CHICAGO STYLE

*To apply Chicago format:

 Use a standard font like 12 pt. Times New Roman.

 Double-space the text.
 Use 1 inch margins or larger.
 Indent new paragraphs by ½ inch.
 Place page numbers in the top right or bottom center.

*Note that any specific formatting advice from your instructor or faculty overrules these
guidelines.

*General formatting

Chicago doesn’t require a specific font or font size, but recommends using something simple
and readable (e.g. 12 pt. Times New Roman). Use margins of at least 1 inch on all sides of the
page.

The main text should be double-spaced, and each new paragraph should begin with a ½ inch
indent. Text should be left-aligned and not “justified” (meaning that the right margin should
look ragged).

Page numbers can be placed either in the top right or the bottom center of the page – one or
the other, not both.
*
Title page

A title page isn’t required in Chicago style – often it’s sufficient to just include your title at
the top of the first page – but if you’re asked to include one, Turabian provides guidelines for
how to present it.

All text on the title page should be center-aligned and double-spaced, and written in the same
font as the rest of your text. The title should appear about ⅓ of the way down the page, in
headline capitalization and in bold.

If you have a subtitle, the main title ends with a colon and the subtitle appears on the
following line, also in bold and the same size as the main title.

About ⅔ of the way down the page, add any information your instructor requests you to
include – your name, student number, the course name and code, the date, etc. Each new piece
of information appears on a new line.

The title page should not have a page number, but should be included in the page count – in
other words, the page numbering starts on page 2.
Headings

Headings should use headline capitalization:

 Summary of Results

If you use different levels of heading (e.g. chapters, sections, subheadings), make sure your
presentation makes clear which type of heading each one is.

All headings of one level should be presented the same way, and higher-level headings should
stand out more from the text. For example, you might use a larger font for chapter headings,
bold for section headings, and italics for subheadings:

Block quotes

Prose quotations of five or more lines (or more than 100 words), as well as poetry quotations
of two or more lines, are presented as block quotes.

Block quotes do not use quotation marks. Instead, a blank line separates them from the
surrounding text on both sides and they are indented by an additional ½ inch. Unlike the rest
of the text, they are not double-spaced.
Numbers and acronyms

Chicago recommends using words, not numerals, for numbers lower than 100. For example,
you would write “ninety-five,” not “95.” But numerals should still be used when you’re
referring to a specific measurement (e.g. “15 cm”) and when using decimals (e.g. “1.5”).

Acronyms should be introduced the first time you refer to the thing they stand for:

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) advocates for…

After this point, you can use the acronym alone.

Neither numerals nor acronyms should be used at the beginning of a sentence. Either rewrite
the sentence so that the numeral or acronym appears elsewhere, or write out the full phrase or
number:

 100 people responded to the survey. (X)

 One hundred people responded to the survey. (CORRECT)
 The survey received 100 responses. (CORRECT)
In-text citations and notes

Chicago provides guidelines for not one but two citation styles: author-date and notes and
bibliography.

In author-date style, citations are placed directly in the text in parentheses. In this style, you
have some flexibility about how exactly to integrate the citation:

*Davis (2016) argues that the theory is “sound.” Other researchers, however, have
contradicted this assessment (Lee et al. 2017; Johnson 2018).

In notes and bibliography style, citations appear in footnotes or endnotes (the format is

identical either way), and the reader is referred to them by superscript numbers in the text.

Footnote and endnote numbers appear at the end of the relevant clause or sentence, after any
punctuation except a dash.

Endnotes appear on their own page just before the bibliography; footnotes appear at the
bottom of each page. Footnotes should be separated from the text by a short rule and be
presented in the same font size as the main text, or smaller. Word’s footnote function
automatically creates footnotes like this:

 Author-date: you put your citations in parentheses within the text itself.

Author-date citation example

(Woolf 1921, 11)

 Notes and bibliography: you put your citations in numbered footnotes or endnotes.
Footnote citation example
1. Woolf, “Modern Fiction,” 11.

Bibliography or reference list

At the end of your paper, you’ll likely include a bibliography (for notes and bibliography
style) or a reference list (for author-date).

Bibliographies and reference lists are not double-spaced, but leave a blank line between
entries.

If an entry extends onto a second line, a ½ inch indent should be applied to all but the first
line of the entry.

If you have to create a Chicago style annotated bibliography, follow the same format as a
normal bibliography, but indent and double-space the annotations under each source
reference.
1.What is Turabian style?

Turabian style is a version of Chicago style designed specifically for students and researchers.
It follows most Chicago conventions, but also adds extra guidelines for formatting research
papers, theses and dissertations.

2.What is the difference between a reference list and a bibliography?

*A reference list is used with Chicago author-date citations.

*A bibliography is used with Chicago footnote citations.

Both present the exact same information – the only difference is the placement of the year in
source citations:

*In a reference list entry, the publication year appears directly after the author’s name.

*In a bibliography entry, the year appears near the end of the entry (the exact placement
depends on the source type).

There are also other types of bibliography that work as stand-alone texts, such as an annotated
bibliography.

3.Do I have to include a bibliography or reference list?

In Chicago author-date style, your text must include a reference list. It appears at the end of
your paper and gives full details of every source you cited.

In notes and bibliography style, you use Chicago style footnotes to cite sources; a
bibliography is optional but recommended. If you don’t include one, be sure to use a full
note for the first citation of each source.

4.What is the difference between footnotes and endnotes?

Footnotes appear at the bottom of the relevant page. Endnotes appear in a list at the end of
the text, just before the bibliography.
Chicago note citations follow the exact same format whether they appear in footnotes or
endnotes.

5.Bibliography

Book: Williams, John. Stoner. London: Vintage, 2003.

Book Chapter:

Stewart, Bob. “Wag of the Tail: Reflecting on Pet Ownership.” In Enriching

Our Lives with Animals, edited by John Jaimeson, 220-90. Toronto: Petlove

Press, 2007.

Journal Article:

Andreff, W., and P. D. Staudohar. “The Evolving European Model of

Professional Sports Finance.” Journal of Sports Economics 1, no. 3

(August 2000): 257–276. https://doi.org/10.1177/152700250000100304.

Website:

Scribbr. “Chicago Style Citation.” Accessed June 16, 2020.

 https://www.scribbr.com/category/chicago-style/.

6.Bibliography vs reference list

A reference list is mandatory in Chicago author-date style, where you cite sources in
parentheses in the text. The only differences between a Chicago bibliography and a reference
list are the heading and the placement of the date.

The reference list is headed “References.” In reference list entries, the publication date is
placed immediately after the author’s name. This allows the reader to easily find a reference
on the basis of the corresponding in-text citation.