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Chicago Quick Citation Guide

Chicago Quick Citation Guide

Chicago Style

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is a writing and citation style commonly used in the arts and humanities, especially literature, history, and performing arts (such as music). Student papers often use additional guidelines from Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Chicago Style for Students and Researchers). The Chicago Manual of Style is currently on the 17th edition. 

Chicago Style has two format options: 

  • Notes and Bibliography 
    • Often used in the humanities 
    • Uses footnotes, endnotes, and a bibliography for citations 
  • Author-Date 
    • Often used in social sciences (with many similarities to APA Style) 
    • Uses in-text/parenthetical citations to identify sources as they show up in the text, a References list, and options to supplement with footnotes and endnotes. 

This guide contains examples of common citation formats (in Chicago style) and resources for additional information about using Chicago style. 

Note: This guide will focus mostly on the Notes and Bibliography format. For help with the Author-Date format, see the resources listed in the "Author-Date" tab of this guide.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

What is a DOI? 

DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a unique string of characters used to identify a specific object (such as a journal article). It works like a barcode or URL. 

I can’t find a DOI. What should I use instead? 

If your journal article does not have a DOI, use the URL or the name of the database. 

When should I use shortened notes? 

The first note referring to a source should be a full note. Shortened notes are commonly used after that, but you may want to check with your instructor for preference. 

What should I do if I have multiple sources by the same author? 

Bibliographies are in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. In your bibliography, write the author’s name for the first entry. After that, use “---.” in place of the name.