Chicago Formatting and Citations

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) released the 18th edition in September 2024. The CMOS contains a series of guidelines for formatting papers and recording the sources used as support.

Chicago has two distinct forms:

• Notes and Bibliography

  • The in-text citations appear in footnotes (at the bottom of each page) or endnotes (at the end of the paper, but before the bibliography)

• Author-Date

  • The in-text citations appear in brackets in the main part of the text (similar to APA or MLA)

Both styles also include a detailed bibliography at the end of the paper, listing all the sources used in the paper in alphabetical order and their publication information. One good way to stay organized is to create a full bibliographic entry at the same time as your in-text citation. This will save you a lot of  time creating and managing your citations.

When is Chicago needed?

• CMOS is often a requirement for subjects like history and music
• CMOS is a flexible style that allows writers to cite a variety of sources (e.g., song recordings, historical documents, images, etc.)

Note: It is important to give credit to the authors and sources that inspire the original ideas in your writing. Not giving proper or sufficient credit is considered plagiarism, which can lead to serious consequences. Please check out NWP's Student Rights and Responsibilities policy and our Academic Integrity Guide for more information on what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. If you are concerned or unsure about plagiarism on a specific assignment, talk to your instructor.

Important terms to remember

Paraphrased vs. direct quote: To paraphrase means to take someone's idea or words and put them into your own words. A direct quote is when you take someone's idea word for word. Put direct quotes in quotation marks. Do not put paraphrased information in quotation marks. Place an in-text citation after all direct quotes and paraphrased sections.

In-text citations: the brief source information that you place immediately after a direct quote or a paraphrased idea. 

Reference List: The list of all the full bibliographic citations for the sources you have used in your paper. Every in-text citation must have a corresponding reference entry at the end of the paper. Hint: create a full bibliographic entry at the same time as your in-text citation. This will save you a lot of time at the end of your paper.

Major Changes to the 18th Edition

• When the same author is included for different works, spell out the name rather than use "---" in the bibliography (Sections 13.72-13.73)
• Up to six authors are now listed in the bibliography (Sections13.23 and 13.107)
• Shortened notes are preferred over "Ibid." (Section 13.37)
• Guidelines for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keeps have been added (Sections 14.136-14.137)
• Place of publication is no longer required for books (Section 14.30)