Chicago guidelines, body of paper

Chicago-108

The guidelines in this section are consistent with advice given in The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010), and with typical requirements for student papers.

Font

If your instructor does not require a specific font, choose one that is standard and easy to read (such as Times New Roman).

Title page

Include the full title of your paper, your name, the course title, the instructor’s name, and the date, all centered on the page.

Sample Chicago title page

Page numbers and running head

Using arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, and so on), number the pages in the upper right corner. Do not number the title page but count it in the manuscript numbering; that is, the first page of the text will be numbered 2. Depending on your instructor’s preference, you may also use a short title or your last name before the page numbers to help identify pages.

Margins, line spacing, and paragraph indents

Leave margins of one inch on all sides of the page. Left-align the text.

Double-space the body of the paper, including long quotations that have been set off from the text. Do not add extra space between paragraphs. (See also line spacing in notes and the bibliography.)

Indent the first line of each paragraph one-half inch from the left margin.

Capitalization

Chicago-109

In titles of works, capitalize all words except articles (a, an, the), prepositions (at, from, between, and so on), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet), and to and as—unless the word is first or last in the title or subtitle. Follow these guidelines in your paper even if the title is styled differently in the source.

In the text of a Chicago paper, when a complete sentence follows a colon, lowercase the first word following the colon. When the colon introduces a series of sentences or questions, capitalize the first word in all sentences in the series, including the first.

Italics and quotation marks

Italicize the titles of books, journals, magazines, and other long works. Use quotation marks around the titles of articles, short stories, poems, and other short works. See An entire Web site for use of italics with Web site titles.

Long quotations

Chicago does not have strict rules for handling long quotations. You can choose to set off a long quotation of six to eight typed lines by indenting the entire quotation one-half inch from the left margin. Quotations of more than eight lines are best indented.

Double-space the quotation; do not use quotation marks and do not add extra space above or below it.

Sample indented (block) quotation

Visuals

Chicago classifies visuals as tables and figures (graphs, charts, maps, photographs, and drawings). Keep visuals as simple as possible.

Label each table with an arabic numeral (“Table 1,” “Table 2,” and so on) and provide a clear caption that identifies the table’s subject. The label and the title should appear on separate lines above the table, flush left.

For a table that you have borrowed or adapted, give its source in a note like this one, below the table:

Source: Edna Bonacich and Richard P. Appelbaum, Behind the Label (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000), 145.

Chicago-110

For each figure, place a label and a caption below the figure, flush left. The label and caption need not appear on separate lines. The word “Figure” may be abbreviated to “Fig.”

In the text of your paper, discuss the most significant features of each visual. Place visuals as close as possible to the sentences that relate to them unless your instructor prefers that visuals appear in an appendix.

Headings

Chicago does not provide guidelines for the use of headings in student papers. If you would like to insert headings in a long essay or research paper, check first with your instructor.

Sample visual in a Chicago paper

Chicago paper with headings

Bishop, “The Massacre at Fort Pillow: Holding Nathan Bedford Forrest Accountable”

Directory to sample student writing in Chicago style