Chicago Style Citations (CMOS)
Any time you reference an information source in your paper, you must cite your work according to the CMOS Notes-Bibliography guidelines.
Citing Sources in Chicago Style
Chicago style requires sources to be cited differently than in APA and MLA. Chicago style uses footnotes within the paper itself to cite sources.
There are two parts to Chicago Style citations:
- Footnotes (within the paper itself- (like an in-text citation in MLA)
- Bibliography (full citations at the end of the paper- (like the Works Cited page in MLA)
In order to be correctly citing your sources, you have to make sure to include both footnotes and bibliographic entries.
Footnotes/Endnotes
Footnotes/Endnotes
Unlike MLA and APA, Chicago uses notes for in-text documentation.
- numbered notes that use a number in superscript to refer the reader to the citation in the note itself
- Include a note every time you use a source, whether paraphrasing, summarizing, or directly quoting.
- The first note referring to a source must include the full note style. Any note after the first can follow the subsequent note format.
What is the difference between Footnotes and Endnotes?
Both Footnotes and Endnotes follow the same format. The only difference is where they appear in your paper.
Footnotes will appear at the bottom, or foot, of the page where they are cited in the text.
Endnotes will all be at the end of the paper together, before the bibliography.
Be consistent and use one or the other throughout your paper. Always check with your instructor and paper guidelines to see which note format they prefer.
Formatting Footnotes
You can use the built-in Notes feature in Microsoft Word to help you format your notes.
To insert a note:
- Place your cursor at the end of the sentence that needs citing.
- Go to the References menu
- Click on Insert Footnote
- This will automatically assign the appropriate number in superscript at the end of the sentence and jump you down to the footnote at the bottom of the page.
- Type your footnote as needed based on the examples.
One good thing about using Word's footnote system is that it will automatically update footnote numbers as needed.
Full Note Format
The first time you cite a source in your paper, you need to use the full footnote format, which includes all elements of the citation.
Example:
1 Felix Garfield, "Why Tabbies Have Stripes," Feline Quarterly 3, no. 1 (2022): 25-28. https://doi.org/CAT
Subsequent Note Format
Any additional times that you cite a work that you have already cited in your paper with the full note citation can then be cited using the shortened footnote, or the subsequent note format.
Example:
2 Garfield, "Why Tabbies," 27.
NOTE: You will need to do some slight reformatting to your footnotes to make them fit Chicago Style. Footnotes should be single-spaced (with an empty line separating each footnote) and use a first line indent. Footnotes should also follow first name, last name format for the author. This is reversed in the bibliography citation.
Our document template has already been formatted to Chicago style.
Template for Chicago Style paper
This Word doc is already set up for the notes-bibliography version of Chicago style. Just add content!
Notes & References
The first time you write an in-text citation for a source, it will look like a full-blown reference that would appear on your Bibliography page. That's just how Chicago does it.
The second, third, fourth, etc. times you refer to that same source, you will use a short version of that note, which uses the author's last name, part of the title of the work, and a page number.
To see examples, just browse this guide for your source type. Each example provides a general format (labeling the different elements of the citation) as well as specific examples for a full note, shortened note, and the bibliography entry.
- Citation Quick Guide from CMOS
This page contains extensive examples that illustrate the notes and bibliography style.
