Free Chicago Citation Generator: Cite Sources Instantly
This guide explains the Chicago style and shows how to create accurate citations fast using a free Chicago citation generator. Chicago is widely used in history, some humanities, and publishing, and it offers two primary systems: Notes-Bibliography (NB) and Author-Date (AD).
If you need citations immediately, try the Rephrasely free Chicago citation generator to build correctly formatted entries in seconds. Rephrasely also offers tools like the plagiarism checker, AI writer (Composer), and an AI detector to support your research workflow.
What Chicago Style Is and Who Uses It
Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) provides detailed rules for formatting manuscripts and citing sources. Two main systems exist:
- Notes-Bibliography (NB): Preferred in history, arts, and some humanities — uses footnotes or endnotes plus a bibliography.
- Author-Date (AD): Common in sciences and social sciences — uses parenthetical in-text citations and a reference list.
Choose the system your instructor, publisher, or department requests. If uncertain, consult your style guide or use an institutional preference and be consistent.
General Rules
These universal Chicago rules apply across NB and AD systems. Follow them to ensure consistent, professional citations.
- Use headline-style capitalization for titles in notes and sentence-style for bibliography in AD where required by publishers. Check your instructor's preference.
- Italicize book, journal, and standalone work titles. Put article, chapter, and webpage titles in quotation marks.
- Include full publication information for bibliography entries: author, title, place of publication, publisher, and year for NB. AD uses author, year, title, and source details.
- For online sources, include a DOI when available. If no DOI, include a stable URL and an access date only if required.
- Abbreviate months only in bibliographies when you prefer, but avoid in-text month abbreviations unless specified.
How to Cite by Source Type
Below are step-by-step citation examples for common source types. Each example shows the Notes-Bibliography format first, then the Author-Date format where applicable.
Books
Notes-Bibliography (footnote): For the first footnote, include full details. Subsequent notes can use a short form.
1. John Smith, The History of Ideas (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018), 45.
Bibliography entry (NB):
Smith, John. The History of Ideas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018.
Author-Date (in-text):
(Smith 2018, 45)
Reference list (AD):
Smith, John. 2018. The History of Ideas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Journal Articles
Notes-Bibliography (footnote): Include article title in quotes and journal title in italics with volume, issue, year, and page range.
2. Maria Lopez, “Urban Politics in the 20th Century,” Journal of Urban History 12, no. 3 (2019): 305–28.
Bibliography entry (NB):
Lopez, Maria. “Urban Politics in the 20th Century.” Journal of Urban History 12, no. 3 (2019): 305–28.
Author-Date (in-text):
(Lopez 2019, 312)
Reference list (AD):
Lopez, Maria. 2019. “Urban Politics in the 20th Century.” Journal of Urban History 12 (3): 305–28.
Websites
Notes-Bibliography (footnote): Include author (if any), page title in quotes, site name (if different), publication or revision date, and URL.
3. Sarah Kim, “Climate Policy Updates,” Environmental Policy Center, June 5, 2021, https://example.org/climate-policy.
Bibliography entry (NB):
Kim, Sarah. “Climate Policy Updates.” Environmental Policy Center. June 5, 2021. https://example.org/climate-policy.
Author-Date (in-text):
(Kim 2021)
Reference list (AD):
Kim, Sarah. 2021. “Climate Policy Updates.” Environmental Policy Center. June 5. https://example.org/climate-policy.
Newspaper Articles
Notes-Bibliography (footnote): Include author, article title, newspaper name, full date, and page or section if available.
4. Daniel Reed, “City Budget Faces Cuts,” Chicago Tribune, March 2, 2020, B1.
Bibliography entry (NB):
Reed, Daniel. “City Budget Faces Cuts.” Chicago Tribune, March 2, 2020.
Author-Date (in-text):
(Reed 2020)
Reference list (AD):
Reed, Daniel. 2020. “City Budget Faces Cuts.” Chicago Tribune, March 2.
Videos and Multimedia
Notes-Bibliography (footnote): For streaming video, include creator or uploader, title, platform, and date.
5. TED, “How Cities Can Turn Trash Into Power,” YouTube video, 18:30, June 10, 2017, https://youtube.com/xyz.
Bibliography entry (NB):
TED. “How Cities Can Turn Trash Into Power.” YouTube video, 18:30. June 10, 2017. https://youtube.com/xyz.
Author-Date (in-text):
(TED 2017)
Reference list (AD):
TED. 2017. “How Cities Can Turn Trash Into Power.” YouTube video, 18:30. June 10. https://youtube.com/xyz.
In-Text Citations
Chicago NB uses superscript numbers linked to footnotes or endnotes. Place the superscript number at the end of the clause or sentence after punctuation. Footnotes contain full details on first use and short forms thereafter.
Example (NB):
The economic reforms were controversial.^1
Author-Date uses parenthetical citations with author, year, and page if needed. Place them before punctuation unless integrating into grammatical structure.
Example (AD):
(Smith 2018, 45)
Actionable tip: decide NB or AD first, then use a citation tool like the Rephrasely citation generator to produce both footnote and reference list entries automatically.
Reference List (Bibliography) — Formatting Rules and Example
The bibliography or reference list appears at the end of your work. Order entries alphabetically by author’s last name for both NB and AD systems.
- Use a hanging indent for each entry (first line flush left, subsequent lines indented).
- Double-space between entries if your instructor requires; otherwise follow publisher guidelines.
- List full names of authors in bibliographies (Last, First).
Sample bibliography (Chicago NB):
Bibliography
Lopez, Maria. “Urban Politics in the 20th Century.” Journal of Urban History 12, no. 3 (2019): 305–28.
Kim, Sarah. “Climate Policy Updates.” Environmental Policy Center. June 5, 2021. https://example.org/climate-policy.
Smith, John. The History of Ideas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018.
Actionable formatting step: paste your sources into the Rephrasely citation generator, pick Chicago NB or Author-Date, then copy the generated entries into your document and apply hanging indents.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Mixing systems: Don’t combine Notes-Bibliography and Author-Date styles in the same paper. Pick one and be consistent.
- Incomplete publication data: Always include publisher names and years for books; include DOIs for articles where available.
- Incorrect punctuation and italics: Article and chapter titles need quotes; book and journal titles should be italicized.
- Relying solely on auto-generated citations: Generators speed up work but always verify formatting against CMOS or your instructor’s requirements.
Tip: After generating citations, run your document through Rephrasely’s plagiarism checker and use the AI writer to clean up your bibliography language or the AI detector if you’re required to confirm human authorship of content.
Practical Workflow — Cite Accurately, Fast
- Decide NB or AD based on discipline or instructor preference.
- Collect full source metadata: author, title, publisher, date, DOI/URL, pages.
- Use the Rephrasely free Chicago citation generator to build notes and bibliography/reference entries.
- Paste entries into your document and format with hanging indents and italics.
- Double-check entries against CMOS examples and run supplementary checks (plagiarism, AI detection) as needed.
Following this workflow saves time and reduces errors while keeping citations CMOS-compliant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Chicago system should I use: Notes-Bibliography or Author-Date?
Choose Notes-Bibliography if you’re writing in history, literature, or the arts, where detailed source notes are common. Choose Author-Date for sciences and social sciences where parenthetical citations with a reference list are standard. Follow instructor or publisher guidance when available.
Can I trust a free Chicago citation generator to format everything correctly?
Free generators like the Rephrasely citation generator are excellent for speeding up citation creation, but always verify output against the Chicago Manual of Style or your style sheet. Check punctuation, italics, and DOIs manually, and correct any special cases.
Do I need to include access dates for online sources?
Include access dates only when content is likely to change or when no publication date is available. When a DOI exists, prefer it over a URL and omit an access date unless required by your instructor or publisher.