This guide outlines the convention for referencing resources for the Seventeenth Edition of The Chicago Manual of Style. This new edition of the guide includes expanded information on referencing digital resources.
This part describes Chicago's author-date system of documentation. It uses parenthetical (i.e. in brackets) citations that correspond to entries in a reference list. Students cite sources within their text stating an author or authors’ surnames and the publication year. A reference list at the end of the document provides full details of all sources cited. Arrange references in alphabetical order by the authors' surnames, with a hanging indent.
Parenthetical citations present authors’ surnames and the year of publication. Position parenthetical citations before punctuation. For quotations and references to specific passages include page numbers following a comma. If you cannot find a date, you can use n.d. instead (for 'no date').
Chicago’s author-date system shares many characteristics with its notes and bibliography system. Thus, students may refer to the notes and bibliography system for general patterns of syntax, capitalisation, and punctuation. However, the key difference between the two systems is the positioning of the publication year. As author-date citations state authors’ surnames and the publication year, these two elements appear in this order at the beginning of each reference list entry.
Use semicolons to separate multiple references within one parenthetical citation. Differentiate between works by the same author published in the same year by adding a, b, c, and etcetera. Present multiple works by the same author chronologically in the reference list.
Note that citations include no punctuation between the author’s name and the year of publication.
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Rule for Citation |
(Author’s Surname Year of Publication) or (Author’s Surname Year of Publication, Page or Pages) |
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Example of Citation entry |
(McKale 2012) or (McKale 2012, 32) |
Multiple references in one parenthetical citation are separated by semicolons.
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Rule for Citation |
(Author’s Surname Year of Publication; Author’s Surname Year of Publication; and etcetera) |
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Example of Citation entry |
(Armstrong and Malacinski 1989; Beigl 1989; Pickett and White 1985) |
Where the author’s surname is introduced in the text omit it from the parentheses, and place the citation directly after the name.
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Rule for Citation |
Author’s name (Year of Publication, Page or Pages) … |
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Example of Citation entry |
McKale (2012) argues that … |
A reference list at the end of the document provides full details of sources consulted when preparing a document. It lists all the sources cited in the text. Unlike bibliography entries, each entry in the reference list must correspond to a work cited in the text. Arrange all entries in alphabetical order by the authors’, editors’, or compilers’ surnames. If the author is unknown, arrange the entry in alphabetical order by the title. You can usually omit parts of a reference if the information is not available. Use a 'hanging indent', with each entry on a separate line.