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Chicago Style: Home

A guide to writing papers and citing sources in Chicago style.

Welcome

Chicago style is the set of rules for layout and citation of papers created by the University of Chicago. The 17th and current edition of The Chicago Manual of Style was published in 2017. Chicago style is commonly used in historical studies and some social science publications.

Chicago Formatting

General Formatting

  • 1" margins on all four sides
  • Times New Roman; 12 pt. font
  • Text should be double-spaced, with the exception of:
    • Block quotes
    • Table Titles
    • Figure Captions
  • Use a 1/2” indent for paragraph beginnings, block quotes and bibliographic indents.
  • Bibliographic and notation entries should be single spaced internally, but contain a space between each entry.
  • Page numbers should be placed in the header of the first page of text, beginning with number 1. Continue your page numbers till the end of your bibliography.
  • Longer publications should use Subheadings.
  • Assemble your paper in the following order:
    • Cover/Title page
    • Body of the paper
    • Appendix (if needed)
    • Endnotes (if using endnote style)
    • Bibliography

Title/Cover Page

  • ​Center the title of your page around half-way down.
  • If your paper has a subtitle, end the title line with a colon and place the subtitle on the next line.
  • Center your name directly under the title.
  • Center your teacher’s name, course title, and date, in three separate lines, directly underneath your name.
  • Do not bold, underline, or otherwise decorate your title.
  • Do not put a page number on your cover page and do not include it in your page count total.

Names and Numbers

  • Use the full name of any person or agency the first time you reference them in a paper. For agencies, include the acronym in parentheses after the full name when first used, e.g. Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). After that, you may choose to use only a person’s last name, or agency acronym.
  • Write out any numbers lower than 100.

 Footnotes/Endnotes

  • Footnotes will always appear at the bottom of the page where the reference occurs and endnotes go on a separate page after the body of the paper.
  • Place the note number at the end of the sentence in which the reference occurs and after any punctuation; remember to superscript it.
  • If using endnotes, title the top of the first page as ‘Notes’ in 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Do not embolden the title.
  • All notes should be typed in 12pt font using Times New Roman.
  • Within the notes themselves, numbers are full-sized, and are followed by a period.
  • Indent the first line of any footnote 1/2” from the margin. Other lines will be flushed left (this formatting is opposite of the bibliography).
  • Notes should be typed using single-space, but different notes should contain a space between them.
  • Only use Arabic numerals, not Roman.
  • Never reuse a number.
  • Use a shortened citation for sources you refer to more than once.
  • If citing multiple sources in a single note, separate each citation with a semicolon.
  • Never use two note numbers at the end of a sentence (see above).
  • If citing the same work again immediately after you've already cited it, use ibid.

Bibliography

  • The bibliography should start on a new page, and be titled ‘Bibliography’ at the top in 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Do not embolden the title.
  • Use proper formatting for each type of source and always using a hanging indent. The first line of the citation will begin on the margin, subsequent lines are indented (opposite of a footnote/endnote).
  • The bibliography must be ordered alphabetically.
  • Entries should be typed single-space with a blank line between each separate citation.
  • If you have multiple bibliographic entries from the same author, it is acceptable to use what is called the ‘3-em’ dash to replace the name of the content creators.

Chicago Manual of Style