The Chicago Manual of Style by
Technologies may change, but the need for clear and accurate communication never goes out of style. That is why for more than one hundred years The Chicago Manual of Style has remained the definitive guide for anyone who works with words. In the seven years since the previous edition debuted, we have seen an extraordinary evolution in the way we create and share knowledge. This seventeenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style has been prepared with an eye toward how we find, create, and cite information that readers are as likely to access from their pockets as from a bookshelf. It offers updated guidelines on electronic workflows and publication formats, tools for PDF annotation and citation management, web accessibility standards, and effective use of metadata, abstracts, and keywords. It recognizes the needs of those who are self-publishing or following open access or Creative Commons publishing models. The citation chapters reflect the ever-expanding universe of electronic sources--including social media posts and comments, private messages, and app content--and also offer updated guidelines on such issues as DOIs, time stamps, and e-book locators. Other improvements are independent of technological change. The chapter on grammar and usage includes an expanded glossary of problematic words and phrases and a new section on syntax as well as updated guidance on gender-neutral pronouns and bias-free language. Key sections on punctuation and basic citation style have been reorganized and clarified. To facilitate navigation, headings and paragraph titles have been revised and clarified throughout. And the bibliography has been updated and expanded to include the latest and best resources available. This edition continues to reflect expert insights gathered from Chicago's own staff and from an advisory board of publishing experts from across the profession. It also includes suggestions inspired by emails, calls, and even tweets from readers. No matter how much the means of communication change, The Chicago Manual of Style remains the ultimate resource for those who care about getting the details right.
A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations by
When Kate L. Turabian first put her famous guidelines to paper, she could hardly have imagined the world in which today's students would be conducting research. Yet while the ways in which we research and compose papers may have changed, the fundamentals remain the same: writers need to have a strong research question, construct an evidence-based argument, cite their sources, and structure their work in a logical way. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations--also known as "Turabian"--remains one of the most popular books for writers because of its timeless focus on achieving these goals. This new edition filters decades of expertise into modern standards. While previous editions incorporated digital forms of research and writing, this edition goes even further to build information literacy, recognizing that most students will be doing their work largely or entirely online and on screens. Chapters include updated advice on finding, evaluating, and citing a wide range of digital sources and also recognize the evolving use of software for citation management, graphics, and paper format and submission. The ninth edition is fully aligned with the recently released Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, as well as with the latest edition of The Craft of Research. Teachers and users of the previous editions will recognize the familiar three-part structure. Part 1 covers every step of the research and writing process, including drafting and revising. Part 2 offers a comprehensive guide to Chicago's two methods of source citation: notes-bibliography and author-date. Part 3 gets into matters of editorial style and the correct way to present quotations and visual material. A Manual for Writers also covers an issue familiar to writers of all levels: how to conquer the fear of tackling a major writing project. Through eight decades and millions of copies, A Manual for Writers has helped generations shape their ideas into compelling research papers. This new edition will continue to be the gold standard for college and graduate students in virtually all academic disciplines.
Notes and Bibliography or Author-Date?
In the notes and bibliography system, sources are cited in numbered footnotes or endnotes. Each note corresponds to a raised (superscript) number in the text. Sources are also usually listed in a separate bibliography. The notes and bibliography system, Chicago’s oldest and most flexible, can accommodate a wide variety of sources, including unusual ones that don’t fit neatly into the author-date system. For this reason, it is preferred by many working in the humanities, including literature, history, and the arts.
In the author-date system, sources are briefly cited in the text, usually in parentheses, by author’s last name and year of publication. Each in-text citation matches up with an entry in a reference list, where full bibliographic information is provided. Because it credits researchers by name directly in the text while at the same time emphasizing the date of each source, the author-date system is preferred by many in the sciences and social sciences.
Aside from the use of numbered notes versus parenthetical references in the text, the two systems share the same style for authors’ names, titles of works, and other cited components. Follow the links at the top of this page to see examples of some of the more common source types cited in both systems.
Most authors choose the system used by others in their field or required by their publisher. Students should check with their instructor before deciding which system to use.
“The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th Edition.” n.d. The Chicago Manual of Style Online. Accessed February 11, 2025. https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org.
Notes-Bibliography uses a combination of footnotes or endnotes and a bibliography at the end.
Pay special attention to formatting and punctuation!
Reference- Author's last name, Author's first name.Year of publication. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher.
Book by one author
Reference- McMurtry, Larry. 1999. Crazy Horse. New York: Viking.
Paragraph- (McMurty 1999, 58)
Book by multiple authors
Reference- Parmet, Herbert, S., and Marie B. Hecht. 1967. Aaron Burr Portrait of an Ambitious Man. New York: Macmillan.
Paragraph- (Parmet and Hecht 1967, 102)
Book with editor but no author and edition of book
Reference- Stefansson, Vilhjalmur, ed. 1966. Great Adventures and Explorations. New Rev. ed. New York: Dial Press.
Paragraph- (Vilhjalmur 1966, 251)
Tip- use ed. after an editor or eds. for multiple editors. Edition is listed after the title. If edition is a number, the number can be used. Example: 3rd ed.
Chapter from a single author book
Reference- Bohrer, Melissa Lukeman. 2003. "A Sister in Arms: Molly Pitcher." In Glory, Passion, and Principle, 155-178. New York: Atria Books.
Paragraph- (Bohrer 2003, 162)
Edited book with chapters/works by different authors
Reference- Iseminger, William. 2000. "Mighty Cahokia." In Exploring the Past, edited by James M. Bayman and Miriam T. Stark. Durham: Carolina Academia Press.
Paragraph- (Iseminger 2000, 51)
Tip- When there are both authors and editors, editors come after the book title
Electronic Journal
Reference- Kunioka, Todd T. and Karen M. McCurdy. 2006. "Relocation and Internment: Civil Rights Lessons from World War II." PS, Political Science & Politics 39, no. 3 (July): 503-511. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1049096506060744.
Paragraph- (Kunioka and McCurdy 2006, 504)
Tip- Always capitalize seasons, even if they are not capitalized in the original text. Always include the DOI; if there is no DOI then include the URL.
Electronic Magazine
Reference- Campbell, Duncan Andrew. "John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights." South Carolina Historical Magazine, July 2006. 241-243, http://ez-srv.rcbc.edu:2048/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/205020985?accountid=9798.
Paragraph- (Campbell 2006, 242)
Tip- Sometimes page numbers are not available if a magazine is online. Dates of magazines are not in paranthesis like the date in journals and the month and year are kept together.
Online Newspaper
Reference- Tully, Tracey and Kevin Armstrong. "N.J’s Largest City Shuts Down Again as Virus Cases Surge." New York Times, October 28, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/28/nyregion/newark-coronavirus-curfew.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage.
Paragraph- (Tully and Armstrong 2020)
Tip- Do not use page numbers as page numbers can vary by edition, otherwise treat newspaper citations the same as magazine citations
Website
Reference- History.com editors. 2009. "Revolutionary War." History. Last modified September 3, 2019. https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history
Paragraph- (History.com editors 2009)
Research assistance - help finding sources, evaluating sources
Online workshops for citing and plagiarism are held throughout the semester. To request a citing workshop, please email library@rcbc.edu