Chicago Format: Complete Citation Guide (2026)
This guide explains the Chicago format and how to apply its citation rules correctly in academic and professional writing. Complete Chicago format guide with step-by-step instructions and examples. Use Rephrasely's free citation generator at Rephrasely Citation Generator to create and verify entries quickly.
Introduction — What Chicago Format Is and Who Uses It
Chicago is a comprehensive citation and style system published by the University of Chicago Press. It offers two main documentation systems: Notes and Bibliography (favored in humanities) and Author-Date (favored in sciences and social sciences).
Students, historians, editors, and many publishers use Chicago for books, articles, dissertations, and other long-form works. Choose the system that matches your discipline or the guidelines provided by your instructor or publisher.
General Rules — Key Formatting Rules
- Use 1-inch margins on all sides and a readable serif font (e.g., Times New Roman 12 pt) for body text.
- Double-space the main text. Notes and bibliography entries are single-spaced internally with a blank line between entries, unless instructed otherwise.
- For Notes and Bibliography, use footnotes or endnotes with superscript numbers. For Author-Date, include parenthetical citations in the text and a reference list at the end.
- Capitalize titles in headline style for the bibliography; sentence-style capitalization is acceptable in some variants—follow your style guide.
- Use hanging indentation for bibliography entries: the first line flush left and subsequent lines indented 0.5 inches.
How to Cite by Source Type
Below are step-by-step formats and examples for common source types in both Notes-Bibliography (N-B) and Author-Date (A-D) systems. Use code-style blocks for exact punctuation and order.
1. Books
Notes-Bibliography (Footnote):
1. Firstname Lastname, Title of Book: Subtitle (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), page number.Example:
1. Mary Beard, SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome (New York: Liveright, 2015), 48.Bibliography entry:
Beard, Mary. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. New York: Liveright, 2015.Author-Date (In-text + Reference List):
(Beard 2015, 48)Beard, Mary. 2015. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. New York: Liveright.2. Journal Articles
Notes-Bibliography (Footnote):
1. Firstname Lastname, "Article Title," Journal Title volume, no. issue (Year): page number, DOI or URL.Example:
1. Jane Doe, "Urban Rivers and Public Memory," Journal of Urban History 45, no. 2 (2019): 230, https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxxx.Bibliography entry:
Doe, Jane. "Urban Rivers and Public Memory." Journal of Urban History 45, no. 2 (2019): 225-248. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxxx.Author-Date (In-text + Reference List):
(Doe 2019, 230)Doe, Jane. 2019. "Urban Rivers and Public Memory." Journal of Urban History 45 (2): 225-248. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxxx.3. Websites
Notes-Bibliography (Footnote):
1. Firstname Lastname (if available), "Page Title," Website Name, Month Day, Year, URL.Example:
1. National Park Service, "Preserving Historic Places," National Park Service, June 5, 2022, https://www.nps.gov/preserve.Bibliography entry:
National Park Service. "Preserving Historic Places." National Park Service. June 5, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/preserve.Author-Date (In-text + Reference List):
(National Park Service 2022)National Park Service. 2022. "Preserving Historic Places." June 5, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/preserve.4. Book Chapters or Essays in Edited Volumes
Notes-Bibliography (Footnote):
1. Firstname Lastname, "Chapter Title," in Title of Book, ed. Editor Name(s) (Place: Publisher, Year), page number.Example:
1. Alan Smith, "Trade Networks," in The Oxford Handbook of Economic History, ed. L. Jones and K. Patel (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020), 112.Bibliography entry:
Smith, Alan. "Trade Networks." In The Oxford Handbook of Economic History, edited by L. Jones and K. Patel, 100-125. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.5. Newspaper Articles
Notes-Bibliography (Footnote):
1. Firstname Lastname, "Article Title," Newspaper Name, Month Day, Year, section (if any), page (if printed), URL (if online).Example:
1. Sarah Lee, "City Council Approves Plan," Chicago Tribune, March 3, 2024, A1, https://www.chicagotribune.com/...Bibliography entry:
Lee, Sarah. "City Council Approves Plan." Chicago Tribune, March 3, 2024. https://www.chicagotribune.com/...In-Text Citations — Rules and Examples
For Author-Date, use parentheses with author last name, year, and page number if needed. Place punctuation after the closing parenthesis, not before.
(Garcia 2021, 67).For Notes and Bibliography, insert a superscript number in the text that corresponds to a footnote or endnote. The note contains the full citation the first time and a shortened form for subsequent citations.
Text example: "The city expanded rapidly in the 1920s."1
Footnote first use:
1. Robert Garcia, The Growth of Cities (Boston: Beacon Press, 2020), 45.
Subsequent note:
2. Garcia, Growth of Cities, 50.Actionable tip: Decide which system to use early in your project, then be consistent. Use Rephrasely's AI writer to draft papers and the citation generator to produce correctly formatted notes or references.
Reference List — Formatting Rules and Example
The reference list name depends on the system: "Bibliography" for Notes-Bibliography and "References" for Author-Date. List entries alphabetically by author's last name.
- Use a hanging indent for every entry (0.5 in).
- Italicize book and journal titles; place article and chapter titles in quotation marks.
- Provide DOIs for journal articles when available and full URLs for web resources.
Example Bibliography (small sample):
Bibliography
Beard, Mary. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. New York: Liveright, 2015.
Doe, Jane. "Urban Rivers and Public Memory." Journal of Urban History 45, no. 2 (2019): 225-248. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxxx.
National Park Service. "Preserving Historic Places." National Park Service. June 5, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/preserve.Actionable tip: Export citations from databases in Chicago format where possible and validate them with Rephrasely's citation generator to ensure punctuation and order match Chicago rules.
Common Mistakes — Errors to Avoid
- Mixing systems: Don’t combine Notes-Bibliography formatting with Author-Date in the same document. Pick one and apply it consistently.
- Punctuation errors: Chicago requires specific punctuation (commas vs. periods, placement of parentheses). Always check the final punctuation in each entry.
- Incorrect author names: Reverse only the first author in the reference list (Lastname, Firstname). For multiple authors, list as "Firstname Lastname" in notes and "Lastname, Firstname" in the bibliography per Chicago rules.
- Missing DOIs or stable URLs: For online journal articles, omit the database name if a DOI is present. Include a DOI whenever possible to ensure persistence.
Actionable advice: Run your bibliography through a plagiarism checker like Rephrasely's plagiarism checker to verify quoted text is cited and use the AI detector if you want to confirm AI-assisted content transparency.
Practical Workflow: Create Chicago Citations Fast
- Collect bibliographic details at the time of research: author, title, publisher, date, DOI/URL, accessed date for unstable sources.
- Use Rephrasely's citation generator to format entries instantly in Notes-Bibliography or Author-Date style.
- Copy entries into your document and check for hanging indents and alphabetical order.
- Use your text editor or Rephrasely Composer for final proofreading and to apply consistent typography.
When in Doubt
Consult The Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition is common; check for updates) or the online Chicago style Q&A for rare source types. For quick checks, Rephrasely's citation generator and tools can save time and reduce formatting errors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Chicago system should I use: Notes-Bibliography or Author-Date?
Use Notes-Bibliography for humanities and when you need detailed source notes (e.g., archival citations). Use Author-Date for sciences and social sciences where brief parenthetical citations and a reference list are standard.
How do I format a source with no author?
If a source has no author, move the title to the author position in the bibliography and alphabetize by title. In Author-Date, use a shortened title in place of the author in the parenthetical citation.
Can Rephrasely help automate Chicago citations?
Yes—Rephrasely's citation generator formats entries in Chicago Notes-Bibliography or Author-Date styles. You can also use Rephrasely's AI writer, plagiarism checker, and AI detector to refine and validate your manuscript.