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Chicago Style Format for Papers | Requirements & Examples

Published on September 25, 2019 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on December 5, 2022.

The information in this article is largely drawn from Turabian style —a version of Chicago style aimed at students and researchers. When writing a paper in Chicago style, these are the guidelines to follow; for the sake of simplicity, the term “Chicago” is used here.

Chicago Reference Generator

To apply Chicago format:

• Use a standard font like 12 pt. Times New Roman.
• Double-space the text.
• Use 1 inch margins or larger.
• Indent new paragraphs by ½ inch.
• Place page numbers in the top right or bottom center.

Note that any specific formatting advice from your instructor or faculty overrules these guidelines. Template documents set up in Chicago style are available to download below. Just select the one with the citation style you’re following.

Author-date Notes and bibliography

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Table of contents

General formatting, block quotes, numbers and acronyms, in-text citations and notes, bibliography or reference list, frequently asked questions about chicago format.

Chicago doesn’t require a specific font or font size, but recommends using something simple and readable (e.g., 12 pt. Times New Roman). Use margins of at least 1 inch on all sides of the page.

The main text should be double-spaced, and each new paragraph should begin with a ½ inch indent. Text should be left-aligned and not “justified” (meaning that the right margin should look ragged).

Page numbers can be placed either in the top right or the bottom center of the page—one or the other, not both.

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A Chicago title page isn’t required—often it’s sufficient to just include your title at the top of the first page—but if you’re asked to include one, Turabian provides guidelines for how to present it.

All text on the title page should be center-aligned and double-spaced, and written in the same font as the rest of your text. The title should appear about ⅓ of the way down the page, in headline capitalization and in bold.

If you have a subtitle, the main title ends with a colon and the subtitle appears on the following line, also in bold and the same size as the main title.

About ⅔ of the way down the page, add any information your instructor requests you to include—your name, student code, the course name and code, the date, etc. Each new piece of information appears on a new line.

The title page should not have a page number, but should be included in the page count—in other words, the page numbering starts on page 2.

Headings should use headline capitalization:

• Summary of results
• Summary of Results

If you use different levels of heading (e.g., chapters, sections, subheadings), make sure your presentation makes clear which type of heading each one is.

All headings of one level should be presented the same way, and higher-level headings should stand out more from the text. For example, you might use a larger font for chapter headings, bold for section headings, and italics for subheadings:

Prose quotations of five or more lines (or more than 100 words), as well as poetry quotations of two or more lines, are presented as block quotes .

Block quotes do not use quotation marks . Instead, a blank line separates them from the surrounding text on both sides and they are indented by an additional ½ inch. Unlike the rest of the text, they are not double-spaced.

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Chicago recommends using words, not numerals, for numbers lower than 100. For example, you would write “ninety-five,” not “95.” But numerals should still be used when you’re referring to a specific measurement (e.g., “15 cm”) and when using decimals (e.g., “1.5”).

Acronyms should be introduced the first time you refer to the thing they stand for:

After this point, you can use the acronym alone.

Neither numerals nor acronyms should be used at the beginning of a sentence. Either rewrite the sentence so that the numeral or acronym appears elsewhere, or write out the full phrase or number:

• 100 people responded to the survey.
• One hundred people responded to the survey.
• The survey received 100 responses.

Chicago provides guidelines for not one but two citation styles : author-date and notes and bibliography.

In author-date style , citations are placed directly in the text in parentheses . In this style, you have some flexibility about how exactly to integrate the citation:

In notes and bibliography style, citations appear in Chicago footnotes or endnotes (the format is identical either way), and the reader is referred to them by superscript numbers in the text.

Footnote and endnote numbers appear at the end of the relevant clause or sentence, after any punctuation except a dash .

Endnotes appear on their own page just before the bibliography ; footnotes appear at the bottom of each page. Footnotes should be separated from the text by a short rule and be presented in the same font size as the main text, or smaller. Word’s footnote function automatically creates footnotes like this:

At the end of your paper, you’ll likely include a bibliography (for notes and bibliography style) or a reference list (for author-date).

Bibliographies and reference lists are not double-spaced, but leave a blank line between entries.

If an entry extends onto a second line, a ½ inch indent should be applied to all but the first line of the entry.

If you have to create a Chicago style annotated bibliography , follow the same format as a normal bibliography, but indent and double-space the annotations under each source reference.

Turabian style is a version of Chicago style designed specifically for students and researchers. It follows most Chicago conventions, but also adds extra guidelines for formatting research papers , theses and dissertations .

More information can be found in A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations by Kate L. Turabian, now in its ninth edition.

• A reference list is used with Chicago author-date citations .
• A bibliography is used with Chicago footnote citations .

Both present the exact same information; the only difference is the placement of the year in source citations:

• In a reference list entry, the publication year appears directly after the author’s name.
• In a bibliography entry, the year appears near the end of the entry (the exact placement depends on the source type).

There are also other types of bibliography that work as stand-alone texts, such as a Chicago annotated bibliography .

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.

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.

Chicago format doesn’t require you to use any specific font, as long as you choose something readable. A good standard choice is 12 pt Times New Roman.

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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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Chicago Style (17th Edition) Citation Guide: Introduction

• Introduction
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• Magazine/Newspaper Articles
• Books & Ebooks
• Government & Legal Documents
• Secondary Sources
• Videos & DVDs
• How to Cite: Biblical & Catholic Sources
• How to Cite: Other
• Short Form & Ibid.
• Additional Help

Who should use Chicago Style?

Chicago style is the preferred citation style for history and theology.

Note:  UP typically uses the "notes and bibliography" format of Chicago style, not the "author date" format.

What is Chicago Style?

Chicago style was created by the University of Chicago. It is a set of rules for publications, including research papers.

In Chicago style, you must cite sources that you have paraphrased, quoted or otherwise used to write your research paper. Cite your sources in two places:

• In the body of your paper where you add a footnote  (which appears in the footer at the bottom of the page).
• In the bibliography  at the end of your paper.
• Chicago Style 17th ed. Notes and Bibliography Sample Paper (Purdue OWL)

Commonly Used Terms

Access Date:  The date you first look at a source. The access date is added to the end of citations for all websites except library databases.

Bibliography: Contains details on ALL the sources cited in a text or essay, and supports your research and/or premise.

Citation: Details about one cited source.

Citing: The process of acknowledging the sources of your information and ideas.

Footnote: Details about one source that you cited in the text of your paper, which appears in the footer at the bottom of the page.

Paraphrasing: Taking information that you have read and putting it into your own words.

Plagiarism: Taking, using, and passing off as your own, the ideas or words of another.

Quoting: The copying of words of text originally published elsewhere. Direct quotations generally appear in quotation marks and end with a citation.

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What is Chicago Style?

The Chicago Manual of Style is a comprehensive reference for authors, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers in any field, though most often used in the humanities.

Whenever you use a citation style (ANY citation style!) you will be governed by that style in three ways:

• The general format of the paper.  This includes margins, font, page numbers, line spacing, titles, headings, etc.  
• The  bibliography.  The bibliography is the cumulative list of all sources used in your research. In Chicago, this is called the  Bibliography  (if you're using the notes-bibliography system) or   Reference   list  (if you're using the author-date system). How do you cite a printed book vs. a book found on a database vs. a book found on the Web?   
• In-text citation.  Citing sources within the body of your paper lets your reader know you're incorporating someone else's words/research/ideas. In the notes-bibliography system you'll use footnotes or endnotes for your in-text citations. In the author-date references system you'll use parenthetical citations for your in-text citations.

Here's what you need to know to complete your paper in Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) format.

The links below will take you to the Ready, Set, Cite (Chicago) research guide:

• Formatting the Paper
• Citation Basics
• Notes-Bibliography System
• Author-Date References System

Use NoodleTools to help you create your citations .

It's easy; it's a form you fill out with the information about your source; it helps you catch mistakes.

• NoodleTools Express Use NoodleTools Express to create citations on the fly in MLA, APA, or Chicago style.
• NoodleTools (Login Full Database) This link opens in a new window Create and organize your research notes, share and collaborate on research projects, compose and error check citations, and complete your list of works cited in MLA, APA, or Chicago style using the full version of NoodleTools. You'll need to Create a Personal ID and password the first time you use NoodleTools.

NoodleTools Help:

• NoodleTools Help Desk Look up questions and answers on the NoodleTools Web site
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Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and CC BY-NC 4.0 Licenses .

Chicago Style (17th Edition): Introduction

• Introduction
• Journal Articles
• Magazine/Newspaper Articles
• Books & Ebooks
• Government & Legal Documents
• Secondary Sources
• Videos & DVDs
• How to Cite: Biblical & Catholic Sources
• How to Cite: Other
• Short Form & Ibid.
• Additional Help

Chicago Style at Duquesne University

At Duquesne University, Chicago style is the preferred citation format for the History and Theology Departments, as well as the Center for Global Health Ethics.

Note: The above departments typically uses the "Notes and Bibliography" format of Chicago style, not the "Author Date" format.

What is Chicago Style?

Chicago Style was created by the University of Chicago. It is a set of rules for formatting publications, including research papers.

In Chicago style, you must cite sources that you have quoted, paraphrased, or otherwise used to write your research paper. Cite your sources in two places

• In the body of your paper where you add a footnote  (which appears in the footer at the bottom of the page)
• In the bibliography  at the end of your paper.
• Chicago Style 17th ed. Notes and Bibliography Sample Paper (Purdue OWL)

Commonly Used Terms

Access Date:  The date you first look at a source. The access date is added to the end of citations for all websites except library databases.

Bibliography: Contains details on ALL the sources cited in a text or essay, and supports your research and/or premise.

Citation: Details about one cited source.

Citing: The process of acknowledging the sources of your information and ideas.

Footnote: Details about one source that you cited in the text of your paper, which appears in the footer at the bottom of the page.

Paraphrasing: Taking information that you have read and putting it into your own words.

Plagiarism: Taking, using, and passing off as your own, the ideas or words of another.

Quoting: The copying of words of text originally published elsewhere. Direct quotations generally appear in quotation marks and end with a citation.

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This guide was created by Hannah Goss, English Department Intern, and Ted Bergfelt, Humanities Librarian, in September 2022. It is based on a guide originally created by Stephine Michel, University of Portland, and was made with her kind permission.

• Next: How to Cite: Common Sources >>
• Last Updated: Jan 4, 2024 9:39 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.duq.edu/chicago

Chicago/Turabian Citation

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

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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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Q. I can’t seem to find any definitive answer on how to cite occasional papers. These are more than working papers and have a date and place of publication.

A. Any paper with a date and place of publication may follow the usual citation format: author (or organization), title, place, publisher, date. If CMOS doesn’t have an example of your specific type of paper, find something similar and model your citation on it (perhaps at paragraph 14.178 or 14.179 ). A published title of a stand-alone occasional paper is italicized; titles of unpublished papers are quoted. Don’t worry about a “definitive answer”—the main thing is to include the information that will document your source and help readers find it.

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Chicago Style

• Chicago Manual of Style Available online and in print in the GC Library's Reference collection, shelved at Z253 .U69 2010.
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• A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian) Shelved in the GC Library stacks at LB2369 .T8 1967 and available to borrow. E-book editions published from 1962 to 2007 are available to borrow from the Internet Archive . Create a free account using any email address to borrow e-books from the Internet Archive.
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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.

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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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Manuals of Style

Citation tools.

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Manuals of style, commonly referred to as citation manuals or style manuals, are invaluable not only because they prescribe the proper format for source documentation and citation, but because they recommend the latest best practices for writing in your field of study, from proper punctuation to preferred terminology to accepted discourse conventions; ignore their advice at your peril. Following are the styles used most commonly at Harvard.

• The print guide to APA is the official guide to citing in APA style.
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Chicago Style

• The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th Edition  (Harvard Login)
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• MLA Style Center  -- can be very useful for help with types of sources that aren't covered in the Handbook
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Legal Citations

• Harvard Law School Library Legal Citation Guides and Abbreviations
• The Bluebook: a uniform system of citation , 20th Edition (Print Only)

Common citation styles used in STEM fields:

Guidelines published by selected societies.

• ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication (American Chemical Society)
• IEEE Reference Guide  and  Editorial Style Manual for Authors   (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
• The primary style for  undergraduate and graduate students in psychology.
• Used most frequently by undergraduate students  in biology and chemistry.
• Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers  (Council of Science Editors)

Selected Journal Formats

• Communications of the ACM  Author Guidelines  (Association for Computing Machinery)
• Nature  format
• Science  Citation Style

Harvard Library supports a selection of citation tools that allow you to:

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