Chicago Style: Footnotes/Endnotes

Remember that your notes should be indicated by a superscript number. In order to insert a superscript, first type the number, then highlight it with your mouse. From here, you can either right-click and select the 'Font' option, then check the 'Superscript' box, or hold down Control and Shift and press the + key. For Macs, use the  key instead of Control. You can also use the 'Font' controls in your toolbar.

Chicago style makes use of either footnotes or endnotes for in-text citations. In either case, a superscript number is placed when any citation is needed. This number refers readers to the appropriate note, which should contain enough information to direct them to the proper citation on the bibliography page. Footnotes must appear at the bottom of the page on which the citation appears, while endnotes appear on a separate page at the end of the paper, before the bibliography page. Footnotes are more common in scholarly papers and articles, while endnotes are more often used in books and chapters.

See the pages on citing specific types of sources for examples of what to put in your foot- or endnotes.

Shortened Notes

The first time you cite a source, use the full note format as indicated on the appropriate page. To cut down on bloat in your foot- or endnotes, though, a shortened version of the note can be used for subsequent citations of the same source. This shorter note should include the last name of the authors/creators, a shortened version of the title (if the title is four words or less, use the full title), and any necessary directing information, such as a page number or time stamp. For example:

First Note

1. Newton N. Minow and Craig L. LaMay, Inside the Presidential Debates: Their Improbable Past and Promising

Future (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008), 24-25.

Shortened Note

 3. Minow and LaMay, Presidential Debates, 24-25.

Ibid.

If you cite the same source multiple times consecutively, you may replace subsequent citations with "Ibid", derived from the Latin ibidem, meaning "in the same place". Follow Ibid with page numbers if the source page is different, and remember that you must use a shortened note for subsequent citations if another source comes between them.

1. Newton N. Minow and Craig L. LaMay, Inside the Presidential Debates: Their Improbable Past and Promising

Future (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008), 24-25.

          2. Minow and LaMay, Presidential Debates, 24-25.

          3. Ibid.

          4. Ibid, 28-30.