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Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition

Overview

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) notes and bibliography system is commonly used to cite sources in history and in the field of publishing. This system includes footnotes at the bottom of pages or endnotes before an alphabetized bibliography. To direct readers to endnotes or footnotes, you place a numerical reference in the form of a superscripted number in your paper whenever a source is summarized, paraphrased, quoted or consulted. Without notes, you are technically in danger of plagiarism, even if you have listed your sources at the end of the essay.

Footnotes and endnotes contain identical formatting, and the two approaches differ only in where each type of note is placed in a document. Some instructors may prefer or require one approach over the other, and you should ask if unsure. Footnotes and endnotes are entirely separate from the bibliography. Notes tie particular pieces of discussion within the text to particular pieces of source material. Bibliographies provide a more general list of sources consulted, and most often they are attached to the end of the document. As such, a bibliography alone will most often not satisfy the requirement for citation in a formal essay, paper, or research product. Depending on the assignment, instructors may or may not require a bibliography.

Notes contain essential pieces of identifying information about source material and may appear in two forms: a long form that includes complete publication details or a shorter form that contains only information sufficient to direct readers to a more complete entry in the bibliography or in an earlier note. It's important to understand when to use each form. If a paper or project has no bibliography, the first note referencing a source should be in the long form, providing complete publication information. If a paper does contain a bibliography, notes can appear in shortened form because the bibliography will convey full information.

Formatting Notes and Bibliography

  • You can shorten titles of more than four words for notes in the shortened form.
  • CMS currently recommends using shortened notes on second and subsequent reference rather than using IBID, which was allowed in previous editions of CMS.
  • Notes are numbered and ONLY follow in natural order (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) and should not repeat.
  • Your entries in the bibliography should be in alphabetical order and should NOT be numbered .
  • Numbers in your text should match up with footnotes or endnotes and NOT match up with the entries in your bibliography.
  • Bibliographic entries are single spaced with double spacing between each entry.

Examples

In the following examples, "N" refers to an endnote or footnote and "B" refers to bibliography. For other sample sources, see CMS, chapter 14. References are included here to relevant chapter and section numbers, or for a brief reference guide, visit The Chicago Manual of Style online: www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html.

Common Print Examples

Book (14.100)

N: 1. Axelrod, Political History, 125-126. (short form)

N: 1. Allan Axelrod, Political History of America's Wars (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2007), 125-126. (long form)

B: Axelrod, Alan. Political History of America's Wars. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2007.

Contribution to a Multiauthor Book (14.107)

N: 1. Dubois, "The Haitian Revolution," 284. (short form)

N: 1. Laurent Dubois, "Haitian Revolution," in The Caribbean: A History of the Region and Its Peoples, ed. Stephen Palmie and Francisco A. Scarano (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011), 273-87. (long form)

B: Dubois, Laurent. "Haitian Revolution." In The Caribbean: A History of the Region and Its Peoples, edited by Stephen Palmie and Francisco A. Scarano, 273-87. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011.

Public Document in an Anthology

N: 1. Truman, "Address Before a Joint Session," 233. (short form)

N: Harry S Truman, "President Harry S Truman's Address Before a Joint Session of Congress, March 12, 1947," in American Decades Primary Sources: 1940-1949, ed. Cynthia Rose (New York: Thompson Gale, 2004), 232-35. (long form)

B: Truman, Harry S. "President Harry S Truman's Address Before a Joint Session of Congress, March 12, 1947." In American Decades Primary Sources: 1940-1949, edited by Cynthia Rose, 232-35. New York: Thompson Gale, 2004.

Unpublished Personal Interview (14.211 & 14.213)

Unpublished Interview by Others:

N: 1. Gingrey, interview, June 28, 2012. (short form)

N: 1. John Phillip Gingrey (U.S. House of Representatives, Georgia), interview by Robert L. Lowes, June 28, 2012. (long form)

B: Gingrey, John Phillip. U.S. House of Representatives, Georgia. Interview by Robert L. Lowes. June 28, 2012.

Unpublished Interview Conducted Personally by the Author of a Research Project:

N: 1. Gingrey, interview. (short form)

N: 1. John Phillip Gingrey (U.S. House of Representatives, Georgia), interview by author, June 28, 2012. (long form)

B: Gingrey, John Phillip. U.S. House of Representatives, Georgia. Interview by author. June 28, 2012.

Additional Instructions:

  • Depending on circumstances, it may be essential or unnecessary to include personal interviews in your bibliography.
  • When in doubt, please ask your instructor, and be sure to follow the specific instructions in the assignment you are completing.

Common Web-Based Examples

Journal Article Consulted Online (14.175)

Journal Article with DOI:

N: 1. Mousseau, "Capitalist Development," 475. (short form)

N: 1. Micheal Mousseau, "Capitalist Development and Civil War," International Studies Quarterly 56, no.3 (2012): 471, https://doi.org/10.10861678242. (long form)

B: Mousseau, Micheal. "Capitalist Development and Civil War." International Studies Quarterly 56, no.3 (2012): 470-83. https://doi.org/10.10861678242.

Journal Article with a Stable URL:

N: 1. Zumoff, "Politics and the 1920s," 96. (short form)

N: 1. J.A. Zumoff, "Politics and the 1920s Writings of Dashiell Hammett," American Studies 52, no. 1 (2012): 79, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41809569. (long form)

B: Zumoff, J.A. "Politics and the 1920s Writings of Dashiell Hammett." American Studies 52, no. 1 (2012): 77-98. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41809569.

Journal Article with Access Date:

If your instructor requests a date of access, according to the CMS, the date accessed "should immediately precede the URL...separated from the surrounding citations by commas in a note and periods in a bibliography entry."

N: 1. J.A. Zumoff, "Politics and the 1920s Writings of Dashiell Hammett," American Studies 52, no. 1 (2012): 79, accessed December 2, 2020, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41809569. (long form)

B: Zumoff, J.A. "Politics and the 1920s Writings of Dashiell Hammett." American Studies 52, no. 1 (2012): 77-98. Accessed December 18, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41809569.

Newspaper Article From a Database (14.191 - 14.199)

N: 1. Krock, "Infamous Prelude,"New York Times, November 8, 1942. (short form)

N: Arthur Krock,"Infamous Prelude to Pearl Harbor: The Inside Story of the Kurusu 'Peace Mission,'" New York Times, November 8, 1942, ProQuest. (long form)

B: Krock, Arthur. "Infamous Prelude to Pearl Harbor: The Inside Story of the Kurusu 'Peace Mission.'" New York Times, November 8, 1942. ProQuest.

Website (14.205 - 14.207)

N. Library of Congress, "Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation." (short form)

N: "Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation," Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress, Library of Congress, accessed February 12, 2021, https://www.loc.gov/collections/abraham-lincoln-papers/articles-and-essays/abraham-lincoln-and-emancipation/. (long form)

B: Library of Congress. "Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation." Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress. Accessed February 12, 2021. https://www.loc.gov/collections/abraham-lincoln-papers/articles-and-essays/abraham-lincoln-and-emancipation/.

Additional Instructions for Web Citations:

  • Include (as much as available) author (s), title of page/document, title of site, sponsor of site, publication date or modified date or date of access (if date of publication date or modified date unavailable).
  • Include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI), which represents a permanent link to a source that does not change.
  • If a DOI is not available, then include a uniform resource locator (URL). The URL is your source's web address. Be aware that a URL can change without warning and even disappear.
  • Where appropriate, the name of a database, like ProQuest, may be substituted for the URL.
  • Even when a date of publication or last modification is available, your instructor also may require a date of access.

For information on STLCC's academic integrity policy, check out this website.

Sample Essay

A sample essay in Chicago Style is below. Though the formatting of the essay cannot be replicated exactly on a webpage, you can see the overall content that needs to be included on each page. Please note that the overall formatting would be double spaced, and the notes would be at the end of each page OR at the end of the essay. This essay includes both to show you how to do footnotes and endnotes.

Academic Integrity: A Sample Essay with Footnotes/Endnotes and Bibliography

The University of Virginia, whose student honor code dates from 1842, weathered a plagiarism scandal in May 2001, when 122 students were accused of copying research papers.1 Virginia is not unique. Increasingly, universities are taking a get-tough stance against student plagiarism and cheating. Why? College students are welcomed into a world-wide academic community, one with a collegial atmosphere and high standards of academic integrity. Plagiarism is a serious violation of this integrity.

At St. Louis Community College (STLCC), the Faculty Resource Guide states, "Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. A student who deliberately or unintentionally submits as his or her own work an assignment which is in any or part taken from another person's work, without proper acknowledgement, is guilty of plagiarism."2 However, how can instructors know that students are submitting their own work, not papers bought off the Internet? Researchers make three suggestions: teach students how to research, assign unusual writing topics, and make students use a plagiarism detector. Let's examine these ideas.

First, instructors must actively teach research and documentation. They cannot assume that students have had this training because elementary school students sometimes copy whole articles from encyclopedias verbatim.3 High School and college students often modify this practice and copy whole paragraphs without giving proper credit to sources. Students unfamiliar with research need practice exercises to help them decide what needs citing.4 Such practice is crucial, since research shows that "some students...view almost anything...on the Internet as general knowledge that does not require citation."5 Some STLCC English students must staple copies of sources used to their finished papers; they must also highlight information used so that instructors know they quoted, paraphrased or summarized accurately, without plagiarizing. Instead of just dumping in quotes, students must learn the most basic rule of research: Source material, whether quoted, paraphrased, or summarized, supports a writer's thesis by anticipating a reader's questions and need for proof. Thus, students need this hands-on practice in researching.

1. University of Virginia, "Cheating Scandal."
2. St. Louis Community College, Faculty Resource Guide, 15.
3. Modern Language Association, MLA Handbook, 55.
4. Harris, Using Resources Effectively, 13-14.
5. McCabe and Drinan, "Toward a Culture," B7.

Next, educators like retired English professor Robert Harris challenge instructors to stop assigning the same topics every semester.6 Some instructors have already gotten creative. For example, history students research genealogy and compile their family trees. Psychology students analyze gender stereotypes in color, theme, and sentiment of "Congratulations on Your New Baby" cards. These students must do their own writing -- these quirky topics decrease the chances that students simply buy papers off the Internet.

Finally, educators advocate using plagiarism detectors as a deterrent. These programs "promote originality in student work [and] improve student writing and research skills"7 by flagging suspicious wording so that students can rewrite in their own vocabulary and voice. Instructors want to reach inexperienced writers who plagiarize mistakenly. Teacher John Waltman defines intentional plagiarism as "wholesale copying...with the intention of representing [work] as one's own" and unintentional plagiarism as "careless paraphrasing and citing...such as the improper or misleading credit is given."8 According to Dr. Vicki Ritts, professor of Psychology at STLCC, some student plagiarists exhibit the illusion of invulnerability -- the "other students might get caught, but not me" attitude.9 Lafayette High uses plagiarism detectors "not to hurt students, but rather to teach them,"10 says English teacher Diane Tinucci. Now Meramec instructors use Turnitin to teach unintentional plagiarizers and catch intentional ones.

Inexperienced writers often plagiarize by mistake. Obviously, the penalty varies with the severity of the offense and the writer's intention. In some cases, the unintentional plagiarist might be allowed to revise the paper. The intentional plagiarist may fail the course. Why? Members of the academic community do their work in order to learn; students should as well. Simply put, trying to pass someone else's work off as your own is stealing.

6. Harris, Plagiarism Handbook, 124-125.
7. IParadigms,"Turnitin."
8. Lanthrop and Foss, Student Cheating and Plagiarism, 163.
9. Ritts, interview.
10. Plattner, "Rockwood's New Plagiarism Software," W4.

Notes

1. University of Virginia, "Cheating Scandal."

2. St. Louis Community College, Faculty Resource Guide, 15.

3. Modern Language Association, MLA Handbook, 55.

4. Harris, Using Resources Effectively, 13-14.

5. McCabe and Drinan, "Toward a Culture," B7.

6. Harris, Plagiarism Handbook, 124-125.

7. IParadigms,"Turnitin."

8. Lanthrop and Foss, Student Cheating and Plagiarism, 163.

9. Ritts, interview.

10. Plattner, "Rockwood's New Plagiarism Software," W4.

Bibliography

Harris, Robert A. The Plagiarism Handbook: Strategies for Preventing, Detecting and Dealing with Plagiarism. Los Angeles: Pyrczak, 2001.

Harris, Robert A. Using Sources Effectively: Strengthening Your Writing and Avoiding Plagiarism. Los Angeles: Pyrczak, 2002.

IParadigms. "Turnitin." Last modified October 6, 2013. http://archive.is/NYiOv.

Lathrop, Ann, and Kathleen Foss. Student Cheating and Plagiarism in the Internet Era: A Wake-up Call. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2000.

McCabe, Donald L. and Patrick Drinan. "Toward a Culture of Academic Integrity." Chronicle of Higher Education, 15 Oct. 1999, B7. www.chronicle.com/article/Toward-a-Culture-of-Academic/15639.

Modern Language Association of America. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2009.

Platter, Diane. "Rockwood's New Plagiarism Software Keeps an Eye on Student's Work." West Newsmagazine, November 11, 2002.

Ritts, Vicki. Professor, St. Louis Community College. Interview by author. December 3, 2002

St. Louis Community College. Faculty Resource Guide. St. Louis: St. Louis Community College, 2010.

University of Virginia. "Cheating Scandal Met Its Foil in U.V. Leader." Last modified May 6, 2002. http://www.virginia.edu/topnews/releases2002/hall-may-6-2002.html.

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