LibGuides: Chicago Citation Style (17th Edition): Home

Getting Started

The Chicago Manual of Style is often used to document sources for research papers. The purpose of documentation is to:

Identify (cite) other people’s ideas and information used within your essay.
Indicate the authors or sources of these in a Bibliography at the end of your paper.

Proper citation acknowledges the creators of each source and helps your readers find the original source if they would like more information.

The Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.) recognizes two basic documentation systems: (1) Notes and Bibliography (used for papers in the humanities, e.g. literature, history, political science, and the arts) and (2) Author-Date (used for papers in the physical, natural, and social sciences). This guide is intended as a guideline for the Notes and Bibliography system only.

Be sure to check with your instructor to find out which citation style you should use for an assignment.

See these sections for information and examples that will help you to cite the sources that you come across during your research.

General Guidelines
Books
Articles
Websites
Audiovisual Media
Images and Works of Art
Other ...

The examples in this guide cover frequently used citation forms only. While this guide provides helpful examples, it may not be perfect. For more detailed information refer to The Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.), available at the librarian's desk at the WSA Library. See the PDF handouts and website links in the Learn More box below, or ask for help!

How to Cite in Chicago/Turabian Style: A Three Minute Tutorial

Learn More

Formatting of papers in Chicago Style:

Chicago Manual of Style (Notes and Bibliography) Sample Paper
A sample paper in Chicago Style, using the Notes and Bibliography system, with highlighting and notes in the margins explaining the various components. Presented by Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
Chicago Style Sample Paper
A sample paper using the Chicago Style, with footnotes, page numbers, section headings, and bibliography, (NOTE: Footnote 13 uses Ibid. to denote that it is from the same source as Footnote 12. Chicago Style 17th edition discourages the use of Ibid. and requires writers to use shortened notes instead.) Presented by Montana State University Billings.

Citations and bibliographies in Chicago Style:

The Chicago Manual of Style Online:

Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide
A quick guide to the two basic documentation systems in the Chicago Manual of Style: (1) notes and bibliography (used in literature, history, and the arts) and (2) author-date (used in the physical, natural, and social sciences).
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Access to the Chicago-Style Quick Guide is free. Presented by The Chicago Manual of Style Online, a paid-subscription service.
Notes and Bibliography: Sample Citations
Samples of the Notes and Bibliography system show the first note for a source (Full Citation) followed by subsequent notes for a source (Shortened Citation) along with the bibliography entry for the same source. Includes examples of citations for a: Book; Chapter or other part of an edited book; Translated book; E-book; Journal article; News or magazine article; Book review; Interview; Thesis or dissertation; Website content; Social media content; and Personal communication.
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Access to this section of The Chicago Manual of Style Online is free. Hyperlinked content requires a login to their subscription service.

Online guides from university libraries:

Chicago Citation Style QuickGuide: Notes-Bibliography System
Use the notes-bibliography system to create footnotes or endnotes for specific citations and a bibliography at the end of your
work, arranged in alphabetical order, that provides full details about your sources. The examples in this QuickGuide from the University of Alberta Libraries based on The Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition, 2017).
Chicago Style Guidelines
Basic guidelines for following the Chicago citation format, with guidance on margins, spacing, notes, bibliography, page numbering and section headings. NOTE: students writing Extended Essays should have their title page follow IB guidelines (Title, Research Question, IB Extended Essay Subject or World Studies Extended Essay theme and IB subjects.)
Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) - Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition
Information on The Chicago Manual of Style method of document formatting and citation, with links to specific examples for citing books, periodicals, web sources, film and television, interviews, personal communication, lectures and presentations, and published and unpublished materials.

Acknowledgement

This guide based on templates from Red Deer College Library in Alberta, Canada and the Library at Montana State University, Billings.

Chicago Manual of Style

This guide is based on the 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style.

The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition by The University The University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff
Call Number: R 808.02 Chi
ISBN: 9780226287058
Publication Date: 2017-09-05
Provides information on manuscript preparation, punctuation, spelling, quotations, captions, tables, abbreviations, references, bibliographies, notes, and indexes, with sections on journals and electronic media.

For citation examples and more information, consult the WSA Library copy of The Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.), located at the librarian's desk.