Citing Sources (APA, MLA, ...): Chicago Style (Seventeenth Edition)

Chicago Manual of Style

Chicago style (notes and bibliography system) is frequently used in the Arts and Humanities, as its use of footnotes/endnotes in addition a bibliography allows the writer to provide precise source origins and present additional commentary.

The basic format consists of a number that is assigned to a particular part of the text, and a footnote with the corresponding number appears at the bottom of the same page, listing the source of the fact/opinion presented in the text. At the end of the paper, there is a bibliography (in alphabetical order by author's family name) detailing all the sources that have been cited in the paper, along with other works that were consulted but not directly cited.

To learn more:

• Check out sample citations from the official Chicago style website
• Consult this detailed guide by the Purdue Online Writing Lab
• Refer to the complete online manual of the Chicago Manual of Style available via the Library's subscription
• Visit the section on citing sources in the Library's Visual Arts Subject Guide for examples relating to artwork
• A very brief illustration of Chicago style basics can be found below:
   

Notes vs Bibliographies

More information on the differences between notes and bibliographies:

• In notes, where reference is usually to a particular passage in a book or journal, only the page numbers (often a single page number) pertaining to that passage are given.

• In bibliographies, no page numbers are given for books; for easier location of journal articles or chapters or other sections of a book, the beginning and ending page numbers of that entire article or chapter are given. Electronic sources do not always include page numbers. For such unpaginated works, it may be appropriate in a note to include a chapter or paragraph number (if available), a section heading, or a descriptive phrase that follows the organizational divisions of the work. In citations of shorter electronic works presented as a single, searchable document, such locators may be unnecessary.

• Elements are separated by commas in a footnote, whereas elements are separated by periods in a bibliography. 

(Adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition)

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