CHICAGO MANUAL OF

STYLE REFERENCING
FORMAT
THE CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE (CMOS)

Covers a variety of topics from manuscript preparation and publication to grammar,

usage, and documentation, and as such, it has been lovingly dubbed the
“editor's bible.”
NOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY (NB) IN CHICAGO
STYLE
The Chicago Notes and Bibliography (NB) system is often used in the humanities to
provide writers with a system for referencing their sources through the use of
footnotes, endnotes, and through the use of a bibliography. This offers writers a
flexible option for citation and provides an outlet for commenting on those sources,
if needed.
Proper use of the Notes and Bibliography system builds a writer’s credibility by demonstrating
their accountability to source material. In addition, it can protect writers from accusations of
plagiarism, which is the intentional or accidental uncredited use of source material created by
others.
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR REFERENCING

 Label the first page of your back matter, your comprehensive list of sources,
“Bibliography” (for Notes and Bibliography style) or “References”
 Leave two blank lines between “Bibliography” or “References” and your first entry.
 Leave one blank line between remaining entries.
 List entries in letter-by-letter alphabetical order according to the first word in each entry,
be that the author's name or the title of the piece.

• Use “and,” not an ampersand, “&,” for multi-author entries.

o For two to three authors, write out all names.
o For four to ten authors, write out all names in the bibliography but only the first author’s
name plus “et al.” in notes and parenthetical citations.
o When a source has no identifiable author, cite it by its title, both on the references page and
in shortened form (up to four keywords from that title) in parenthetical citations throughout
the text.
o Write out publishers’ names in full.
o Do not use access dates unless publication dates are unavailable.
o If you cannot ascertain the publication date of a printed work, use the abbreviation “n.d.”
o Provide DOIs instead of URLs whenever possible.
o If no DOI is available, provide a URL.
o If you cannot name a specific page number when called for, you have other options: section
(sec.), equation (eq.), volume (vol.), or note (n.).
BOOKS

• Footnote or endnote (N):

First name Last name, Title of Book (Place of publication: Publisher, Year of
publication), page number.
• Corresponding bibliographical entry (B):
Last name, First name. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, Year of
publication.
BOOK BY ONE AUTHOR

Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. New York: Viking Press, 1958.
BOOK BY MULTIPLE AUTHORS

Lash, Scott, and John Urry. Economies of Signs & Space. London: Sage
Publications, 1994.
TRANSLATED WORK WITH ONE AUTHOR

Cortázar, Julio. Hopscotch. Translated by Gregory Rabassa. New York: Pantheon

Books, 1966.
BOOK WITH AUTHOR AND EDITOR

Tylor, Edward B. Researches into the Early Development of Mankind and the
Development of Civilization. Edited by Paul Bohannan. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1964.
CHAPTER FROM A SINGLE-AUTHORED BOOK

Anzaldúa, Gloria. “How to Tame a Wild Tongue.” In Borderlands: The New Mestiza
– La Frontera, 53–64. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Book Company, 1987.
SELF-PUBLISHED OR PRIVATELY PUBLISHED
BOOKS
Long, Kathleen. Chasing Rainbows: A Novel. Self-published, CreateSpace, 2011.
PERIODICALS

• Periodicals include print journals, electronic journals, magazines, and

newspapers. Citations for these sources should include enough information for
the reader to find them in a library or a database, and as such, publication dates
are essential. Magazines and newspapers are typically serialized by day, month,
and year; journals include volume, year, month, or season and issue number.
JOURNALS

MacDonald, Susan Peck. “The Erasure of Language.” College Composition and

Communication 58, no. 4 (2007): 585-625.
ELECTRONIC JOURNALS

Bent, Henry E. "Professionalization of the Ph.D. Degree.” College Composition and

Communication 58, no. 4 (2007): 0-145. Accessed December 4, 2017.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1978286.
MAGAZINES

Macel, Emily. “Beijing’s Modern Movement.” Dance Magazine, February 2009.

ONLINE MAGAZINES

YoungSmith, Barron. "Date Local: The case against long-distance

relationships." Green Room. February 4, 2009.
http://www.slate.com/id/2202431/.
WEB SOURCES

• Footnote or Endnote (N):

Firstname Lastname, “Title of Web Page,” Name of Website, Publishing
Organization, publication or revision date if available, access date if no other date is
available, URL.
• Corresponding Bibliographical Entry (B):
Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Web Page.” Name of Website. Publishing
organization, publication or revision date if available. Access date if no other date is
available. URL .
ELECTRONIC BOOKS AND BOOKS CONSULTED
ONLINE
Davidson, Donald, Essays on Actions and Events. Oxford: Clarendon, 2001.
https://bibliotecamathom.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/essays-on-actions-
and-events.pdf.
WEB PAGE WITH KNOWN AUTHOR AND DATE

Heck, Richard Kimberly. “About the Philosophical Gourmet Report.” Last modified
August 5, 2016. http://rgheck.frege.org/philosophy/aboutpgr.php.
WEB PAGE WITH KNOWN DATE BUT WITHOUT
KNOWN AUTHOR
"Illinois Governor Wants to 'Fumigate' State's Government.” CNN online. January
30, 2009.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/30/illinois.governor.quinn/.
WEB PAGE WITH UNKNOWN PUBLICATION
DATE AND AUTHOR
“Band.” Casa de Calexico. Accessed October 27, 2017.
http://www.casadecalexico.com/band.
SOCIAL MEDIA

• N:
Firstname Lastname (Screen name), “Post text”, social media service, indication of
format/medium, publication date, time stamp, URL
• B:
Lastname, Firstname (Screen name). “Post text”. Social media service, indication of
format/medium, publication date, time stamp. URL.
Nye, Bill (@BillNye). “While I’m not much for skipping school, I sure am in favor of
calling attention to the seriousness of climate change. Our students can see
the problem….” Twitter, March 14, 2019.
https://twitter.com/BillNye/status/1106242216123486209
ONLINE MULTIMEDIA
(VIDEOS, SONGS, AUDIOVISUAL RECORDINGS
AND OTHER MULTIMEDIA)
• N:
Firstname Lastname of Creator, Title of Work, additional contributors, publishing
organization, publication date, indication of format/medium, running time, URL.
• B:
Lastname, Firstname of Creator. Title of Work. Additional contributors. Publishing
organization. Publication date. Indication of format/medium, running time. URL.
ONLINE VIDEO

Ortega, Alejandra. “Grammar: Active and Passive Voice.” Purdue OWL. February 1,
2019. Video, 4:22. http://youtu.be/GEP-8lFTKKg.
ONLINE PICTURES

Author last name, First name. Image Title. Format description. Website Name.
Date of publication. URL.

Cheng, Minder. Double-Crested Cormorant. Photograph. Flickr. March 21, 2021.

https://flic.kr/p/2kQcKZ3.
Thank you