section heading of the passage you are citing.

The Chicago Manual of Style advises against using location indicators from your e-reader device in place of page numbers, as these may change based on text size and other settings set by individual readers. If an e-reader location indicator must be used, you should also include the total number of locations to help your readers find the cited passage on their own device. (For example, “loc. 45 of 1028.”)

1. First name Last name, Book Title (City: Publisher, year published), chapter number or section heading, format or URL.

Last name, First name. Book Title . City: Publisher, year published. Format or URL.

1. Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1926), chap. 2, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/67138/67138-h/67138-h.htm.

Hemingway, Ernest.  The Sun Also Rises . New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1926. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/67138/67138-h/67138-h.htm.

What You Need

A citation for an e-book usually includes the following:

• Author name
• Edition information (if applicable)
• Publisher city
• Publisher name
• Publication year
• Page number or location information (in note only)
• E-reader name, database name, format, or URL

Chicago Formatting Guide

Chicago Formatting

• Book Chapter
• Conference Paper
• Musical Recording

Citation Examples

• Thesis or Dissertation
• Encyclopedia
• Sheet Music
• YouTube Video

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• Writing Tips

Chicago Referencing – Repeat Citations

• 2-minute read
• 29th June 2018

If you have a useful source text, you may need to cite it more than once in your work . And the Chicago Manual of Style has specific rules for doing this! Here, then, is our guide to repeat citations in Chicago style referencing .

Footnote Citations

In Chicago footnote referencing , after giving full source information in the first footnote, you can shorten subsequent citations of the same source to prevent repetition. These shortened footnotes should include the author’s surname, a shortened title, and the page(s) cited:

1. Alan C. Jenkins, Wildlife in the City: Animals, Birds, Reptiles, Insects and Plants in an Urban Landscape (London: Holt & Company, 1983), 13. 2. Esther Woolfson, Corvus: A Life with Birds (London: Granta Publications, 2008), 234. 3. Jenkins, Wildlife in the City , 102.

If citing two people with the same surname in your work, make sure to include the initial of the person you are citing again as well as their surname.

When citing the same source repeatedly, you can shorten the citation even further to just the author’s name and a page number:

1. Alan C. Jenkins, Wildlife in the City: Animals, Birds, Reptiles, Insects and Plants in an Urban Landscape (London: Holt & Company, 1983), 13. 2. Esther Woolfson, Corvus: A Life with Birds (London: Granta Publications, 2008), 234. 3. Jenkins, Wildlife in the City , 102. 4. Jenkins, 112. 5. Woolfson, Corvus , 235. 6. Woolfson, 117. 7. Jenkins, Wildlife in the City , 84.

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The key is making sure the source you’re citing is clear each time.

Author–Date Citations

Chicago referencing also has an author–date system , which uses in-text citations. To reference the same source more than once in this, all you have to do is give the same citation again:

Alan Jenkins (1983) describes how birds of prey survive in urban settings. He says that peregrine falcons are a “spectacular example of adaptive behavior” (Jenkins 1983, 13).

All you need to do with repeat author–date citations, then, is make sure they are consistent! And if you’d like any extra help making sure the referencing in your work is correct, we have expert proofreaders available. Sign up for a 500-word free trial to find out how our proofreading service works.

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• How to Cite a Website in Chicago Style | Formats & Examples

How to Cite a Website in Chicago Style | Formats & Examples

Published on October 10, 2019 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on December 5, 2022.

Chicago Reference Generator

To cite a website in Chicago style, follow the formats shown below for your footnotes and bibliography entries. Pay attention to punctuation (e.g., commas , quotation marks , parentheses ) in your citations.

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Table of contents

Dates in chicago website citations, web sources with no author, web sources with no date, online articles and blogs, citing social media, citing private web content, website citations in chicago author-date style, frequently asked questions about chicago style citations.

Web sources should generally be cited with their specific publication date (month, day, and year).

Some web sources list a revision date instead of (or in addition to) the original publication date. When a date of last revision or update is listed, use this instead, preceded by the words “Last modified.”

When both are available and you think it’s important for the reader to know, you can include both the original publication date and the revision date.

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Web content often doesn’t list an individual author.

In a full note citation for a page with no author, begin with the name of the page. In short notes and in the bibliography entry , begin with the name of the organization that published the source. If the organization’s name is the same as the website name, don’t repeat it later in the citation.

Where neither a publication date nor a revision date is available, include the date when you accessed the page instead. Only use this when there are no other options.

To cite an article from an online version of a print newspaper or magazine , you include the exact same information as you would for the print version, but with the addition of a URL. Blog posts are cited in a similar format.

Newspaper and magazine articles

To cite an online newspaper or magazine article, put the publication title in italics, and add a URL at the end:

Blogs are cited in the same format as newspapers, with the word “blog” added in parentheses (unless the blog name already contains the word “blog”).

If the blog is part of a larger publication, the title of the publication appears, also italicized.

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Since most social media posts are untitled, use the beginning of the post (up to 160 characters) in place of the title. If the post is less than 160 characters long, you can quote the whole thing.

If the content was posted under a username or screen name, include it in parentheses after the real name of the poster. If a user’s real name is unknown, the username appears as the author.

Private digital content—emails, text messages, direct messages, but also content in private Facebook groups or other webpages not accessible to everyone – should be cited as personal communications.

Citations of personal communications do not follow a standard format; rather, you should just describe where the source you’re citing comes from:

Footnote example

1. James Smith, Twitter direct message to author, September 19, 2018.

In Chicago author-date style , websites are cited using in-text citations corresponding to entries in your reference list. A reference list entry differs from a bibliography entry only in the placement of the year.

Examples of author-date website citations and references are shown in the tabs below.

• Online article
• Social media

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 .

In a Chicago footnote citation , when the author of a source is unknown (as is often the case with websites ), start the citation with the title in a full note. In short notes and bibliography entries, list the organization that published it as the author.

In Chicago author-date style , treat the organization as author in your in-text citations and reference list.

When an online source does not list a publication date, replace it with an access date in your Chicago footnotes and your bibliography :

If you are using author-date in-text citations , or if the source was not accessed online, replace the date with “n.d.”

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, December 05). How to Cite a Website in Chicago Style | Formats & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved March 20, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/chicago-style/website-citations/

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