Skip to Main Content

How to Cite Your Sources

About the Chicago Manual of Style

The Chicago Manual of Style includes two methods of citing sources:

  • Notes and Bibliography, which is more common in the humanities

  • Author-Date, more often used in the sciences

Chicago 16: How to Cite A Source -- Notes-Bibliography

Type of reference

Exact Wording

 

Enclose in quotes and footnote/endnote the full citation if the first mention; for later mentions, use author's last name, a short form of the title, and the page(s) cited

Ideas

 

Paraphrase with attribution to the original author and footnote/endnote the full citation if the first mention; for later mentions, use author's last name, a short form of the title, and the page(s) cited

Long Quotes (10+ lines)

 

Use in your text or indent the full quotation and footnote the full citation if the first mention; for later mentions, use author's last name, a short form of the title, and the page(s) cited. No quotation marks needed.

Bibliography

 

Include everything you quoted or were influenced by in the Bibliography.
Note: Bibliography citations are slightly different than footnote/endnote citations.

Examples

“My cat’s fur is brown.”1

 

According to Smith, "cats can scratch if antagonized."2

 

 

1. Max Smith, “My Cat,” Journal of Feline Felicities 43, no. 2 (1999): 23.

2. Smith, "My Cat," 23.

Smith observed that the fur on their cat was brown.1

 

Furthermore, cats could be nasty if provoked.2

 

1. Max Smith, “My Cat,” Journal of Feline Felicities 43, no. 2 (1999): 23.

2. Smith, "My Cat," 23.

My cat's fur is brown, and she is lovely, but as with other felines, cats can scratch if antagonized, so I caution you against doing so.1

 

1. Max Smith, “My Cat,” Journal of Feline Felicities 43, no. 2 (1999): 23.

Smith, Max. “My Cat.” Journal of Feline Felicities 43, no. 2 (1999): 19-34.

Chicago 16: How to Cite A Source -- Author-Date

Type of reference

Exact Wording

 

Enclose in quotes, with the author, year, and page number in parentheses

Ideas or Mentions

 

Attribute the original author with the date and page number after the author's name; no quotation marks

Long Quotes (1+ paragraph)

 

Indent full quotation with (Author year, page number) after period, no quotation marks (unless part of quote)

References

Include everything you cited in the list of References
 

Examples

“My cat’s fur is brown” (Smith 1999, 23).

Smith (1999, 23) observed that the fur on their cat was brown.

My cat's fur is brown, and she is lovely, but as with other felines, cats can scratch if antagonized, so I caution you against doing so. (Smith 1999, 23)

Smith, Max. 1999. “My Cat.” Journal of Feline Felicities 43 (2): 19-34.