Chicago / Turabian Style
What this handout is about...
Chicago style, sometimes referred to as Turabian, is used in many of the social sciences, including history and political science. This handout will introduce you to the three main citation features of Chicago: in-line citation, footnotes/endnotes, and content notes. Also, this handout will discuss the construction of a bibliography. Examples of citations for various kinds of sources appear at the end of this handout (further examples are available on the Chicago Manual of Style website). Note that this handout will focus on the note/bibliography system of citation, rather than the author-date system. See the Chicago Manual of Style for information about author-date citation.
Why Chicago?
Chicago is a useful style for providing details about a source. In fields like history, the source matters. For example, when reading about events in 1820s Rio de Janeiro, a historian wants to know whether a quote in the text he or she is reading comes from a period newspaper, a modern scholar, a nineteenth-century novel, or an 1820s government report. Other citation styles, like APA or MLA, indicate only the name of the author or a short title. In the example cited above, it is much more useful to know the source of the information than to know only the name of the author, so a Chicago-style citation is preferable. The footnotes and endnotes (also called content notes) that are typical of Chicago style also allow the author to comment on the source or provide extra information that adds to the ideas in the text, but is not necessary for understanding.
What is Turabian?
"Chicago" and "Turabian" both refer to the same basic style of citation. The Chicago Manual of Style is a lengthy tome that covers all aspects of style, including capitalization, punctuation, etc. Kate Turabian wrote a book (A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations) that condenses the citation-related information in the Chicago Manual into a more readily-accessible format.
In-Text Citation
Most times, when your professor indicates that he/she wants you to use Chicago style, he/she means footnotes. However, in a short paper without many citations, in-text citation is an easier way to present much of the same information. A general rule of thumb is that if the paper is under ten pages, use in-text citation. However, you should ask your instructor or check the guidelines of the journal to be sure. In-text citation includes the author's last name, the date, and the page number (if applicable), within parentheses. There is no comma between the name and the date. (See examples below.)
Footnotes/endnotes
Footnotes and endnotes both follow the same citation guidelines. They are indicated in the text by a superscript number (like this: 1 ). The only difference is that footnotes appear at the bottom of the page in a smaller font than the main text (usually 10 point), while endnotes appear at the end of your paper or the end of a chapter in the same size font that you are using for your main text. Most college papers that require Chicago style will use footnotes; articles submitted for publication most likely will use endnotes. Footnotes and endnotes include the citation number in superscript (see the example below) and contain the full citation the first time you cite the source. For every subsequent time you cite the source, use an abbreviated citation. The first line of all footnotes and endnotes is indented, each footnote or endnote is single spaced, and there is an extra space between references. (See examples below.)
Content Notes
One of the advantages of using footnotes and endnotes instead of in-text citations is that you are able to include information beyond the citation in the reference. For example, a content footnote describing Chicago/Turabian style might look like this:
10While the Chicago Manual of Style contains everything you'll ever want to know about citation and style, most authors find Turabian easier to use. See The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th ed., (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993), and Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, John Grossman and Alice Bennett, eds., 6th ed., (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996).Bibliography
The bibliography section, also called References, includes much of the same information as the footnotes. Items appear in alphabetical order by author's last name, and the second and subsequent lines are indented. Unless your instructor tells you otherwise, you must include a bibliography, even if all the citation information is included in the footnotes and endnotes.
Examples
Books
Footnote/endnote
1 Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, John Grossman and Alice Bennett, eds., 6th ed., (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996), 42.
Subsequent mention:
2 Turabian, 43.
Bibliography
Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.
John Grossman and Alice Bennett, eds., 6th ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
In-text
(Turabian 1996, 42).
Articles
Footnote/endnote
3Stanley J. Stein, "The Historiography of Brazil, 1808-1889," The Hispanic American Historical Review, 40 no. 2 (May 1960), 234.
Bibliography
Stein, Stanley J. "The Historiography of Brazil, 1808-1889." The Hispanic
American Historical
Review, 40 no. 2 (May 1960), 234-278.
In-text
(Stein 1960, 234).
Newspapers
Footnote/endnote
4Richard Bernstein, "Germany Frees Hijacker Who Killed U.S. Sailor," New York Times, 20 December 2005.
Bibliography
Bernstein, Richard. "Germany Frees Hijacker Who Killed U.S. Sailor." New York
Times.
20 December 2005.
In-text
(Bernstein 2005).Magazines
Footnote/endnote
5Jeffrey Selingo, "Tulane Slashes Departments and Lays Off Professors," The Chronicle of Higher Education, 16 December 2005, A1.
Bibliography
Selingo, Jeffrey. "Tulane Slashes Departments and Lays Off Professors." The
Chronicle
of Higher Education.16 December 2005, A1.
In-text
(Selingo 2005).Dissertations
Footnote/endnote
6William M. Wisser, "Rhetoric and Riot in Rio de Janeiro, 1827-1831," (Ph.D. diss., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2006), 42.
Bibliography
Wisser, William M. "Rhetoric and Riot in Rio de Janeiro, 1827-1831," (Ph.D.
diss.,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2006).
In-text
(Wisser 2006, 42).Manuscripts
Footnote/endnote
7Silveiro Candido de Faria, "Breve Historia dos felizes accontecimentos politicos no Rio de Janeiro nos dias 6, e 7 de Abril de 1831," Manuscripts Room, Brazilian National Library, Rio de Janeiro.
Bibliography
Faria, Silveiro Candido de. "Breve Historia dos felizes accontecimentos politicos
no Rio de Janeiro
nos dias 6, e 7 de Abril de 1831." Manuscripts Room,
Brazilian National Library, Rio de Janeiro.
In-text
(Faria n/d).Websites
Footnote/endnote
8Writing Center, "Chicago/Turabian Style," The Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/chicago.html, Accessed 20 December 2005.
Bibliography
Writing Center, "Chicago/Turabian Style," The Writing Center at the University
of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/chicago.html, Accessed
20 December 2005.
In-text
(Chicago/Turabian Style n/d).Additional Resources
The Chicago Manual of Style website offers some examples of Chicago documentation of different sources, as well as a search feature. The search feature will help you find paragraphs within the Manual that address the issue you are interested in, but you will still need to look up those paragraphs in a printed copy of the Manual--the text of the Manual is not available online.
Bedford-St. Martin's offers a guide to citing online sources that includes advice on Chicago style; visit http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite7.html.
