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Arkansas State University

Chicago Style (CMS)

The Chicago Manual of Style, or CMS, is a style guide created by the University of Chicago Press in the early twentieth century to establish formatting rules and bring consistency to their publications. Chicago style is most often used in the social sciences, arts, and humanities disciplines, such as history, art, philosophy, music, theatre, and religious studies. The most recent version, the 17th edition, was published in 2017.

CMS Guidelines for Formatting Papers

The essay should be typed, double spaced in 12-point font size, in an easy-to-read font (such as Times New Roman) on 8.5-inch by 11-inch paper, with 1-inch margins on all sides.
Include a title page, with the title centered a third of the way down the page, and the author’s name and any other relevant information centered a few lines down from the title.
Paginate the essay with a header in the top right corner of the page, beginning with the first page of the text (not the title page).
Change underlining to italics. However, some underlining may need to be preserved, depending on the original material.
Fix commas and periods relative to quotation marks (commas and periods go inside the quotation marks, not outside: “Chapter 1,” rather than “Chapter 1”, for example).
Use em dashes (—) and ellipses (…) where appropriate, and make consistent.
Replace hyphens (-) with en dashes (–) where appropriate.
Leave one character space, rather than two spaces, between words and sentences and after colons.
Use double spacing for text, except in block quotations. Use single spacing for footnotes and bibliography/reference lists, with a line to separate entries.
The bibliography should begin on a new page, separate from the essay.

CMS General In-Text Citation and Footnote Rules

Note Numbers

Note reference numbers in text are superscripted. In the notes themselves, they are full size and followed by a period.

Sedaris recalls, “We rode round and round the block on our pony, who groaned beneath the collective weight of our rich and overwhelming capacity for love and understanding.”¹

1. David Sedaris, Barrel Fever (New York: Little, Brown, 1994), 9–10.

Notes should be numbered consecutively, beginning with 1, throughout the essay. A note number should generally be placed at the end of a sentence, a clause, or a quotation. The number follows any punctuation mark except for the dash, which it precedes.

Many students argue that they work better when multitasking⁵—but research suggests this may not be the case.

Bibliographic citations are provided in footnotes (which appear at the bottom of a page), supplemented by a bibliography at the end of the work. Footnotes are numbered (but not superscripted) and correspond to superscripted note reference numbers in the text.

Full Footnote Citation

David Sedaris, Barrel Fever (New York: Little, Brown, 1994), 36–37.

Short Footnote Citation

Sedaris, Barrel Fever, 36–37.

Entry in a Bibliography

Sedaris, David. Barrel Fever. New York: Little, Brown. 1994.

If the same source is used consecutively in the text, the source should be formatted as usual for the first entry, and shortened citations should be used for each subsequent entry, until a different source is used within the text.

David Sedaris, Barrel Fever (New York: Little, Brown, 1994), 36.
Sedaris, 36.
Sedaris, 37.
David Bartholomae, “Inventing the University,” in When a Writer Can’t Write, ed. Mike Rose (New York: Guilford, 1985), 146.

Shortened Citations

Because the complete citation information is available in the corresponding bibliography, using the short footnote citation is acceptable in Chicago style.

The short form of a citation should include enough information to lead readers to the appropriate entry in the bibliography. The short form consists of the last name of the author, the main title of the work cited (usually shortened if more than four words), and the page number indicating where the information is located.

David Bartholomae, “Inventing the University,” in When a Writer Can’t Write, ed. Mike Rose (New York: Guilford, 1985), 146.
Bartholomae, “Inventing the University,” 146.

Using In-Text Sources

It is important to provide a lead-in to source quotations, summaries, or paraphrases in the text, especially the first time the source is used. Lead-ins introduce the sources to the audience and provide a smooth transition from the author’s writing to quotes, summaries, and paraphrases within the text.

Block Quotations

For quotations that are more than four lines in length, add an extra line space and indent 1/2 inch from the left margin. Place the whole quote, double spaced, within the new margin. Do not use quotation marks. The note number should come after the end punctuation.

As a builder, Lubbers was tasked to determine the most effective method for ensuring the safety and integrity of structures in a variety of climates. Lubbers’s study found the following:

The prevailing wind being forecast for January 2 will be from the southwest, and will reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour. This wind has the potential to cause significant damage to the current construction. The building should be braced heavily to avoid collapse.³

Because the formatting for footnotes is consistent regardless of the medium being cited, not all areas that follow will include in-text citation examples.

Books

One Author

In-Text Citation

Sedaris recalls, “We rode round and round the block on our pony, who groaned beneath the collective weight of our rich and overwhelming capacity for love and understanding.”¹

Short Footnote Citation

Sedaris, Barrel Fever, 9–10.

Two to Three Authors

In-Text Citation

Collins and Blum outline the way socioeconomics and politics outside the university also play a role in instigating the division between “basic” and “normal” writers.³

Short Footnote Citation

Collins and Blum, “Meanness and Failure,” 14.

More than Three Authors

In-Text Citation

Cincotta et al. assert that the launch of Sputnik expanded the competitive arena between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.²

Short Footnote Citation

Howard Cincotta et al., An Outline of American History (Washington DC: United States Information Agency, 1994).

Unknown Author

In-Text Citation

A study determined that subjects lose time when switching from task to task.⁴

Short Footnote Citation

“Is Multitasking,” 3.

Editor as Author

This type of source includes information written by the editor of an anthology, as in a foreword, introduction, afterword, or editor’s notes. In these cases, the editor should be treated as the author of the source being used.

In-Text Citation

Historian Joseph Hart asserts, “Ernesto Che Guevara’s death at the hands of Bolivian troops last October enhanced a legend that began when he was Fidel Castro’s right-hand man in Cuba.”⁵

Short Footnote Citation

Hart, Che, 3.

Bibliography Entry

Hart, Joseph, ed. Che: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of a Revolutionary. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2003.

Work in an Anthology

Please note that in these cases, the author of the work being quoted will be the primary reference in the text, the footnote, and the bibliography; the anthology editor(s) will also be included in the bibliography entry. A bibliography entry is included here as an example.

In-Text Citation

According to David Bartholomae, students who were less successful at this “invention” were considered basic writers; those who were more successful were not.⁶

Long Footnote Citation

David Bartholomae, “Inventing the University,” in When a Writer Can’t Write, ed. Mike Rose (New York: Guilford, 1985), 134–65.

Short Footnote Citation

Bartholomae, “Inventing the University,” 146–47.

Bibliography Entry

Bartholomae, David. “Inventing the University.” In When a Writer Can’t Write, edited by Mike Rose, 134–65. New York: Guilford, 1985.

Periodicals

Article in a Journal

In-Text Citation

Teacher-researchers Terence Collins and Melissa Blum pointed to the ways that socioeconomics and politics outside of the university also played a role in instigating the division between “basic” and “normal” writers.⁷

Short Footnote Citation

Collins and Blum, “Meanness and Failure,” 14.

Article in a Magazine

Short Footnote Citation

Miller, “The Tyranny of the Test,” 39.

Article in a Newspaper

Note that Chicago style does not require newspaper articles to be included in the bibliography, as long as they have been included in the text and footnotes. In these cases, however, the long footnote citation should be used.

Long Footnote Citation

Eric Pianin, “Use of Arsenic in Wood Products to End,” Washington Post, February 13, 2002, final edition.

Entry in an Encyclopedia/Dictionary

Though cited in the footnotes, well-known reference materials are typically not cited in the bibliography, and the publication information is often omitted. If the publication is not the first edition, the edition number must be included.

Footnote Citation

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th ed., s.v. “citation.”

Electronic Sources

Article from an Online Periodical

Follow the same guidelines as those for printed articles and include the URL or, if available, the digital object identifier (DOI).

Scholarly Journal

Adler-Kassner and Harrington, “Responsibility and Composition’s Future,” 77. http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/27917885?uid=3739728&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21104117601803

Article in a Popular Magazine

Remnick, “Putin and the Exile.” http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2014/04/28/140428taco_talk_remnick

Online Newspaper Article

Remember that Chicago style does not require newspaper articles to be included in the bibliography. Additionally, a URL need not be included for online newspaper sources; however, the long footnote citation must be used.

Long Footnote Citation

Felicia R. Lee, “Trying to Bring Baldwin’s Complex Voice Back,” New York Times, April 24, 2014.

Online Encyclopedia/Dictionary Entry

Merriam-Webster Online, s.v. “citation,” accessed April 26, 2014, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/citation.

Film

Big Fish, directed by Tim Burton. (2003; Culver City, CA: Sony Home Pictures Entertainment, 2004), DVD.

Single Episode of a Television Series

Jeff Davis, Dan Sworkin, and Jay Beattie, “Tabula Rasa.” Criminal Minds, season 3, episode 19, directed by Steve Boyum, aired May 14, 2008. (Los Angeles, CA: Paramount, 2010), DVD.

Music or Sound Recording

Album

The Beatles, Revolver, EMI, 2009, CD.

Song

Miranda Lambert, vocal performance of “Heart Like Mine,” by Travis Howard, Miranda Lambert, and Ashley Monroe, recorded 2009, on Revolution, Columbia Nashville, CD.

CMS Bibliography Page

A bibliography must be included at the end of the essay when using footnotes. All sources to be included—books, articles, websites—are arranged alphabetically by the last names of the authors (or, if no author or editor is given, alphabetically by the title or other identifying word or phrase).

Entries should have a hanging indent—all lines after the first line of each entry should be indented one-half inch from the left margin.
Bibliography entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work, and the author should be listed in last name, first name format.
List entries for multiple articles by the same author in chronological order, from earliest to most recent.
Include the complete title, maintaining the capitalization and punctuation used in the original title.
Italicize titles of longer works, such as books and journals, and put quotes around the titles of shorter works, such as journal articles or essays in edited collections. Do not italicize or underline them.

Formatting Bibliography Entries

Books

Information to include:

Full name(s) of author(s) or editor(s)
Complete title (including subtitle) of book and edition, if not the first
Publication information (city, publisher, date)
Page reference for a chapter, essay, or other section of a book. Complete book sources do not include page numbers in the bibliography.
DOI or URL for online books

One Author

Sedaris, David. Barrel Fever. New York: Little, Brown, 1994.

Two Works by the Same Author

To list two or more works by the same author in the bibliography, use three em-dashes followed by a period in place of the author name for each entry after the first.

Sedaris, David. Barrel Fever. New York: Little, Brown, 1994.

———. Me Talk Pretty One Day. New York: Little, Brown, 2000.

Two to Three Authors

Ward, Geoffrey, Ken Burns, and Kevin Baker. Baseball: An Illustrated History. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1996.

More than Three Authors

Barnes, Sonya et al. Image Power: Top Image Experts Share What to Know to Look Your Best. San Francisco: PowerDynamics Publishing, 2008.

Unknown Author

Beowulf. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000.

Author with an Editor

Fielding, Henry. Tom Jones, edited by Sheridan Baker. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1994.

Editor with no Author

Hart, Joseph, ed. Che: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of a Revolutionary. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2003.

Author with a Translator

Gide, André. Lafcadio’s Adventures. Translated by Dorothy Bussy. New York: Vintage Books, 1953.

Work in an Anthology

Bartholomae, David. “Inventing the University.” In When a Writer Can’t Write, edited by Mike Rose, 134–65. New York: Guilford, 1985.

Periodicals

Information to include:

Full name(s) of author(s)
Complete title (including subtitle) of article
Title of periodical
Volume number, issue number, date
Page reference. Please note that if a page number is not available, a chapter or paragraph number or section header may be included.
DOI or URL for online periodicals

Article in a Magazine

Miller, Jeremy. “The Tyranny of the Test: One Year as a Kaplan Coach in the Public Schools.” Harper’s Magazine, September 2008.

Article in Journal Paginated by Issue

Because journals are paginated by issue, begin with page one for each issue and include the issue number in the citation.

Collins, Terence and Melissa Blum. “Meanness and Failure: Sanctioning Basic Writers.” Journal of Basic Writing 19, no. 1 (2000): 13–21.

Article in Journal Paginated by Volume

Journals paginated by volume begin with page one in issue one, and page numbers continue in issue two where issue one left off. Therefore, it is not necessary to include an issue number.

Sledd, Andrew. “Readin’ not Riotin’: The Politics of Literacy.” College English 50 (1998): 495– 508.

Electronic Sources

Include all available relevant publication information, including the URL or, if available, the DOI.

Website

National Public Radio. Morning Edition. http://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/

Web Page

Abdullah, Mardziah Hayati. “The Impact of Electronic Communication on Writing.” ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication. http://www.ericdigests.org/2004-1/impact.htm

Online Book

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. London, 1813. http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=3381939

Article from an Online Periodical

Soliday, Mary. “From the Margins to the Mainstream: Reconceiving Remediation.” College Composition and Communication 47, no. 1 (1996): 85–100. Accessed January 14, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/358275

Popular Magazine

Remnick, David. “Putin and the Exile.” New Yorker, April 28, 2014, accessed April 28, 2014, http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2014/04/28/140428taco_talk_remnick

Scholarly Journal

Video/Film

Ewan McGregor, Ewan, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange, Billy Crudup, and Marion Cotillard. Big Fish. DVD. Directed by Tim Burton. Culver City: Sony Home Pictures Entertainment, 2003.

Broadcast Program

Begin with the writer(s), followed by the name of the program in italics. Also include the director’s name, broadcast date, distribution city and company, and publication medium (e.g., Television, Radio).

Door, Daniel, and Michael Schur. Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Directed by Ken Whittingham. 2014. Los Angeles: NBCUniversal Television Distribution.

Television Episode

Begin with the writer(s), followed by the name of episode in quotation marks and the program title in italics. Also include the season number, episode number, director’s name, original broadcast date, distribution city and company, release date, and publication medium (e.g., Television, Radio).

Davis, Jeff, Dan Sworkin, and Jay Beattie, “Tabula Rasa.” Criminal Minds, season 3, episode 19, directed by Steve Boyum, aired May 14, 2008. (Los Angeles: Paramount, 2010), DVD.

Sound Recording

List artist, title of album in italics, city and name of distribution company, medium, and date of original release.

Lambert, Miranda. Revolution. Nashville: Columbia Nashville, CD. Recorded 2009.