Introduction to Research Skills: Basics of Chicago Style (17th Edition)

The Chicago Manual of Style is most commonly used in the fields of history, music, and art. Please consult your assignment instructions to see what is the best style to use for your assignment.

Chicago Manual of Style Basics

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) offers two different citation formats. The first, called the Author-Date System, is similar to APA in that it uses in-text parenthetical citations that note the source author's last name and the date of publication. The second format, the Notes-Bibliography System, uses a numbered footnote system. Consult your assignment directions to see what is the proper format to use for your paper.

General Format

• Most text should be double-spaced in a Chicago paper. Exceptions include block quotes, notes, entries in the bibliography, table titles, and figure captions.
• CMOS guidelines require that page numbers be included on every page of text (excluding the title page) starting with 1.
• Include 1" margins on all sides of the page.
• Use an accessible font, such as Times New Roman or Courier. 12 pt. font size is preferable.

Title Page

• Title pages are optional for CMOS. If a title page is not included, the title of the paper should be included on the first page of the text.
• If a title page is required by your instructor and/or assignment, the title should be centered 1/3 of the way down the first page. This is followed several lines later by your name, also centered. Directly below your name is the class information, followed by the date below.
• If a subtitle is included, end the first line of the title with a colon and begin the subtitle on a new line.
• The entire title page should be double-spaced.

Citing Sources Within the Text

Author-Date System

• Parenthetical citations in the Author-Date system take the format of (LastName, Year, ##). Include the author(s) last name, the publication year, and the page number (if applicable) in parentheses, each separated by a comma.
• When the author's name is referenced within the text, include the publication date of the source after the name. For example:
  • Smith (2000) explained that ...

Notes-Bibliography System

• The Note-Bibliography system uses footnotes.
• In the text, superscripted note numbers are added after the clause or the sentence to which they refer. These notes begin with 1.
• In the corresponding footnotes, the note number is listed full size and is followed by a period. After each number is text commentary and/or a shortened version of the citation. Consult the Chicago Manual of Style for more information.

References/Bibliography

• For a Note-Bibliography CMOS paper, use Bibliography as the heading for your list of sources, centered and in bold font. The bibliography should begin on the first page after the conclusion of the text. For an Author-Text CMOS paper, use References as your heading, also centered in bold font.
• Leave two blank lines between the heading and the first entry. Leave one line blank between the other entries.
• Order the entries alphabetically by the first letter of the entry.