Chicago

Citation Style

Learning the Basics

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Let’s Think About It!

Why are formatting styles important?

Why might Chicago style be preferred to MLA or APA?

Quick Reminder!

Learning a new formatting style can seem impossible! It takes a lot of practice to remember some of the rules and be able to apply them without checking some sort of outside resource.

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Don’t be shy to ask for help or look something up! The Writing Center would be happy to help if you need to ask any questions or practice with in-person guidance.

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Basic Page Set-up

• 1 inch margins
• In-text citations go at the end of the sentence before the period

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• Visible font type and size (usually Times New Roman, 12)
• A reference/bibliography will always begin on a new page

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Typography

Chicago Style requires a few important rules for the text/font you use when writing:

• Times New Roman
• 12 pt font
• Double Spaced

It’s important to do this before writing anything so that you don’t forget to come back and format it later.

Page Numbers

Page numbers are required on Chicago Style documents, typically, regardless of how many pages the document is. (Even single page documents!)

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This goes on the top right hand side of the document.

Document Information

On a new page ist important to include a title page. Write this, centered in the following order:

1. The Title of Your Paper (placed ⅓ of the page down)
2. Your Name (placed several lines below the title)
3. Class Number: Class Name
4. Due Date

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Numbers

Spelled Out:

• Numbers one hundred and below
• A number that starts a sentence (although this should be avoided)
• Whole numbers followed by hundred, thousand, or hundred thousand, etc (seven hundred, three thousand)

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Numerals:

• Numbers 101 and up
• Units of measurement (3 cm, 65 g)
• Mathematical functions (5:2 ratio, 7%)
• A number with a decimal (67.7)

Organization

Thesis

A thesis is the main point or core argument of an essay and typically is one sentence in length. It can also be your hypothesis or research question/goal.

In the majority of Chicago Style essays, the thesis is placed at the end of your first paragraph or introduction section. If you’re unsure about this you should ask your professor where they expect to find it.

What is a Thesis?

Where should it be?

2

Introduction start. A few lines to introduce my topic. Thesis here at the very end!

New paragraph below the thesis.

Topic Sentences

A topic sentence is the first sentence of a new paragraph that states the main point of the paragraph. (Like a thesis but for a single point rather than the whole essay!)

Topic sentences are very useful for all of your body paragraphs to help with transitions and staying on task. Be sure that each topic sentence supports your overall thesis.

What is a Topic Sentence?

Where should it be?

2

Introduction start. A few lines to introduce my topic. Thesis here at the very end!

New paragraph below the thesis.

Headers

Using headers helps to organize your paper so that the reader can navigate the various sections of your paper.

• Chicago Style has 5 heading levels.
• More specific sections require you to go up a heading level.
• For example, a level 1 heading could be “Methods” and a level 2 header could be “Tools”. Tools is a more specific subsection within the Methods section, so it would require a level 2 heading.

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Headers

Level 1 Header

Level 1 Header

Header is centered and bolded or in italics. Paragraph begins indented below header.

Level 2 Header

Header is centered. Paragraph begins indented below header.

Level 3 Header

Level 3 Header

Header is flush left and bolded or in italics. Paragraph begins indented below header.

Level 4 header

Header is flush left and only the first word is capitalized Paragraph begins indented below header.

Level 5 Header.

Level 5 Header. Header is flush left, in bold or in italics, and ends with a period. Paragraph begins on the same line as the header.

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Signal Phrases

Chicago Style essays typically use signal phrases that quickly introduce the evidence. You can mention the author’s name in the sentence but you usually don't have to state the author’s credentials (ie where they were published or what book the info came from).

Examples:

Williams (2019) demonstrates the importance of humility in his research by stating that his initial hypothesis was proven wrong.

In his research, Williams (2019) demonstrates humility when he mentions that his “proposed hypothesis was wrong”.

Paraphrasing

Chicago Style essays typically have the writer paraphrasing information and citing it to demonstrate where it was from. You can use quotes in Chicago Style essays, however, some professors may not want you to. It's always best to follow your professor’s requirements for any paper.

• You still need to add commentary to paraphrased information.
• You need to provide a citation for all instances where you have paraphrased or summarized information from an outside source.

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Footnotes and In-Text

Citations

Chicago General Guide Link

What are Footnotes?

Footnotes allow for us to quote material, or paraphrase, what another person or company wrote or said in our essays, by simply annotating it with a number.

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It is very important to give proper credit to our sources not only out of respect but to avoid accidental plagiarism.

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Chicago Notes and Bibliography System uses footnotes to demonstrate credit.

The rules for citations change based the info you have on your source! Purdue Owl from Purdue University is a great place to look up specifics.

Chicago Style: In-Text Citations

Notes and Bibliography

Sources are cited in numbered footnotes or endnotes.

• A note is indicated by a superscript¹.
• Each superscript corresponds to a source in the bibliography
• The bibliography is listed in chronological order of evidence used in the paper.

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Notes and Bibliography

“Quote” ¹.

Paraphrased evidence².

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• A footnote, written at the bottom of the page, corresponds to each endnote and is used when a bibliography is not required

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What are In-Text Citations?

In-text citations allow for us to quote material, or paraphrase, what another person or company wrote or said in our essays.

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It is very important to give proper credit to our sources not only out of respect but to avoid accidental plagiarism.

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Chicago Style’s Author Date System uses in-text citations to demonstrate credit.

The rules for citations change based the info you have on your source! Purdue Owl from Purdue University is a great place to look up specifics.

Chicago Style: In-Text Citations

Author Date

“Quote” (Wilson 2012, 445).

Paraphrased evidence (Wilson 2012).

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• You don’t need to include page numbers when paraphrasing evidence.
• But do need to include them when quoting.

Author Date

Sources are cited using in-text citations.

• Each in-text citation corresponds to a source in the bibliography or reference list based.
• The bibliography is listed in alphabetical order.

Chicago: Author Date, In Text-Citations

Author’s name is mentioned in the sentence:

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Wilson (2012) explains…

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• The year published is still required and the citation moves from the end of the sentence to after the author’s name.
• The signal phrase leads the reader into the paraphrased information.

Multiple Authors

Paraphrased evidence (Wilson and Williams 2009).

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• Two authors

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Paraphrased evidence (Wilson et al. 2016).

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• Three or more

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Author’s name is not mentioned in the sentence:

Paraphrased evidence (Jones 1999).

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• The period is always after the citation.
• There is no punctuation between the name and year published.

References Page

Bibliography Pages

Chicago has a particular format to list your sources. This goes on a separate page at the end of your paper and looks like this.

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• ‘‘Bibliography’’ or “References” should be at the top of the page and centered.
• Th citations should begin two spaces after the header.
• Citations should be alphabetized with a hanging indent.
• A space should be inserted after each citation.

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Notes and Bibliography

For a book citation:

• The first author’s name is inverted (last name then first name), but all other authors’ names after, will not be inverted.
• The book’s title is italicized.
• Followed by the city the book was published in and the publisher.
• The year the work was published is the final part of the citation.

References/Bibliography Page: Notes and Bibliography

Chicago Style citations will look slightly different based on the type of source you are using. So a citation for a book will look different than a citation form a scholarly article.

Example Scholarly Article:

Last Name, First Name, “Title of scholarly article.” Journal Name volume number, issue number (year) pages. DOI link

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Example Book:

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year.

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Author Date

The format for References/Bibliography pages are the same in the Notes and Bibliography and the Author Date system. The citations are also the same, except for one thing:

• The year the work was published is placed after the author’s name in the Author Date style rather than at the end of the citation.

References/Bibliography Page: Author Date

Chicago Style citations will look slightly different based on the type of source you are using. So a citation for a book will look different than a citation form a scholarly article.

Example Scholarly Article:

Last Name, First Name. Year. “Title of scholarly article.” Journal Name volume number(issue number): pages. DOI link

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Example Book:

Last Name, First Name. Year. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher.

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General Tips

Be aware that citation machines that help you format your references, bibliography, or works cited pages are often wrong. Its best to check those citations against another source.

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• Chicago Style has its own resource called the “The Chicago Manual of Style”.

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Some majors have their own specific style.

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• ASA - sociology
• IEEE - engineering

All done!

You are now prepared to begin finalizing your draft with citations.

Any Questions?

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Go to https://www.csuchico.edu/slc/writing.shtml & click on “Submit Your Draft Online for Feedback” to submit your paper

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