Chicago Style Citation: Format, Rules & Examples
Your bibliography
0 sourcesChicago Style Citation is the referencing system of The Chicago Manual of Style. It offers two formats: notes-bibliography, which uses footnotes plus a bibliography, and author-date, which uses parenthetical citations plus a reference list.
What is Chicago style citation?
Chicago style citation is the documentation standard published by the University of Chicago Press in The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS). It is widely used in history, the arts, and many social sciences. The 18th edition, released in 2024, is the current version, though the 17th edition (2017) remains in common use. Chicago is closely related to Turabian, a student-focused adaptation of the same rules.
What are the two Chicago citation systems?
Chicago provides two separate systems, and you pick one for a paper rather than mixing them. Notes-bibliography uses superscript numbers tied to footnotes or endnotes plus an alphabetized bibliography. Author-date uses brief parenthetical citations tied to a reference list.
| Feature | Notes-bibliography | Author-date |
|---|---|---|
| Common fields | History, literature, arts | Sciences, social sciences |
| In-text marker | Superscript number + note | (Author Year, page) |
| End list title | Bibliography | References |
| Date position | Near end of entry | Right after author name |
How do you write a Chicago footnote?
In notes-bibliography style, place a superscript number at the end of the sentence, then give a matching numbered note at the foot of the page. The first note for a source is full; later notes are shortened to author surname, short title, and page.
Full note1. Charles Yu, Interior Chinatown (Pantheon Books, 2020), 45.
Short note2. Yu, Interior Chinatown, 88.
Footnotes use commas and parentheses and end with a period. Bibliography entries for the same source use periods between elements and are alphabetized by author surname. The 18th edition drops the city of publication for books; the 17th edition still requires it (for example, Pantheon Books, 2020).
What are the parts of a Chicago bibliography entry?
A journal article entry shows every core element in order: author, article title in quotation marks, journal source details, publication date with page range, and a DOI or URL. The colour key below maps each part.
- Author — surname first, inverted, ending in a period.
- Title — article title in quotation marks, headline case.
- Source — italic journal name, volume, and issue number.
- Date — year in parentheses, then the page range.
- DOI — full DOI link, or a URL, ending in a period.
What do Chicago citations look like for common sources?
The examples below pair each source type with its notes-bibliography form and its author-date form so you can match your paper’s chosen system. All follow the 18th edition.
Book
BibliographyYu, Charles. Interior Chinatown. Pantheon Books, 2020.
Reference (A-D)Yu, Charles. 2020. Interior Chinatown. Pantheon Books.
In-text (A-D)(Yu 2020, 45)
Journal article
BibliographyWeinstein, Joshua I. “The Market in Plato’s Republic.” Classical Philology 104, no. 4 (2009): 439–58. https://doi.org/10.1086/650979.
Reference (A-D)Weinstein, Joshua I. 2009. “The Market in Plato’s Republic.” Classical Philology 104, no. 4: 439–58. https://doi.org/10.1086/650979.
Chapter in an edited book
BibliographyThoreau, Henry David. “Walking.” In The Making of the American Essay, edited by John D’Agata, 167–95. Graywolf Press, 2016.
Two or three authors
List all authors. Invert only the first name in a bibliography or reference entry.
BibliographyBinder, Amy J., and Jeffrey L. Kidder. The Channels of Student Activism. University of Chicago Press, 2022.
How do you cite a website in Chicago style?
Cite a web page with the author (or organization), the page title in quotation marks, the site or publisher name, a publication or revision date, and the URL. When no date is available, include an access date instead. Web pages often appear only in a note, not the bibliography, when they are peripheral.
BibliographyGoogle. “Privacy Policy.” Google Privacy & Terms. Last modified October 4, 2024. https://policies.google.com/privacy.
Full note3. Google, “Privacy Policy,” Google Privacy & Terms, last modified October 4, 2024, https://policies.google.com/privacy.
How accurate is this guide, and what are its limits?
These rules and examples reflect the 18th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style and cover the sources students cite most. Chicago is a large system, and edge cases—multivolume works, archival manuscripts, legal material, and non-English sources—carry rules this page does not detail. Always confirm which edition your instructor requires, because the 17th and 18th editions differ on publisher location and some URL conventions. When a source type is unusual, check the official CMOS online guide or your institution’s library handout before finalizing. A generator speeds formatting but never replaces a final human proofread of italics, punctuation, and author order.
Chicago style citation FAQ
What is Chicago style citation?
Chicago style citation is the referencing system in The Chicago Manual of Style. It offers notes-bibliography formatting, which uses footnotes and a bibliography, and author-date formatting, which uses parenthetical citations and a reference list.
What is the difference between notes-bibliography and author-date?
Notes-bibliography style uses numbered footnotes or endnotes plus an alphabetized bibliography, and it is common in the humanities. Author-date style uses brief in-text parentheses with author and year plus a reference list, and it is common in the sciences.
How do you write a Chicago footnote?
Add a superscript number after the sentence, then a matching numbered note. The first note gives full details with commas and parentheses; later notes are shortened to the author surname, a short title, and the page number.
Is Chicago style the same as Turabian?
No, but they are closely related. Turabian is Kate Turabian’s student-focused adaptation of Chicago rules for papers, theses, and dissertations. The formatting is nearly identical, so a Chicago example usually works for Turabian.
Which edition of Chicago style is current?
The 18th edition, published in 2024, is the current version. The 17th edition from 2017 is still widely assigned. The main difference for students is that the 18th edition omits the city of publication for books.
Do you use a bibliography or a reference list in Chicago?
It depends on the system. Notes-bibliography style ends with a “Bibliography,” while author-date style ends with a “References” list. Both are alphabetized by author surname, but author-date places the year directly after the author’s name.