Chicago Manual of Style Citation Guide
The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) is frequently used in the humanities and the arts. It requires the use
of footnotes or endnotes, as well as a bibliography.
Notes consist of two parts: a number in the text and a note either at the bottom of the page
(footnote) or at the end of the paper (endnote). Notes are numbered sequentially throughout
an article, book, or paper.
Bibliographies are lists of sources used, alphabetized by the first item in the entry. Entries
frequently (but not always) begin with the last name of the author. If the work has no
identifiable author, start the citation with the work’s title.
All CMS citations should be single-spaced, unless otherwise specified by your course instructor.
This guide provides examples of how to cite different types of resources in both notes and bibliographies.
For complete information on the Chicago style, please consult
The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, 2003 (REF Z253.U69 2003)
Also available online at http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/
SINGLE AUTHOR:
Genoways, Ted. Walt Whitman and the Civil War: America’s Poet During the Lost Years of 1860-1862.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009.
1. Ted Genoways, Walt Whitman and the Civil War (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009), 52.
Tip: Subsequent references to sources already fully cited should be shortened whenever possible. Shortened
references typically require only the author’s last name, an abbreviated title, and the page number. For
example:
2. Genoways, Walt Whitman, 57.
MORE THAN ONE AUTHOR:
Miller, Richard F., and Robert F. Mooney. The Civil War: the Nantucket Experience. Nantucket, Mass.:
Wesco Publishing Co., 1994.
1. Richard F. Miller and Robert F. Mooney, The Civil War: the Nantucket Experience (Nantucket, Mass:
Wesco Publishing Co., 1994), 108.
Tip: List authors in the same order they’re listed on the title page, not alphabetically. For four or more authors,
list all of the authors in the bibliography; in the note, list only the first author, followed by et al.
EDITOR INSTEAD OF AUTHOR:
Kennedy, Frances H. , ed. The Civil War Battlefield Guide. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
1. Frances H. Kennedy, ed., The Civil War Battlefield Guide (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990), 84-88.
CHAPTER OR OTHER PART OF A BOOK:
Gienapp, William E. “The Crisis of American Democracy.” In Why the Civil War Came, edited by Gabor S.
Boritt, 81-124. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
1. William E. Gienapp, “The Crisis of American Democracy,” in Why the Civil War Came, ed. Gabor S. Boritt
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), 104.
JOURNAL ARTICLE:
Bernath, Michael T. “The Confederacy as a Moment of Possibility.” Journal of Southern History 79 (May 2013):
299-328.
1. Michael T. Bernath, “The Confederacy as a Moment of Possibility,” Journal of Southern History 79
(2013): 311.
Tip: In the bibliography, list the page range for the entire article. In a note, list only the specific page(s) you
consulted for the information being referenced. For items retrieved from a commercial database, add a stable
URL to the end of the citation if one is available. If not, include the name of the database and, in parentheses,
any identification number provided with the source. For example:
Teters, Kristopher A. "Albert Burton Moore and Alabama's Centennial Commemoration of the Civil War: The
Rhetoric of Race, Romance, and Reunion." Alabama Review 66, no. 2 (April 2013): 122-152.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=87104427&site=ehostlive&scope=site.
NEWSPAPER OR POPULAR MAGAZINE:
Tip: Newspaper and magazine articles may be cited in running text (“As Sheryl Stolberg and Robert Pear noted in
a New York Times article on February 27, 2010, . . .”) instead of in a note, and they are commonly omitted from
a bibliography. If you do wish to include a note, see the example below:
1. Stephen M. Forman, “Civil War-Era Sites in the Heart of the Nation’s Capital,” Washington Times, May
24, 1996.
WEBSITE:
Library of Congress. “History of Mapping the Civil War.” Accessed November 8, 2013.
http://www.loc.gov/collection/civil-war-maps/articles-and-essays/history-of-mapping-the-civil-war/.
1. Library of Congress, “History of Mapping the Civil War,” accessed November 8, 2013,
http://www.loc.gov/collection/civil-war-maps/articles-and-essays/history-of-mapping-the-civil-war/#prewarmapping.
Tip: A website citation can often be limited to a mention in the text or in a note (“As of July 19, 2008, the
McDonald’s Corporation listed on its website . . .”). If a more formal citation is desired, include as much of the
following information as possible: the author of the content, the owner/sponsor of the site, the title of the page,
and a URL. Also include a publication date or date of modification if available. If not, include an access date.
Need help? Have more questions? Drop by the Reference Desk in the Wilkens Library, call us at x4343 or
email: [email protected]