Chicago Style Guide - 18th edition

The Chicago Manual of Style has two different systems of citation:

• Notes and Bibliography
• Author-Date

Most humanities courses use the notes and bibliography system, while the author-date system is common in the social sciences. If you aren't sure which you should be using, check with your instructor! This guide will focus on the notes and bibliography system.

“Notes” are in-text citations that are located either at the bottom of each page (footnotes) or at the end of the paper (endnotes). Notes are used every time a source is cited and are indicated with a superscript number in the text. The accompanying bibliography at the end of the paper (after any notes) names each source once in an alphabetical list.

Both the citation in the bibliography and the citation in the first note for each source are full citations; however, the formats for these citations are different. There is also a different format for notes that reference a source that has already been cited (shortened note). 

The following PDF from High Library at Elizabethtown College has great information and examples for Chicago Style (18th ed.).  

Notes on Notes

• The first note should always contain a complete citation (example 1 below), subsequent notes may use the abbreviated form (example 2 below).
• Notes should ALWAYS be Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3....) NOT Roman (i, ii, iii...).
• Notes are usually smaller than the text of the paper.
• Notes are single spaced with a space between each note. 
• The first line is indented 1/2 inch. 
• Use hanging indents for each citation in the bibliography.

Example Citations

Print Book

Notes

1. FirstName LastName, Full Title (Publisher, Year), pages cited.

2. LastName, Shortened Title, pages cited.

Bibliography

LastName, FirstName. Title. Publisher, Year.

Journal Article

Notes

1. FirstName LastName, "Full Article Title," Journal volume#, no. issue# (year): pages cited, URL.

2. LastName, "Shortened Article Title," pages cited.

Bibliography

LastName, FirstName. "Title of Article." Journal Title volume#, no. issue# (year): page range. URL.

Webpage with an Organization as the Author

Notes

1. “Page Title,” Website Title, Name of Organization or Sponsor, date of last update/modification or access date, URL.

2. "Shortened Title."

Bibliography

Name of Organization or Sponsor. “Page Title.” Website Title. Date of last update/modification or access date. URL.