Chicago style edition and punctuation
The examples on this page use the recently released Chicago Manual of Style 18th edition.
Punctuation is important. Use the same punctuation and formatting as the order instructions and examples. Use 1 space after any punctuation mark.
The Chicago Manual of Style sets out 2 referencing systems: footnotes and a bibliography or an author-date system. This page outlines both methods for referencing sources in Chicago style.
Key points
Each source entry has 5 basic parts:
- Name of the author – write the first author's name in reverse order, family name first. Give any other authors' names in the usual order (first name, family name)
- Title – capitalise the first letter of all words over 3 letters long
- Publication information – the name of the publisher.
- Year – if there is no year, insert n.d.
- Page range – do not use p. or pp. to denote page range.
Book
Author-date system
Reference list
Order: Authors. Year. Book Title. Publisher name.
For an in-text book citation in the author-date system, give the author and date, followed by a comma and the page, paragraph or section if necessary. This format for in-text citations applies to all kinds of books, including translated books, later editions and e-books.
Example reference list
Cottrell, Stella. 1999. The Study Skills Handbook. Palgrave Macmillan.
Grazer, Charles, and Charles Fishman. 2015. A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. Simon and Schuster.
Example in-text citation
(Cottrell 1999, 43).
(Grazer and Fishman 2015, 78).
Footnote and bibliography system
Footnotes and endnotes
Order: Authors, Book Title (Publisher name, year), page number.
Example footnote
In text:
Cottrell1 emphasises the use of outside source materials in academic writing. When writing an assignment, this will form the crucial second step.2
At the bottom of the page:
1Stella Cottrell, The Study Skills Handbook (Palgrave Macmillan, 1999), 181.
2Cottrell, The Study Skills Handbook, 114.
Bibliography
Order: Authors. Book Title. Publisher, year.
Example bibliography
Cottrell, Stella. The Study Skills Handbook. Palgrave Macmillan, 1999.
Book (later edition)
Author-date system
Reference list
Order: Authors. Year. Book Title. Edition. Publisher name.
Example reference list
Donald F. Logan. 2006. The Vikings in History. 3rd ed. Routledge.
Footnote and bibliography system
Footnotes and endnotes
Order: Authors, Book Title, edition. (Publisher name, year), page number.
The shortened form does not include edition details.
Example footnote
1Donald F. Logan. The Vikings in History, 3rd ed. (Routledge, 2006), 78-9.
2Logan, The Vikings, 155.
Bibliography
Order: Authors. Book Title. Edition. Publisher, year.
Example bibliography
Logan, Donald F. The Vikings in History. 3rd ed. Routledge, 2006.
Online book or eBook
Author-date system
Reference list
Order: Authors. Year. Book Title. Edition. Publisher. Format consulted, URL or DOI.
Example reference list
Efron, S. E., and Ruth Ravid. 2014. Action Research in Education: A Practical Guide. Guilford. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Gert, Bernard. 1998. Morality: Its Nature and Justification. Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/0195176898.001.0001/acprof-9780195176896-chapter-2.
Scher, Stephen, and Kasia Kozlowska. 2018. Rethinking Health Care Ethics. Palgrave Pivot. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0830-7.
Footnote and bibliography system
Footnotes and endnotes
Order: Authors, Book Title, edition, (Publisher name, year), page or chapter number, format consulted, URL, DOI, or eBook device name.
If there are no page numbers, cite the chapter or section number in your notes instead.
Example footnote
1Sara Efrat Efron and Ruth Ravid, Action Research in Education: A Practical Guide (Guilford, 2014), 113, ProQuest Ebook Central.
2Bernard Gert, Morality: Its Nature and Justification (Oxford University Press, 1998), chap. 2, https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/0195176898.001.0001/acprof-9780195176896-chapter-2.
3Stephen Scher and Kasia Kozlowska, Rethinking Health Care Ethics (Palgrave Pivot, 2018), chap. 3, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0830-7.
4John Tosh, The Pursuit of History: Aims, Methods and New Directions in the Study of History, 6th ed. (Routledge, 2015), chap. 1, sec. II, Kindle.
Bibliography
Order: Authors. Book Title, Edition. Publisher, year. Format consulted, URL, DOI, or eBook device name.
Example bibliography
Efron, S. E., and Ruth Ravid. Action Research in Education: A Practical Guide. Guilford, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Gert, Bernard. Morality: Its Nature and Justification. Oxford University Press, 1998. https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/0195176898.001.0001/acprof-9780195176896-chapter-2.
Scher, Stephen, and Kasia Kozlowska. Rethinking Health Care Ethics. Palgrave Pivot, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0830-7.
Tosh, John. The Pursuit of History: Aims, Methods and New Directions in the Study of History. 6th ed. Routledge, 2015. Kindle.
Chapter in an edited book
Author-date system
Reference list
Order: Authors. Year. "Chapter title." Book title, editor. Publisher name.
Example reference list
Ash, Amin. 2000. "The Economic Base of Contemporary Cities." In A Companion to the City, edited by Gary Bridge and Sophie Watson. Blackwell.
Footnote and bibliography system
Footnotes and endnotes
Order: Authors, "Chapter Title," Book Title, editor (Publisher name, year), specific page.
Example footnotes
1Ash Amin, "The Economic Base of Contemporary Cities," in A Companion to the City, ed. Gary Bridge and Sophie Watson (Blackwell, 2000), 120.
2Amin, "The Economic Base," 122.
Bibliography
Order: Authors. "Chapter title." Book title, editor. Publisher name, year.
Example bibliography
Amin, Ash. "The Economic Base of Contemporary Cities." In A Companion to the City, edited by Gary Bridge and Sophie Watson. Blackwell, 2000.
Edited book with editor in place of author
Author-date system
Reference list
Order: Editors. Year. Book Title. Edition. Publisher.
For works that only cite the editor, state the editor's name in the author's position, followed by a comma then the abbreviation ed. or eds. if there is more than 1 editor.
Do not use ed. in in-text citations – simply give the editor's last name, with the year and page number if necessary.
Example reference list
Apple, Michael W., and James A. Beane, eds. 2007. Democratic Schools: Lessons in Powerful Education, 2nd ed. Heinemann.
Example in-text citation
(Apple and Beane 2007, 78)
Footnote and bibliography system
Footnotes and endnotes
Order: Editors, Book Title, edition. (Publisher name, year), page number.
Do not include ed. or eds. in the footnote.
If you have referred to a specific chapter in the edited book, reference the chapter rather than the whole work.
Example footnote
1Michael W. Apple and James A. Beane, eds., Democratic Schools: Lessons in Powerful Education, 2nd ed. (Heinemann, 2007), 78.
2Apple and Beane, Democratic Schools, 91.
Bibliography
Order: Editors. Book Title. Edition. Publisher, year.
Example bibliography
Apple, Michael W., and James A. Beane, eds. Democratic Schools: Lessons in Powerful Education. 2nd ed. Heinemann, 2007.
Online chapter in an edited book
Author-date system
Reference list
Order: Authors. Year. "Chapter Title." In Book Title, editor, page range. Publisher name, page range of chapter. Format consulted, URL or DOI.
Example reference list
Harkness, Deborah E. 2008. "Accounting for Science." In The Self-Perception of Early Modern Capitalists, edited by Margaret C. Jacob and Catherine Secretan, 205-228. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-230-61380-5_10.
Roberts, Lissa L., and Joppe van Driel. 2017. "The Case of Coal." In Compound Histories: Materials, Governance and Production, 1760-1840, edited by Lissa L. Roberts and Simon Werrett, 57-84. Brill. https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/19841564/9789004325562_webready_content_text.pdf.
Footnote and bibliography system
Footnotes and endnotes
Order: Authors, "Chapter Title," Book Title, editor (Publisher name, year), specific page, format consulted, URL or DOI.
Example footnote
1Lissa L. Roberts and Joppe van Driel, "The Case of Coal," in Compound Histories Materials, Governance and Production, 1760-1840, ed. Lissa L. Roberts and Simon Werrett (Brill, 2017), 62, https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/19841564/9789004325562_webready_content_text.pdf.
2Roberts and van Driel, "The Case of Coal," 77.
3Deborah E. Harkness, "Accounting for Science," in The Self-Perception of Early Modern Capitalists, ed. Margaret C. Jacob and Catherine Secretan (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008), 206, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-230-61380-5_10.
4Harkness, "Accounting for Science," 208.
Bibliography
Order: Authors. "Chapter Title". Book Title, editor, page range. Publisher name, year, specific page. Format consulted, URL or DOI.
Example bibliography
Harkness, Deborah E. "Accounting for Science." In The Self-Perception of Early Modern Capitalists, edited by Margaret C. Jacob and Catherine Secretan, 205-228. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-230-61380-5_10.
Roberts, Lissa L., and Joppe van Driel. "The Case of Coal." In Compound Histories Materials, Governance and Production, 1760-1840, edited by Lissa L. Roberts and Simon Werrett, 57-84. Brill, 2017. https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/19841564/9789004325562_webready_content_text.pdf.
Referencing disclaimer
This page is a guide to proper referencing. Your course, department, school or institute may prescribe specific conventions. Their recommendations supersede these instructions. If your questions are not covered here, ask your course coordinator or ask on our Academic Q&A forum.
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