Chicago Manual of Style Step-By-Step

The biggest difference between Chicago Manual of Style and the other style guides is the way one creates in-text citations. Instead of including an author and page number, the writer gives each reference an Arabic numeral in superscript format (example: ¹). From there, the writer either includes coordinating notes in the footer of each page (footnotes) or creates a notes page after your text (endnotes). Papers in Chicago Style are followed by a bibliography. See the examples attached.

Paper Layout

Use 1-inch margins all around.
Double space your paper.
Use Times New Roman, size 12, or as the instructor directs.
Your last name and page number in Arabic numbering (2, 3, 4, …) should be on each page in the right-hand corner, starting with page 2.
The first page of your text will be page 2 because the title page counts as page 1.

In Microsoft Word:
Go to Insert > Page Number > Top of Page > Plain Number 3. Be sure to check “Different First Page” and leave the first page number space blank.

Title Page or Cover Sheet

Center the following information, starting at least one-third of the way down the page, with line spaces in between:

Full title of your paper
Your name
The course title, instructor’s name, and the date

Additional notes:

Do not number this page as page 1, although it will count in your page count.
For an example of a title page, see A Writer’s Reference, p. 301.

Documenting Sources: Endnotes versus Footnotes

Depending on which ending note style the instructor wants, you will use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) in superscript right after the quotation marks for every in-text reference. Then you will create either a coordinating endnote or footnote. These notes tell the reader what source the referenced superscript addresses.

If a work includes a bibliography, then it is okay to shorten all notes, including your first reference (A Writer’s Reference, p. 280). The information included will be the same for endnotes as for footnotes.

Footnotes

Footnotes appear at the bottom of each page, where the number appears in a footer.
Use regular font Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3) to list each superscript number from the body of the paper you are referencing.
Footnotes are single spaced with double spaces between entries.

Endnotes

Endnotes appear on a separate page after the full text of your paper.
Center the title “Notes” on the new page.
Endnotes are organized by the order of superscript numbers as they appeared in the text.
Use regular font Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3) to list each superscript number you are referencing.
Endnotes are single spaced with double spaces between entries.
Indent the first line only, not the following lines, of each entry.
Authors’ names are listed first name, last name.
Terms such as editor/edited by, translator/translated by, volume, and edition are abbreviated.
Parentheses are used around the publishing information.

Examples of Footnotes/Endnotes

Example 1 (first citation of a source):

Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers, A Writer’s Reference (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2018), 301.

Notes:

The first time you cite a source, the note should include publication information for that work as well as the page number.
For later references to a source you have already cited, you may simply give the author’s last name, short form of the title, and the page(s) cited.

Example 2 (later reference to same source):
2. Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers, A Writer’s Reference, 305.

Note:

When there are two notes in a row from the same source, give the author’s last name and page(s) cited.

Example 3 (two notes in a row from same source):
3. Hacker and Sommers, 305.

Bibliography

The bibliography goes on a separate page after the full text of your paper (and after endnotes if you are using them).
Center the title “Bibliography” on the new page.
Single space citations and double space between entries.
Organize by alphabetizing the list by authors’ last names.
Use a hanging indent for second and additional lines.
Do not use parentheses around publisher information.
In bibliographies, no page numbers are given to cite whole books.
- However, if you are citing an article in a journal or a part of a book, the beginning to ending pages are cited.
Noun forms such as editor, translator, volume, and edition are abbreviated.
- Verb forms such as edited by and translated by (abbreviated in notes) are spelled out in a bibliography.

Examples of Notes versus Bibliography Citations

Format reminder: Notes appear first, and the bibliography entry appears underneath.

One author (book)

Note:

First Last, Book Title (Publication Location: Publishing House, Year), Page Number.

Bibliography:
Last, First. Book Title. Publication Location: Publishing House, Year.

Two or three authors

Note:
2. Ima Justice and John Doe, Title of Book (New York: Holt, 2015), 73.

Bibliography:
Justice, Ima, and John Doe. Title of Book. New York: Holt, 2015.

Four or more authors

Note:
3. Lynn Prochaska et al., Title of Book (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016), 42.

Bibliography:
Prochaska, Lynn, Pat Nodland, Effie May Brown, and Gaylen Simms. Title of Book. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.

Journal article from a database

Note:
4. Janella D. Benson, Paris D. Wicker, Imani Barnes, and Rachelle Winkle-Wagner, “Community and Culture: Black Women’s Recollections of Their Experiences in College Transition Programs,” Journal of College Student Development 64, no. 6 (2023), 665. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2023.a917022.

Bibliography:
Benson, Janella D., Paris D. Wicker, Imani Barnes, and Rachelle Winkle-Wagner. “Community and Culture: Black Women’s Recollections of Their Experiences in College Transition Programs.” Journal of College Student Development 64, no. 6 (2023): 663–678. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2023.a917022.

Notes:

Online scholarly articles found in databases often include a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). This is a more permanent URL; use this instead of a standard URL if possible.
The note includes the specific page number for your in-text citation, while the bibliography entry includes the page numbers in the journal for the entire article.

Magazine article from the web

Note:
5. Alan Lightman, “What Came Before the Big Bang?,” Harper’s, January 2016, https://harpers.org/archive/2016/01/what-came-before-the-big-bang/.

Bibliography:
Lightman, Alan. “What Came Before the Big Bang?” Harper’s. January 2016. https://harpers.org/archive/2016/01/what-came-before-the-big-bang/.

Note:

Only include an access date for both the note and bibliography entry for any online source if the publication date is not available.

Work in an anthology or collection

Note:
6. Ben Merriman, “Lessons of Arkansas,” in City by City, ed. Keith Gessen and Stephen Squibb (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015), 142.

Bibliography:
Merriman, Ben. “Lessons of Arkansas.” In City by City, edited by Keith Gessen and Stephen Squibb, 142–156. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015.

None listed, anonymous, or unknown author

Note:
7. Title of Work (London, 1912), 23.

Bibliography:
Title of Work. London, 1912.

Webpage without author or publication date

Note:
8. “Land Conservation,” Sierra Club, accessed February 13, 2024, https://www.sierraclub.org/land-conservation.

Bibliography:
“Land Conservation.” Sierra Club. Accessed February 13, 2024. https://www.sierraclub.org/land-conservation.

Multiple Works by the Same Author (Bibliography Only)

Arrange the entries alphabetically by title. Use three em dashes in place of the author’s name starting with the second entry.

Typing an em dash:

Mac: Option + Shift + minus key
Windows: Ctrl + Alt + minus key on the number pad on the right side of your keyboard

Example:
Smith, Tobius. Title of Book. New York: Bloomsbury USA, 2010.
———. Title of Book. New York: Holt, 2010.

Sample Title Page (Example)

Shopping Local and the Effect of Wal-Mart’s Low Prices
Valerie Smith
History 214
Professor Milken
August 16, 2018

Notes versus Bibliography Page Layouts

Notes Page Layout

(On a separate page after the body)

Notes

Diana Hacker and Name Sommers, A Writer’s Reference (Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2018), 301.
Patrick Zuk, “Nikolay Myaskovy and the Events of 1948,” Music and Letters 93, no. 6 (2012): 61, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/597807.
The Iliad of Homer 91, ed. Steve Hill (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012).
The Iliad of Homer 105, ed. Hill.
Argo, directed by Ben Affleck (2012; Burbank, CA: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2013), DVD.
NASA (@nasa). “This galaxy is a whirl of color,” Instagram, photo, September 23, 2017, https://www.instagram.com/p/BZY8adminZQJ/.
United States Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, The U.S. Role in the Middle East: Hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations, 114th Cong., 1st sess., 35.

Bibliography Page Layout

(On a separate page after notes)

Bibliography
Affleck, Ben, dir. Argo. 2012; Burbank, CA: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2013. DVD.
Hacker, Diana, and Nancy Sommers. A Writer’s Reference. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2018.
The Iliad of Homer. Edited by Steve Hill. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012.
NASA (@nasa). “This galaxy is a whirl of color.” Instagram, photo, September 23, 2017. https://www.instagram.com/p/BZY8adminZQJ/.
United States Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations. The U.S. Role in the Middle East: Hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations. 114th Cong., 1st sess., Date range of hearing, 2015.
Zuk, Patrick. “Nikolay Mysakovy and the Events of 1948.” Music and Letters 93, no. 6 (2012): 61–77. Accessed February 23, 2017. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/597807