The Chicago Manual of Style is one of the most widely used academic writing styles. It’s a versatile method with options to cite both in-text and within notes.
Learn all about the Chicago style citation example below for stress-free paper formatting.
Definition: Chicago style citation example
Chicago style citation consists of two different options:
Notes and bibliography citation
The most common Chicago style citation example is notes and bibliography. It’s favored by the humanities and involves a choice of footnotes or endnotes for references that are backed up with detailed bibliographical information at the end.
Author-date in-text citation1
By comparison, the author-date method is a Chicago style citation example used predominantly in the sciences. This is largely down to the conventions of citation in both respective fields, with humanities tending to gage with a wider range of references.2 The result sees references placed apart from the main text to help an argument’s flow.
Chicago style citation example: Book
Chicago style citation example: Notes and bibliography & author-date
Notes and bibliography formula:
Full note
Author full name, Full Book Title, edition. (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), page numbers, URL.
Short note
Author last name, Shortened Book Title, page number(s).
Bibliography entry
Author last name, first name. Full Book Title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher, Year. URL/DOI.
Author-date formula:
In-text citation | (Author last name Year, page number(s)) |
Reference formula | Author last name, first name. Year. Full Book Title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher. URL/DOI. |
Chicago style citation example: Article/journal
Chicago style citation example: Notes and bibliography & author-date
Notes and bibliography formula:
Full note | Author first name Last name, “Journal Article Title,” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Month or Season Year): Page range. |
Short note | Author last name, “Shortened Title", Page number(s). |
Bibliography entry | Author last name, First name. “Journal Article Title.” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Month or Season Year): Page range. |
Author-date formula:
In-text citation | (Author last name Year, page number(s)). |
Reference formula | Author last name, First name. Year. “Journal Article Title.” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Month or Season): Page range. |
Chicago style citation example: Online journal
Notes and bibliography formula:
Full note | Author first name Last name, “Journal Article Title,” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Month or Season Year): Page range. DOI/URL. |
Short note | Author last name, “Shortened Title,” Page number(s). |
Bibliography entry | Author last name, First name. “Journal Article Title.” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Month or Season Year): Page range. DOI/URL. |
Author-date formula:
In-text citation | (Author last name Year, page number(s)). |
Reference formula | Author last name, First name. Year. “Journal Article Title.” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Month or Season): Page range. DOI/URL. |
Chicago style citation example: Website
Chicago style citation example: Notes and bibliography & author-date
Notes and bibliography formula:
Full note | Author first name last name, “Page Title,” Website Name, Month Day, Year, URL. |
Short note | Author last name, “Shortened Title.” |
Bibliography entry | Author last name, first name. “Page Title.” Website Name. Month Day, Year. URL. |
Author-date formula:
In-text citation | (Author last name Year) |
Reference list | Author last name, first name. Year. “Page Title.” Website Name. Month Day, Year (of publication). URL. |
Website authors and dates
List the author of the web content where possible.
- If no author is listed, begin a full note citation with the name of the page instead.
- For short notes and bibliography entries, use the organization’s name.
- If the organization’s name is the same as the website name, like a newspaper, then do not repeat this title later.
Most web sources should indicate the date of publication. Include whatever information is available for the month day and year. If one of these is missing, simply exclude the individual element. With web sources that are revised either in place of or in addition to the original publication, enter this new date with the words “Last Modified” preceding it.
Chicago style citation example: YouTube video
Chicago style citation example: Notes and bibliography & author-date
Notes and bibliography formula:
Full note | Author first name Last name, “Video Title,” Channel Name/Other Information, Month Day, Year, Format, Video length or Timestamp(s), URL. |
Short note | Author last name, “Shortened Video Title,” Timestamp(s). |
Bibliography entry | Author last name, First name. “Video Title.” Channel Name/Other Information. Month Day, Year. Format, Video length. URL. |
Author-date formula:
In-text citation |
(Author last name Year, Timestamp). |
Reference list |
Author last name, First name. Year. “Video Title.” Channel Name/Other Information. Month Day, Year. Format, Video length. URL. |
FAQs
When you’re quoting or paraphrasing a specific section of a source. You don’t need to include page numbers when referring to general themes/arguments.
If your source has several named authors, include them in your citation. For notes and author-date styles, texts with more than four authors should include the first three names followed by “et al.”.
This depends on the source.
- For online content, include an access date.
- For physical sources, omit the date.
Sources:
1 The Chicago Manual of Style. “Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide.” The University of Chicago. Accessed November 14, 2022.
https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
2 Baker, Simon. “Humanities and social sciences have more ‘supportive’ citations.” Times Higher Education. June 23, 2018. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/humanities-and-social-sciences-have-more-supportive-citations