Chicago Style: Elements of a Citation

• Author (or editor) is the first element in both notes and bibliography entries.
• Use the author's name as it appears on the title page or article heading.
• If there is no author, the first element of the citation is the article title.
• In full notes, type all author names in direct order, e.g., Charles Schultz.
• When initials are part of a name, separate with a space, e.g., C. S. Lewis.
• In shortened notes, type only author(s) last names, e.g., Schultz and Brown.
• In a bibliography reference, invert the first author's name (Schultz, Charles); additional author names are in direct order (Ron Brown).

• Capitalization:  Use CMS headline style for titles and subtitles of books and articles: Capitalize first and last words and other major words.
• Italics:  Italicize book titles and journal names.
• Question Marks:
• If a title ends in a question mark, do not use a colon before the subtitle.
• if an article title ends with a question mark, do not insert a period after the quotation mark.
• Quotation Marks 
• Enclose article titles in quotation marks. If an article title includes a quotation, enclose the quotation in single quotes, with double quotes around the entire article title.
• Shortening titles:  Shorten a book or article title that is 5 or more words in a note, but do not shorten journal titles. Acceptable ways of shortening titles:
• Omit the initial article (A, The).
• Include only key words from the title. 

• Note the edition of a source in a note or reference if it is not the first edition;  that is, if the source is a numbered edition, or if the title page reads, "revised edition."

• Numbered editions are abbreviated as shown below.

• A revised edition is abbreviated as "rev. ed." in the note, since elements are separated by commas, and "Rev. ed." in the bibliography since elements end in periods.

         Sample Note: 

        Sample Bib:

                       Louis: Mosby, 2002.

• Books:  Provide page numbers when referring to a chapter or section.
• Journal and Magazine articles:  Provide start and end pages.
• Newspaper articles:  No page numbers required.
• Electronic sources without page numbers (including e-books with variable page numbers due to text size):  Provide identifying information, e.g., chapter number, paragraph number, heading or section title.

Include a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) in your citation if one is listed. A DOI, appended to the address, http://dx.doi.org/, links directly to the source. If no DOI is available, list a URL. Include the access date only if required by your professor.

Sample Note:

12. Pamela Paul, "The Playground Gets Even Tougher," New York Times, October 10, 2010, 12, Academic Search Complete (54317717). 

Sample Bib:

Books:

• Use the most recent date on the copyright page.  If it has no date, use  "n.d."
• If you have an idea of the date, enclose it in square brackets, e.g., [1951].

Magazines:   Use the most complete date available on the cover or table of contents.

• The place of publication is usually found on the book's title page.  If more than one city is listed, use the first.
• If a city is not well known, include the state, province, or country.  Use state postal codes and abbreviate country/province as in Section 10.32 of CMS.
• Make sure to use a city's English name, e.g., "Rome" not "Roma."
• If no place is listed, use "n.p." in a note and "N.p." in a bibliography.

• The publisher's name is found on the title page.
• Omit initial articles from publisher names like A, An, and The.
• Omit common corporate designations like Inc., Ltd., Co., and Publishing Co., but retain special designations like Sons, Brothers, etc.
• Omit Press if doing so is not confusing. For example, use Abingdon rather than Abingdon Press but do not omit Press from Free Press.  Also, do not omit Press from a university press name (e.g., Ohio University Press).
• Does the publisher name include and or &?  Use either but be consistent.
• Is the publisher's name foreign?  Do not translate.
• Is the publisher unknown (as with an older work)?  Use place and date only.
• If the publisher's parent company appears on the title page, do not include it.