Citing sources, Chicago style: Overview

Chicago-32

In history and some humanities courses, you may be asked to use the documentation system of The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017).

In Chicago style, the text of the paper contains raised arabic numerals that correspond to numbered notes at the foot of the page or at the end of the paper. When you use Chicago-style notes, you will usually be asked to include a bibliography as well. A bibliography, which appears at the end of your paper, gives publication information for every work you have cited in your notes.

NOTE NUMBER IN TEXT

A Union soldier, Jacob Thompson, claimed to have seen Forrest order the killing, but when asked to describe the six-foot-two general, he called him “a little bit of a man.”13

CORRESPONDING FOOTNOTE OR ENDNOTE

13. Brian Steel Wills, A Battle from the Start: The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest (New York: HarperCollins, 1992), 187.

CORRESPONDING BIBLIOGRAPHY ENTRY

Wills, Brian Steel. A Battle from the Start: The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest. New York: HarperCollins, 1992.

General guidelines for Chicago notes and bibliography

Directory to Chicago notes and bibliography entries

Citation at a glance: Book

Citation at a glance: Article in a journal

Citation at a glance: Article from a database

Citation at a glance: Letter in a published collection

Citation at a glance: Primary source from a website