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BibGuru Chicago Citation Generator

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What is a Chicago citation generator and how can it help you?

Getting citations and reference lists correctly done can be very confusing and time-consuming.

The good news is that our Chicago citation generator can do it automatically for you and it is FREE to use! 🎉

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With BibGuru we have made a citation tool that truly helps students to focus on the content of their work instead of worrying about how to get their reference list correctly done.

Those days of wasting time entering data manually or losing grades on incorrect bibliographies are finally gone!

If you need to know more about Chicago citations check out our How do I cite in Chicago style? section or our detailed Chicago citation guides .

Why, when, and what do I have to cite?

Why The broad scientific knowledge we have today is the accomplishment of many researchers over time. To put your own contribution in context , it is important to cite the work of the researchers who influenced you. Cited sources can provide key background information, support or dispute your thesis, or offer important definitions and data. Citing also shows that you have personally read the work.

When In addition to crediting the ideas of others that you used to build your own argument, you need to provide documentation for all facts and figures that are not common knowledge. Common knowledge is knowledge that is known by everyone, or nearly everyone, and can basically concern any subject. An example for common knowledge would be "There are seven days in a week".

What The number of sources you cite in your work depends on the intent of the paper. In most cases, you will need to cite one or two of the most representative sources for each key point. However, if you are working on a review article, the aim is to present to the readers everything that has been written on a topic, so you will need to include a more exhaustive list of citations.

What is the Chicago citation style?

The Chicago format was developed by the University of Chicago Press in 1906. The first edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, a compilation of the typographical rules in force at the University of Chicago Press, had 203 pages and evolved into a comprehensive reference style guide of 1,146 pages in its seventeenth edition. It was one of the first editorial style guides published in the US and has largely impacted research methodology standardization, particularly citation style.

The style guide specifically focuses on American English and also deals with aspects of editorial practice, including grammar and usage, as well as document preparation and formatting. For citations, the Chicago style offers authors the choice between two formats:

• The notes and bibliography system: Preferred by many working in the humanities (literature, history, the arts,..). Sources are cited in numbered footnotes or endnotes in the text and listed in a separate bibliography.
• The author-date system: Often used in the sciences and social sciences. Sources are briefly cited in the text (usually in parentheses, author's last name and year of publication), and matched up with an entry in a reference list with full bibliographic information.

Aside from the use of numbered footnotes vs. parenthetical citations in-text, the two systems share a similar style. If you are not sure which system to use in your paper, ask your instructor. Using the correct system can have a great impact on your grade, so be sure clarify that before starting with your paper.

How to cite in the notes and bibliography system?

Instead of naming the authors in the text, which can be distracting to the reader, numbers are used to denote citations in the notes and bibliography system. These numbers in the text are linked to a full reference in footnotes or endnotes and in your bibliography. Cited publications are numbered in the order in which they are first referred to in the text. Please make sure to follow the rules below when citing in this system:

• Check whether footnotes or endnotes are required for your work. Footnotes are found at the bottom of a page and endnotes are located at the end of a document, or sometimes at the end of a chapter or section.
• All notes end with a full stop (in both footnotes/endnotes and bibliography).
• In the footnotes, author names should be first name followed by last name, for example 'Gregg Levoy'. In the bibliography, author names should be last name followed by first name, for example 'Levoy, Gregg'.
• If there are up to three authors of a source, give their names in your references in the order they are shown in the source. For four or more authors, give the name of the first author, followed by 'et al.' in the footnotes, but list all the authors in the bibliography. The first author's name is given in the bibliography as last name, first name, but other authors are written as first name last name.
• Italicize the title of books, journals and websites. Titles of articles, chapters, unpublished sources and web pages within a website are placed within double quotation marks.
• In your bibliography, also include sources you have read but not cited, in addition to your footnotes/endnotes.
• The first time you cite a source give full details in the footnotes/endnotes. Subsequent entries of the same source can be abbreviated to the author's last name and the first few words of the title, plus a page number number.
• When citing internet addresses (URLs) and Digital Object Identifiers (DOI), the URL is given in full; the accessed date is placed before the URL; and DOIs should be used if they are available as they are a permanent locator, instead of URLs. If using a DOI, you do not need to give the accessed date.
• Formatting: The first line of footnotes should be indented by 1/2 inch (1.3cm) and subsequent lines are not indented. For the bibliography the first line of references is not indented, but the second and subsequent lines have a hanging indent of 1/2 inch (1.3cm).

The citation order for a book in the notes and bibliography system would be:

• Title (in italics)
• Edition (only if it is not the first edition)
• Place of publication: publisher, year of publication (all in round brackets in footnote, but not in bibliography)
• Comma then page reference in footnote

David Halliday, Robert Resnick, and Jearl Walker, Fundamentals of Physics (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2013), 18.

Bibliography:

Halliday, David, Robert Resnick, and Jearl Walker. Fundamentals of Physics. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2013.

Here is the citation order and an example for a citation of a journal article:

• Title of article (in double quotation marks)
• Title of journal (in italics)
• Volume number, issue number
• Year of publication (in round brackets)
• Colon then page reference in footnote or page span in bibliography

Peter Leach, "James Paine's Design for the South Front of Kedleston Hall: Dating and Sources," Architectural History 40 (1997): 160.

Leach, Peter. "James Paine's Design for the South Front of Kedleston Hall: Dating and Sources." Architectural History 40 (1997): 159-70

How to cite in the author-date system?

As with APA or Harvard style, the Chicago author-date format uses in-text citations comprising the author's name and year of publication (and specific page reference if required). A reference list (rather than a bibliography) at the end of the work provides full bibliographical details for the sources used, listed in alphabetical order.

The major difference between the two systems in the form of the references is the position of the year of publication. In the notes and bibliography system the year comes towards the end of the reference, whereas in the author-date system it is on the second place in the reference, right after the author's name.

Axler, Sheldon. 2017. Linear Algebra Done Right. New York: Springer.

While all the specific rules of the Chicago citation style might sound very complicated, you don't need to worry about getting them wrong with BibGuru.

Use our Chicago citation generator above to create the fastest and most accurate Chicago citations possible.

If you want to know more about Chicago citations check out our Chicago citation guides to get detailed information on the various publication types.

Getting citations and reference lists correctly done can be very confusing and time-consuming. The BibGuru Chicago citation generator will help you focus on the content of your work instead of worrying about how to get their reference list correctly done.

You can create a reference in the BibGuru Chicago citation generator by entering the URL/title/doi or other identifier of your source into the search box, choose a category, click enter, and that's it. You have a 100% correct reference in Chicago style in seconds.

Yes, you can create in-text citations in the BibGuru Chicago citation generator. All you have to do is click on the 'Bibliography and in-text citations' button at the top of the reference list, and this will automatically create an in-text citation for every reference.

Yes, the BibGuru Chicago citation generator is free.

The Chicago style is used mainly in the humanities (literature, history, the arts,..) or in the social sciences (business). While the notes and bibliography is mainly used in the humanities, the author-date system is preferably used in the social sciences.

The text in your paper should be double-spaced. Footnotes and bibliographies are single-spaced, but need to have a double-space in between the entries.

Yes, the Chicago style has guidelines for a title page. Some of the key guidelines are:

• The title should be centered a third of the way down the page
• Other information (your name, class, etc.) follows several lines later
• All text is aligned in the center and double-spaced
• No page number is included on the title page

In the notes and bibliography system, you always include page numbers. In in-text citations you give a page number when you are paraphrasing or quoting directly from the text, or referring to information from a specific section.

While The Chicago Manual of Style does not include a prescribed system for formatting headings and subheads, it makes several recommendations. You can read some of them here .

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Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide

Chicago-style source citations come in two varieties: (1) notes and bibliography and (2) author-date. If you already know which system to use, follow one of the links above to see sample citations for a variety of common sources. If you are unsure about which system to use, read on.

Notes and Bibliography or Author-Date?

The notes and bibliography system is preferred by many working in the humanities—including literature, history, and the arts. In this system, sources are cited in numbered footnotes or endnotes. Each note corresponds to a raised (superscript) number in the text. Sources are also usually listed in a separate bibliography. The notes and bibliography system can accommodate a wide variety of sources, including unusual ones that don’t fit neatly into the author-date system.

The author-date system is more common in the sciences and social sciences. In this system, sources are briefly cited in the text, usually in parentheses, by author’s last name and year of publication. Each in-text citation matches up with an entry in a reference list, where full bibliographic information is provided.

Aside from the use of numbered notes versus parenthetical references in the text, the two systems share a similar style. Follow the links at the top of this page to see examples of some of the more common source types cited in both systems.

Most authors choose the system used by others in their field or required by their publisher. Students who are unsure of which system to use will find more information here .

For a more comprehensive look at Chicago’s two systems of source citation and many more examples, see chapters 14 and 15 of The Chicago Manual of Style.

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MyBib is a free bibliography and citation generator that makes accurate citations for you to copy straight into your academic assignments and papers.

If you're a student, academic, or teacher, and you're tired of the other bibliography and citation tools out there, then you're going to love MyBib. MyBib creates accurate citations automatically for books, journals, websites, and videos just by searching for a title or identifier (such as a URL or ISBN).

Plus, we're using the same citation formatting engine as professional-grade reference managers such as Zotero and Mendeley, so you can be sure our bibliographies are perfectly accurate in over 9,000 styles -- including APA 6 & 7, Chicago, Harvard, and MLA 7 & 8.

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Easybib® guides & resources, mla format guide.

This is the total package when it comes to MLA format. Our easy to read guides come complete with examples and step-by-step instructions to format your full and in-text citations, paper, and works cited in MLA style. There’s even information on annotated bibliographies.

Works Cited | In-Text Citations | Bibliography | Annotated Bibliography | Website | Book | Journal | YouTube | View all MLA Citation Examples

APA Format Guide

Get the facts on citing and writing in APA format with our comprehensive guides. Formatting instructions, in-text citation and reference examples, and sample papers provide you with the tools you need to style your paper in APA.

Reference Page | In-Text Citations | Annotated Bibliography | Website | Books | Journal | YouTube | View all APA citation Examples

Chicago Format Guide

Looking to format your paper in Chicago style and not sure where to start? Our guide provides everything you need! Learn the basics and fundamentals to creating references and footnotes in Chicago format. With numerous examples and visuals, you’ll be citing in Chicago style in no time.

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Harvard Referencing Guide

Learn the requirements to properly reference your paper in Harvard style. The guides we have provide the basics and fundamentals to give credit to the sources used in your work.

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Cite a Website in Chicago

Don't let plagiarism errors spoil your paper, consider your source's credibility. ask these questions:, contributor/author.

• Has the author written several articles on the topic, and do they have the credentials to be an expert in their field?
• Can you contact them? Do they have social media profiles?
• Have other credible individuals referenced this source or author?
• Book: What have reviews said about it?
• What do you know about the publisher/sponsor? Are they well-respected?
• Do they take responsibility for the content? Are they selective about what they publish?
• Take a look at their other content. Do these other articles generally appear credible?
• Does the author or the organization have a bias? Does bias make sense in relation to your argument?
• Is the purpose of the content to inform, entertain, or to spread an agenda? Is there commercial intent?
• Are there ads?
• When was the source published or updated? Is there a date shown?
• Does the publication date make sense in relation to the information presented to your argument?
• Does the source even have a date?
• Was it reproduced? If so, from where?
• If it was reproduced, was it done so with permission? Copyright/disclaimer included?
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What is the Chicago Style Citation?

Chicago citations are used by students, writers and researchers worldwide to acknowledge the use of other people’s words and ideas in their written work, thereby lending credibility to their statements and conclusions without committing plagiarism.

The Chicago Manual of Style (Seventeenth Edition) outlines two basic documentation systems:

• Notes-Bibliography System (NB) is made up of footnotes or endnotes (or both), and a bibliography
• Author-Date System consists of parenthetical author-date citations and a corresponding reference list including full publication information

Chicago style offers academic writers the choice between these two formats; choosing which system you are going to apply to your work will depend on your discipline and the type of sources you are citing. If you are unsure which system you should be using, make sure you consult your tutor before you begin.

This guide is not officially associated with the citation style, but it will give you a good overview of the rules and format. So read on to see how both Chicago variants work.

The notes and bibliography system is primarily used in the humanities – including literature, history, and the arts – because it is a flexible style that accommodates unusual source types and opens up space for commentary on the sources cited. A superscript number at the end of the sentence signals to the reader that a source has been used, and summary details of the source can be found using the numbered footnote at the bottom of the page. Full details of the source information can be located in the bibliography, which is presented at the end of the essay in alphabetical order by author. Read more about creating footnotes.

The Chicago style citation also has an author-date variant, which is commonly used by those in the physical, natural, and social sciences. Sources are briefly cited in the text and enclosed within parentheses. Each parenthetical citation includes the author’s last name, date of publication, and page number(s), and is keyed to a corresponding citation in a complete list of references, where full bibliographic information is provided.

Whether you are using the notes and bibliography system or the author-date style in your work, the Cite This For Me citing tool will generate your citations. Simply log in to your account, or create one, and select this style’s 17th edition from the list of options!

Popular Chicago Citation Examples

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• Image online or video
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• Video, film, or DVD

Cite This For Me Chicago Citation Generator

Our mission at Cite This For Me is to educate students in the benefits of utilizing multiple sources in their written work and the importance of accurately citing all source material. This guide has been written to support students, writers and researchers by offering clear, well-considered advice on the usage of Chicago citations.

We understand that it is easy to inadvertently plagiarize your work under the mounting pressure of expectation and deadlines. That’s why we’ve created this citation generator to automate the citing process, allowing you to save valuable time transcribing and organizing your citations. So, rather than starting from scratch when your essay, article, or research is due, save yourself the legwork with our citation generator . It’s a quick and easy way to cite nearly any source.

There are thousands of other citation styles out there – the use of which one varies according to scholarly discipline, college requirements, your professor’s preference or the publication you are writing for. Sign up to Cite This For Me to select from over 7,000+ styles, including college variations of each.

If you are looking to cite your work using MLA formatting , or your discipline requires you to use the APA citation style, you’ll find the style you need on the Cite This For Me website. As well as the Chicago citation generator above, Cite This For Me provides generators and style guides for styles such as ASA and IEEE . You can find these styles by going to the Cite This For Me website and clicking on the “Choose style) icon. Whichever style you’re using, make sure that you apply the recommended method consistently throughout your work.

Keep reading our comprehensive guide for practical advice and examples that will help you create your citations with ease. If you need further information or examples, consult the official manual (17th ed.).

How Do I Create and Format Chicago Style Citations?

While the Cite This For Me generator certainly helps with citation accuracy, whether you are writing a college assignment or preparing a research project, you are encouraged to review your citations manually for consistency, accuracy and completeness according to this guide.

I. Notes-Bibliography System

• Formatting a footnote

Rather than a parenthetical Chicago style citation, you should insert a footnote to acknowledge your source material. Whenever you cite a source, whether it is using a direct quote, paraphrasing another author’s words, or simply referring to an idea or theory, you should:

• Here is an example 1
• Here is an example. 1
• Each number must correspond to a matching number at the foot of the page – while note numbers in-text are set as superscript numbers, the notes themselves are full size
• A footnote generally lists the author (first name first), title, and facts of publication (enclosed in parentheses), in that order – each should be separated by commas. Titles are capitalized, titles of books and journals are italicized, titles of smaller works (e.g., chapters or articles) are presented in roman and enclosed in double quotation marks
• A footnote, or Chicago style citation, should always end with a period
• Notes should be separated from the main body of text with a typed line 1 ½ inches long
• Notes are single-spaced, and the first line of each footnote is indented two spaces from the page margin. Double-space between each note
• editor/edited by/ edition (ed/eds.)
• translator/translated by (trans.)
• volume (vol.)
• chapter (chap.)
• no date (n.d), part (pt.)
• others (et al.)
• revised/revised by/revision/review (rev.)

Read more about formatting your footnotes here . You can also consult sections 14.24-14.60 of the CMOS for more detailed information on notes.

• Formatting a shortened note

While the first Chicago style citation for each source should include all relevant bibliographic information, if you cite the same source again you can use a shortened form of the note.

• The short form need only include enough information to remind your reader of the full title, or to direct them to the appropriate entry in the bibliography
• Include the surname of the author, a shortened form of the title of the work cited (if more than four words), and page number(s) in the Chicago citation
• If a work has two or three authors, cite in full the first time and subsequently give the last name of each; for more than three, the surname of the first author followed by et al.
• 2. Hemingway, Old Man , 16.
• 3. Hemingway, 16
• 4. Hemingway, 25.
• Citing one source multiple times in the same paragraph? You can cite it parenthetically in-text – e.g., (Hemingway, 16).

Sections 14.29-14.36 of the CMOS contain more information on shortened notes.

Formatting an endnote

If you are drawing on multiple sources, a page cluttered with footnotes can overwhelm your reader. While readers of scholarly works generally prefer footnotes for ease of reference, endnotes are less intrusive and will not interrupt the flow of your work. You should judge for yourself whether footnotes or endnotes would best compliment your assignment, and then use the Cite This For Me Chicago citation generator to create them for you.

• While footnotes are added at the end of the page on which the source is cited, endnotes will be compiled at the end of each chapter or at the end of the entire work (this usually depends on the length of your work)
• Notes should be numbered consecutively (beginning with number 1) throughout each chapter or article
• At the end of the chapter, list the endnotes under the heading ‘Notes’
• You must include all of the bibliographic information in the bibliography, at the end of the paper.

I. Author-Date System

If you are using the author-date system to format your Chicago style citations, you must indicate each source with a brief parenthetical citation:

• Include the last name of author and the year of publication in parentheses, with each element separated by a comma. Include a page number if you are quoting a particular section of a source
• Position the parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence referring to the source, and place just inside a mark of punctuation – unless it is a block quotation , in which case it is placed outside the punctuation
• Where the author’s name appears in the text, you don’t need to repeat it in the Chicago citation
• e.g., (Schonen et al. 2009)
• Compile a list of all source material in a reference list at the end of your assignment

Chapter 15 of the CMOS is devoted to the author-date reference system.

Recent revisions to the format have allowed for a certain degree of flexibility. For instance, you may prefer to use a combination of footnotes and parenthetical author-date citations (especially if you have an excess of notes) – you could use author-date citations to indicate sources within the text, and numbered footnotes or endnotes to add comments.

Why not give the Cite This For Me web tool a try? Save yourself the bother of formatting each Chicago style citation by hand, and have the whole thing done using our automated technology. Simply search for the author or title of the book you want to cite and leave the rest to us.

Creating My Bibliography and Reference List

Each citation in the body of your written work should be directly keyed to a bibliography or reference list entry. Compiling a full list of all the source material that has contributed to your research and writing process is the perfect opportunity to show your reader the effort you have gone to in researching your chosen topic, ensuring that you get the grade you deserve.

Have you been wondering how to organize all of your formatted Chicago style citations in a comprehensive list? Well look no further, because here’s the lowdown on how to structure your bibliography and you can always find more in sections 14.61-14.71 of the CMOS:

• Arrange sources alphabetically by author’s last name (if no author or editor is listed then by the title or keyword that readers are most likely to seek)
• Usually titled ‘Bibliography’, and placed at the end of your work but preceding the index
• A full bibliography will include all relevant sources that provided further reading, even if they were not directly cited in your work – check with your tutor whether or not this is necessary
• Each bibliographic entry should include: author name (last name first, separating last and first name with a comma), title of work (italicized, titles of articles and chapters etc. enclosed in quotation marks instead), publication information (publisher name, location, year of publication – not enclosed in parentheses)
• All the main elements in the Chicago citation are separated by periods rather than commas
• Terms such as editor, edition, translator, volume are abbreviated, but edited by, translated by must be spelled out in the bibliography
• Do not include specific page numbers, but for easier location of chapters or journal articles, include the beginning and ending page numbers of the whole chapter or article
• Go here to find more information on accurately compiling a bibliography

II. Author-Date System

If you are adopting the author-date variant of the style, read the above list for a guide on how to compile your reference list. CMOS sections 15.10-15.20 will also be able to give you more guidance on the nuances of the author-date reference list. There are two basic differences from the notes-bibliography system:

• Instead of a bibliography your list should be titled ‘References’ or ‘Literature Cited’
• The year of publication comes directly after the author’s name – this facilitates the easy lookup of reference list entries because it copies the format of the in-text citation

Are you spending too much time on completing your Chicago style footnotes or bibliography? The Cite This For Me Chicago citation generator is here to take a weight off your mind. Sign up to Cite This For Me to save and export your completed bibliography.

Chicago Format Examples (17th Edition)

Carefully follow these examples when compiling and formatting both your in-text citations and bibliography in order to avoid losing marks for citing incorrectly.

Each example in this section includes a numbered footnote, a shortened form of the note, and a corresponding bibliography entry.

Book with single author or editor:

• Full Chicago style citation in a footnote:

5. Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (New York: Penguin, 2006), 99-100.

• Shortened citation in a footnote:

5. Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma , 3.

• Bibliography entry:

Pollan, Michael, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals . New York: Penguin, 2006.

Book with multiple authors:

For a book with two authors, note that only the first-listed name is inverted in the bibliography entry.

3. Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns, The War: An Intimate History, 1941–1945 (New York: Knopf, 2007), 52.

3. Ward and Burns, War , 52.

Ward, Geoffrey C., and Ken Burns. The War: An Intimate History, 1941–1945 . New York: Knopf, 2007.

Print journal article:

• Full Chicago citation in a footnote:

89. Walter Blair, “Americanized Comic Braggarts,” Critical Inquiry 4, no. 2 (1977): 331-32.

89. Blair, “Americanized Comic Braggarts,” 335.

Blair, Walter. “Americanized Comic Braggarts.” Critical Inquiry 4, no. 2 (1977): 331-49.

Online journal article:

When citing electronic sources consulted online, the style manual recommends including an electronic resource identifier, where possible, to lead your reader directly to the source.

A URL is a uniform resource locator, which directs the reader straight to the online source. When using a URL, simply copy the address from your browser’s address bar when viewing the article. You must include the source’s full publication information as well.

12. Wilfried Karmaus and John F. Riebow, “Storage of Serum in Plastic and Glass Containers May Alter the Serum Concentration of Polychlorinated Biphenyls,” Environmental Health Perspectives 112 no. 6 (May 2004): 645, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3435987.

12. Karmaus and Riebow, “Storage of Serum,” 645.

Karmaus, Wilfried, and John F. Riebow. “Storage of Serum in Plastic and Glass Containers May Alter the Serum Concentration of Polychlorinated Biphenyls.” Environmental Health Perspectives 112, no. 6 (May 2004): 643-647. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3435987.

A DOI is a digital object identifier; a unique and permanent name assigned to a piece of intellectual property, such as a journal article, in any medium in which it is published. If it is available, a DOI is preferable to a URL.

3. William J. Novak, “The Myth of the ‘Weak’ American State,” American Historical Review 113, no. 3 (June 2008): 758, https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr.113.3.752.

3. Novak, “Myth,” 770.

Novak, William J. “The Myth of the ‘Weak’ American State.” American Historical Review 113, no. 3 (June 2008): 752-72. https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr.113.3.752.

5. Kathy Ishizuka, “Steal this Infographic: Librarians as Tech Leaders,” The Digital Shift, Library Journal, December 10, 2013, http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2013/12/k-12/steal-infographic/.

5. Ishizuka “Steal this Infographic.”

• Bibliography Chicago style entry:

Ishizuka, Kathy. “Steal this Infographic: Librarians as Tech Leaders.” The Digital Shift, Library Journal. December 10, 2013. http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2013/12/k-12/steal-infographic/.

The Cite This for Me Chicago style citation maker places each period, comma, and quotation mark where it belongs. Head to to the top of this page to create your references with ease!

II. Author-Date System:

Each example in this section includes a Chicago in-text citation and a corresponding reference list entry.

Article with single author or editor, author mentioned in text:

• In-text citation:

Here we empirically demonstrate that workers’ and regulatory agents’ understandings of discrimination and legality emerge not only in the shadow of the law but also, as Albiston (2005) suggests…

• Reference list entry:

Albiston, Catherine R. 2005. “Bargaining in the Shadow of Social Institutions: Competing Discourses and Social Change in the Workplace Mobilization of Civil Rights.” Law and Society Review 39 no. 1 (March 2001): 11-47.

Article with multiple authors, author not mentioned in text:

• Chicago in-text citation:

As legal observers point out, much dispute resolution transpires outside the courtroom but in the “shadow of the law” (Mnookin and Kornhauser 1979, 956)…

Mnookin, Robert, and Lewis Kornhauser. 1979. “Bargaining in the Shadow of the Law: The Case of Divorce.” Yale Law Journal 88, no. 5 (April 1979): 950-97.

*For a work with four or more authors, include all the authors in the Chicago style bibliography. However, in the in-text citation you need only cite the last name of the first-listed author, followed by et al. (e.g., Barnes et al. 2008, 118-19)

• In the text:

(Ishizuka 2013)

Ishizuka, Kathy. 2013. “Steal this Infographic: Librarians as Tech Leaders.” The Digital Shift, Library Journal. http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2013/12/k-12/steal-infographic/.

For more examples, see chapters 14 and 15 of the Chicago style citation handbook (17th Edition), or find more information available here .

A Brief History of the Style

The Chicago format dates back to 1891 when the Univ. of Chic. Press opened. The Press housed typesetters and compositors who were working on setting and deciphering complicated scientific material in fonts such as Hebrew and Ethiopic. A style sheet was devised with the aim of maintaining consistency throughout the typesetting process; from the typesetter, to the compositor, to the proofreader.

Over the years the ‘University Press stylebook and style sheet’ developed into a pamphlet used by the entire college community, before becoming a 200-page book in 1906. This was the first edition of the Manual . The thousand-page 17th edition provides authors, editors, publishers, copywriters and proofreaders across the globe with the authoritative text on Chicago style citations.

Chicago citation style is continually evolving, with each edition undergoing revisions that reflect technological developments. For instance, the publication of the 13th edition in 1982 addressed the use of personal computers and word processors for the first time. When the World Wide Web became a global phenomenon in the 1990s, the very nature of research and communication shifted dramatically. The style’s editorial staff tackled this development by releasing a comprehensive 15th edition (2003) that incorporated the role of computer technology in the publishing industry by providing guidance on citing electronic sources.

The 16th edition of the manual (2010) was the first edition to be published both in hardcover and online. The manual reflects the changes undergone by the publishing industry in response to the digital age, and the subsequent evolution in the way in which authors and publishers work. It addresses a diverse range of source types that define academic publishing today; from URLs and DOIs to ebooks, Instagram and foreign languages, and provides comprehensive examples that illustrate how to cite online and digital sources.

The 16th edition also revamped the Chicago style citation system in order to move towards a more uniform style that closes the gap between the Notes-Bibliography and Author-Date systems. By recommending a single approach to each stylistic matter, rather than a myriad of confusing options and exceptions to the rule, the style offers efficient and logical solutions to the sometimes-complex citing process.

The 17th edition, released in 2017, is the latest edition. It includes minor changes, expansions on topics, and new referencing structures. It is no longer recommended to use the abbreviation ibid. (which is latin for “in the same place”) to mark repetitive references. Instead, shortened references, such as the ones in the examples towards the top of this page, are preferred. Furthermore, the website and blog sections were expanded to display additional examples and scenarios. Finally, structures and examples for numerous social media platforms and other online resources were added into the official manual.

Why is Citing Important?

Plagiarism occurs when a writer does not properly credit their source material; stealing the ideas or words of another and passing them off as one’s own is literary theft. Failure to acknowledge the sources upon which you’ve built your work is a breach of academic integrity, and this can result in a failed grade, expulsion from college or even legal action from the original author. The proper use of a referencing system, such as the Chicago format, protects writers from committing plagiarism and being accused of plagiarizing their work.

Both courtesy and copyright laws require you to identify the following in your work:

• Where you directly quote another author’s words
• Where you paraphrase or summarize another author’s words or ideas
• Where you include information, facts or ideas that are not generally known or easily checked

As a general rule, you must highlight any borrowed source material that might appear to be your own if it is not cited correctly. When in doubt, remember that it is much better to over-cite your work than under-cite.

It is important to bear in mind, however, that simply citing your sources does not keep your paper free from plagiarism. Plagiarism can occur if you use an exact quote but do not identify the exact quote as such with quotation marks even if you do cite it. Additionally, if you paraphrase a source but just change a few words here and there instead of making it your own, you could be committing plagiarism even with a citation. For more information on incorporating the work of others into your paper, the CMOS offers some helpful guidelines in sections 13.1-13.6.

The importance of attributing your research goes beyond avoiding plagiarism, and while it may seem like a tedious process, attributing and documenting your sources is an essential practice for all academic writers. The use of accurate Chicago style citations help to validate your work by demonstrating that you have thoroughly researched your chosen subject and found a variety of scholarly opinions and ideas to support, or challenge, your thesis. As an academic writer, your written work is a chance to engage in conversation with the scholars that you are citing by placing your own ideas in the context of the larger intellectual conversation about your topic. In correctly using citations, you also lead your reader directly to the sources you have consulted, thereby enabling them to form their own views on your opinions and appreciate your contribution to the topic.

Here at Cite This For Me we know that citing can be an arduous and time-consuming process. Luckily for you, you can work more efficiently – and avoid being marked down for plagiarism – by citing your sources using the Cite This For Me Chicago style citation generator.

How Do I Know What Types of Sources I Should be Citing?

As you research and write your paper, you will come across all types of material. It is important to know what kinds of sources are appropriate for research papers and what types are not as you begin to write and cite the material you are building your research on. There are three kinds of sources that you will come across as you delve into your research topic:

• reference (sometimes called tertiary)

Each type of source has a different role to play in the research and writing process.

When you first begin to write, you will often have a broad topic or research question in mind. This is the perfect time to use reference sources to begin to understand the basics surrounding your topic and the current research on it.

Reference sources include those that summarize information about topics. You might read some pages on Wikipedia, check out an encyclopedia entry on your topic, look at a specialized dictionary entry (e.g., a literary or philosophical dictionary), or even read news articles that provide a concise overview of the topic at hand. These sources will help you to understand your topic broadly, but generally are not sources considered acceptable to cite in scholarly work. They are, however, excellent starting points and may point you to important and relevant scholarly literature you should read.

Primary Sources

An important part of research is finding and analyzing primary sources , or sources that provide original material about your given topic or question. What is considered to be a primary source will vary significantly depending on your field of research and the time period about which you are writing.

For example, if you are writing about Renaissance literature, a text by Shakespeare might be one of your primary sources. If you are studying Renaissance history, you might be looking at letters written during that time in an archive or published critical edition. If you are looking at modern current events, social media posts revealing reactions to these events or posting videos of the events might be your primary source. For social sciences, data collected through surveys might be your primary source. Primary sources provide the evidence for the argument you are going to make in your paper.

Secondary Sources/

Secondary sources are sources that are aimed at scholars, well-researched, and generally based on primary sources. these are sources you will engage frequently in your research as they help to show your readers that you are informed on the topic, know what the current field of research looks like, and that you have considered multiple viewpoints on the topic before taking your stance. secondary sources include scholarly books, journal articles, published reports, and other similar types of material..

Cite This For Me can help you handle citations for all of these types of sources.

How Do I Accurately Cite My Sources with Cite This For Me?

Are you battling to get your Chicago citations finished in time? Feeling the pressure of imminent deadlines? Remove the pain of citations with the Cite This For Me accurate citation generator.

Cite This For Me is committed to educating academic writers across the globe in the art of accurate citing. We believe it is essential that you equip yourself with the knowledge of why you need to use a referencing system, how best to insert citations in the main body of your assignment, and how to accurately compile a bibliography. At first, referencing may seem like a waste of time when you would much rather be focusing on the actual content of your work, but after reading this extensive Chicago style citation guide we hope that you will see referencing as a valuable, lifelong skill that is worth honing.

Our multi-platform tool is designed to fulfill all of your referencing needs – whether you’re working at home, in the library, or on-the-go, Cite This For Me will help to transform the way that you carry out your research.

Sign up for free now to add and edit your citations on the spot, import and export full projects or individual entries, make use of our add-ons and save your work in the cloud. Or step it up a notch with our browser extension Cite This For Me for Chrome – work smarter by citing web pages, articles, books and videos directly from your browser whilst you research online.

Stand on the shoulders of giants by accurately citing your source material using the Cite This For Me fast, accessible and free Chicago citation generator.

Sign up to Cite This For Me – the ultimate citation management tool.

Published January 8, 2016. Updated June 5, 2020.

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