In-Text Citations
Chicago-style citations include a reference within the text itself and a bibliography at the end of the paper. The Chicago Manual of Style suggests two ways of citing sources in the text. The most commonly used Chicago format is the endnote or footnote. When you use endnotes, you insert a number in part of your paper that you want to cite and then list all the notes on a separate page at the end of your document. When you use footnotes, you insert a number in the part of your paper that you want to cite and then include the note at the bottom of the page.
To indicate the part of your text that corresponds with the note, you should use a superscript like the one at the end of this sentence after the text you want to cite.1 If you use Google docs or Word, you can generate the number and a corresponding footnote by choosing footnote from the “insert” menu. The first line of footnote text should be indented; subsequent lines should not be. Here’s a link to some examples of footnotes.
Chicago also provides a format for parenthetical author-date style citations. This section of the Harvard Guide to Using Sources provides an overview of the endnote/footnote style citations only. For information about the Chicago author-date style of citations, you should consult the Chicago Manual of Style through the Harvard library system.
Endnote or footnote style citations
Footnotes or endnotes include the author, title, and other relevant information, separated by commas. Here’s a list of relevant information that can be included in either footnotes or endnotes:
- Author
- Title
- Editor, compiler, or translator
- Edition
- Volume
- Series title
- City, publisher, date
- Page numbers
- DOI or URL
The Chicago Manual of Style provides examples of how to create notes and bibliography entries for different types of sources. To find out how to cite a particular source, search the table of contents to find examples and guidance.
While CMOS provides a format for both complete citations and shortened citations, they recommend that you use the shortened citation version as long as you are including a bibliography with complete citation information at the end of your paper. If you have questions about whether to provide complete notes or shortened notes, ask your instructor.
What about Ibid?
You may have learned that when you cite the same source more than once in a row in Chicago style, you should note subsequent uses of that source with ibid., which comes from the Latin word for “in the same place,” ibidem. The latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style recommends using shortened versions of the author, title, page citation instead of ibid. in these cases. The Chicago team explains the reasons for this change on their Shop Talk blog.