Chicago Manual of Style
Chicago Manual of Style has two distinct citation styles:
- notes-bibliography
- author-date-references
Notes-bibliography
This style is used predominantly in the humanities - literature, history, and the arts. Notes are numbered and can be footnotes appearing at the bottom of pages, endnotes appearing at the end of the work, or both. Which type of notes used is flexible, based on the writer's needs. The bibliography is an organized list of all sources titled "Bibliography" and appears at the end of the paper.
Author-date-references
This style is used predominantly in the physical, natural, and social sciences. This style is similar to notes-bibliography in most ways. The main difference is the use of author-date in-text citations instead of notes. These in-text citations consist of the source author's last name and the publication year in parentheses adjacent to the relevant text in the paper. References are the same thing as a bibliography except for being titled "References."
This guide offers basic rules for citing different types of sources using notes-bibliography style.
Chicago Overview
The Chicago Manual of Style by
The venerable, time-tested guide to style, usage, and grammar--an indispensable reference informing the editorial canon with sound, definitive advice. Now in its 18th edition! More than 1.75 million copies sold! Much has happened in the years since the publication of the seventeenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style. The world has transformed, and the Manual has risen to meet the moment. The eighteenth edition of this classic guide for writers, editors, and publishers is the most extensive revision in two decades. Every chapter has been reexamined with diversity and accessibility in mind, and major changes include updated and expanded coverage of pronoun use and inclusive language, revised guidelines on capitalization, a broader range of examples, new coverage of Indigenous languages, and expanded advice on making publications accessible to people with disabilities. The Manual's traditional focus on nonfiction has been expanded to include fiction and other creative genres in coverage of topics such as punctuation and dialogue, and the needs of self-published authors receive wider attention. The citation chapters have been thoroughly reorganized for the benefit of new and experienced users alike, and the key concepts for editing mathematics have been integrated into the chapters where they will be most useful to generalists. Evolving technologies--from open-access publishing models to AI--are covered throughout. And naturally, there are some well-considered updates to familiar rules, including changes intended to align the Manual's recommendations more closely with real-world usage. As with every new edition, devotees of the Manual will find much to discover and ponder.
Call Number: Z253 .U69 2024ISBN: 9780226817972Publication Date: 2024-09-19
Resources created by DCCC Librarians
Resources provided by the University of Chicago (creators of the Chicago Manual of Style)
Information sources can come in an astonishing variety of forms. So when you are creating citations for your sources, it's helpful to keep in mind this statement (CMOS 14.1):
Source citations must always provide sufficient information to lead readers directly to the sources consulted or, for materials that may not be readily available, to enable readers to positively identify them, regardless of whether the sources are published or unpublished or in printed or electronic form.
So what are the nuts and bolts of citing using Chicago style?
When you use source information in your research paper, you immediately follow it with a superscript number to connect it to the appropriate footnote appearing at the bottom of the same page. Each footnote identifies a specific source which appears in the bibliography, the list of all sources that appears at the end of your paper. For example:
A quote within a paper and its footnote number:
On November 17, 1973, then President Richard Nixon appeared on national television and told the American public:
I have never profited, never profited from public service. I've earned every cent. And in all of my years of public life, I have never obstructed justice. And I think, too, that I can say that in my years of public life that I welcome this kind of examination because people have got to know whether or not their president's a crook. Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got.1
The associated footnote at the bottom of the page:
1. WPA Film Library, "This Day In History," video file.
The full source entry in the paper's bibliography:
WPA Film Library. "This Day In History: November 17, 1973 Nixon Speech: 'I'm Not a Crook.'" Video file, 01:31. May 24, 2015. Films On Demand (68772).
There are many reasons to cite your sources:
- to give credit to authors or artists whose work you have used
- to allow people who are reviewing your work to check your sources
- to show readers how you came up with your arguments or ideas
- to provide scholars with other sources for their research
- to avoid plagiarism
For more information about the College's policy related to plagiarism access the Student Handbook.
What you don't know CAN hurt you!
Cite a source when:
- you copy information exactly from it; this includes primary sources, such as when you have interviewed someone or are referring to a work of art or image that you are referencing
- you paraphrase, summarize or use your own words to describe ideas from a work
- you cite statistics, data or other numerical information that was compiled by someone other than yourself.
NOTE: The exception to the rule is that you do not have to cite a source when you are using what is considered "common knowledge," such as a date in history, basic biographical facts about a prominent person, or the dates and circumstances of major historical events (e.g. there are 12 months in a year, the planets revolve around the sun, the American Civil War began on April 12, 1861, etc.). If the facts are in dispute, it is best to cite sources.
Need help citing? Just ask.
Chat with us using Ask a Librarian
- Available Monday to Friday
- During after-hours, coverage is provided by POWER Chat with a Librarian
Visit us in person at the Marple Campus and other college locations
Email us at reference@dccc.edu
Call us at (610) 359-5133
Text us at (610) 880-0126
Schedule a Research Appointment
Make an appointment to discuss your needs with library faculty.