Chicago Referencing Generator

Chicago style referencing is used by students, writers and researchers worldwide to acknowledge the use of other people’s words and ideas in their written work, thereby lending credibility to their statements and conclusions without committing plagiarism.

The Chicago Manual of Style (Sixteenth Edition) outlines two basic documentation systems:

• Notes-Bibliography System (NB) is made up of footnotes or endnotes (or both), and a bibliography
• Author-Date System consists of parenthetical author-date references and a corresponding reference list including full publication information

The style offers academic writers the choice between these two formats; choosing which system you are going to apply to your work will depend on your discipline and the type of sources you are referencing. If you are unsure which system you should be using, make sure you consult your tutor before you begin.

The notes and bibliography system is primarily used in the humanities – including literature, history, and the arts – because it is a flexible style that accommodates unusual source types and opens up space for commentary on the sources cited. A superscript number at the end of the sentence signals to the reader that a source has been used, and summary details of the source can be found using the numbered footnote at the bottom of the page. Full details of the source information can be located in the bibliography, which is presented at the end of the essay in alphabetical order by author. Read more about creating footnotes here.

Chicago style referencing also has an author-date variant, which is commonly used by those in the physical, natural, and social sciences. Sources are briefly cited in the text and enclosed within parentheses. Each parenthetical reference includes the author’s last name and date of publication, and is keyed to a corresponding reference in a complete list of references, where full bibliographic information is provided.

Whether you are using the notes and bibliography system or the author-date style in your work, Cite This For Me’s referencing tool will generate your citations in seconds. Simply log in to your account, or create one for free, and select ‘Chicago Manual of Style 16th edition (full-note bibliography)’ or ‘Chicago Manual of Style 16th edition (author-date)’.

Whilst Cite This For Me’s Chicago style citation generator ensures ultimate accuracy whether you are writing a university assignment or preparing a research project, you are encouraged to review your references manually for consistency, accuracy and completeness according to this guide.

I. Notes-Bibliography System

• Formatting a footnote

If you are adopting the Chicago style referencing NB system, you should insert a footnote to acknowledge your source material, rather than a parenthetical reference. Whenever you reference a source, whether it is using a direct quote, paraphrasing another author’s words, or simply referring to an idea or theory, you should:

• Insert a superscript number (raised slightly above the line) at the end of the sentence containing the source – begin with number 1 and continue numerically throughout the paper
• The superscript number should follow any punctuation mark (full stops, parentheses and commas etc.). Do not put any punctuation after the number
• Each number must correspond to a matching number at the foot of the page – whilst note numbers in-text are set as superscript numbers, the notes themselves are full size
• Footnote generally lists the author (first name first), title, and facts of publication (enclosed in parentheses), in that order – each should be separated by commas. Titles are capitalised, titles of books and journals are italicised, titles of smaller works (e.g. chapters or articles) are presented in roman and enclosed in double quotation marks
• Footnotes should always end with a period in Chicago style referencing (except when an URL or DOI has been added)
• Notes should be separated from the main body of text with a typed line 1 ½ inches long
• Notes are single-spaced, and the first line of each footnote is indented two spaces from the page margin. Double-space between each note
• Abbreviations include editor/edited by/ edition (ed/eds.), translator/translated by (trans.), volume (vol.), chapter (chap.), no date (n.d), part (pt.), and others (et al.) and revised/revised by/revision/review (rev.)

Read more about formatting your footnotes on Monash University’s website.

• Formatting a shortened note

Whilst the first reference for each source should include all relevant bibliographic information, if you reference the same source again Chicago style referencing guidelines permit you to use a shortened form of the note.

• The short form need only include enough information to remind your reader of the full title, or to direct them to the appropriate entry in the bibliography
• Include the surname of the author, a shortened form of the title of the work cited (if more than four words), and page number(s) in the reference
• If a work has two or three authors, reference in full the first time and subsequently give the last name of each; for more than three, the surname of the first author followed by et al.
• If you reference the same source (and same page number(s)) from a single source two or more times consecutively, the footnote should use the word “Ibid.,”. If you use the same source but different page number, use “Ibid., (page number)” – e.g. Farmwinkle, Humor of the Midwest, 241 can be cited as ‘Ibid., 258-59.’
• Are you using Chicago style referencing to cite one source multiple times in the same paragraph? You can reference it either parenthetically in-text or in subsequent notes by means of an abbreviation – e.g. Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway (Ware: Wordsworth Editions, 1996), 52 (hereafter cited in text as Dalloway)

Formatting an endnote

If you are drawing on multiple sources, a page cluttered with footnotes can overwhelm your reader. Whilst readers of scholarly works generally prefer footnotes for ease of reference, endnotes are less intrusive and will not interrupt the flow of your work. You should judge for yourself whether footnotes or endnotes would best compliment your assignment, and then Cite This For Me’s Chicago citation generator will create them for you.

• Whilst footnotes are added at the end of the page on which the source is cited, endnotes will be compiled at the end of each chapter or at the end of the entire work (this usually depends on the length of your work)
• Notes should be numbered consecutively (beginning with number 1) throughout each chapter or article
• You must include all of the bibliographic information within each entry
• At the end of the chapter or assignment, list the full references under the heading ‘Notes’

II. Author-Date System

If you are using the author-date system in Chicago style referencing, you must indicate each source with a brief parenthetical reference:

• Include the last name of author and the year of publication in parentheses, with each element separated by a comma. Include a page number if you are quoting a particular section of a source
• Position the in-text reference (click here to read more about formatting in-text references) at the end of the sentence referring to the source, and place just inside a mark of punctuation – unless it is a block quotation, in which case it is placed outside the punctuation
• Where the author’s name appears in the text, you don’t need to repeat it in the reference
• When you are using Chicago style referencing to cite works with more than three authors, only the name of the first author is used, followed by et al. – e.g. (Schonen et al. 2009)
• Compile a list of all source material in a reference list at the end of your assignment

Recent revisions to the format have allowed for a certain degree of flexibility. For instance, you may prefer to use a combination of footnotes and parenthetical author-date references (especially if you have an excess of notes) – you could use author-date references to indicate sources within the text, and numbered footnotes or endnotes to add comments.

Why not give the Cite This For Me app or Chicago style citation generator a try? Save yourself the bother of formatting your references and have the whole thing done in moments using our state-of-the-art automated technology. Simply search for the author or title of the book you want to reference and leave the rest to us.

Carefully follow these examples when compiling and formatting both your in-text references and bibliography in order to avoid losing marks for referencing incorrectly.

I. Notes-Bibliography System

Each example in this section includes a numbered footnote, a shortened form of the note, and a corresponding bibliography entry for you to follow when using Chicago style referencing.

Book with single author or editor:

• • Full reference in a footnote:

5. Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (New York: Penguin, 2006), 99-100.

• • Shortened reference in a footnote:

5. Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma, 3.

• • Bibliography entry:

Pollan, Michael, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin, 2006.

Book with multiple authors:

Are you using Chicago style referencing to cite a book with two or more authors?Note that only the first-listed name is inverted in the bibliography entry.

• • Full reference in a footnote:

3. Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns, The War: An Intimate History, 1941–1945 (New York: Knopf, 2007), 52.

• • Shortened reference in a footnote:

3. Ward and Burns, War, 52.

• • Bibliography entry:

Ward, Geoffrey C., and Ken Burns. The War: An Intimate History, 1941–1945. New York: Knopf, 2007.

Print journal article:

• • Full reference in a footnote:

89. Walter Blair, “Americanized Comic Braggarts,” Critical Inquiry 4, no. 2 (1977): 331-32.

• • Shortened reference in a footnote:

89. Blair, “Americanized Comic Braggarts,” 335.

• • Bibliography entry:

Blair, Walter. “Americanized Comic Braggarts.” Critical Inquiry 4, no. 2 (1977): 331-49.

Online journal article:

When referencing electronic sources researched online, the Chicago style referencing manual recommends including an electronic resource identifier, where possible, to lead your reader directly to the source.

A URL is a uniform resource locator, which directs the reader straight to the online source. When using a URL, copy the address from your browser’s address bar when viewing the article. You must include the source’s full publication information as well. Or simply paste the URL into Cite This For Me’s Chicago citation generator to auto-generate your reference.

• • Full reference in a footnote:

12. Wilfried Karmaus and John F. Riebow, “Storage of Serum in Plastic and Glass Containers May Alter the Serum Concentration of Polychlorinated Biphenyls,” Environmental Health Perspectives 112 (May 2004): 645, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3435987.

• • Shortened reference in a footnote:

12. Karmaus and Riebow, “Storage of Serum,” 645.

• • Bibliography entry:

Karmaus, Wilfried, and John F. Riebow. “Storage of Serum in Plastic and Glass Containers May Alter the Serum Concentration of Polychlorinated Biphenyls.” Environmental Health Perspectives 112 (May 2004): 643-647. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3435987.

DOI:

A DOI is a digital object identifier; a unique and permanent name assigned to a piece of intellectual property, such as a journal article, in any medium in which it is published. If it is available, Chicago style referencing guidlines prefer that you include the DOI rather than the ISBN.

• • Full reference in a footnote:

3. William J. Novak, “The Myth of the ‘Weak’ American State,” American Historical Review 113 (June 2008): 758, doi:10.1086/ahr.113.3.752.

• • Shortened reference in a footnote:

3. Novak, “Myth,” 770.

• • Bibliography entry:

Novak, William J. “The Myth of the ‘Weak’ American State,” American Historical Review 113 (June 2008): 752-72. doi:10.1086/ahr.113.3.752.

II. Author-Date System:

Each example in this section includes an in-text reference and a corresponding reference list entry for you to follow when using Chicago style referencing.

Article with single author or editor, author mentioned in text:

• • In-text reference:

Here we empirically demonstrate that workers’ and regulatory agents’ understandings of discrimination and legality emerge not only in the shadow of the law but also, as Albiston (2005) suggests…

• • Reference list entry:

Albiston, Catherine R. 2005. “Bargaining in the Shadow of Social Institutions: Competing Discourses and Social Change in the Workplace Mobilization of Civil Rights.” Law and Society Review 39 (1): 11-47.

Article with multiple authors, author not mentioned in text:

• • In-text reference:

As legal observers point out, much dispute resolution transpires outside the courtroom but in the “shadow of the law” (Mnookin and Kornhauser 1979)…

• • Reference list entry:

Mnookin, Robert, and Lewis Kornhauser. 1979. “Bargaining in the Shadow of the Law: The Case of Divorce.” Yale Law Journal 88 (5): 950-97.

*For a work with four or more authors, include all the authors in the reference list entry. However, in the in-text reference you need only cite the last name of the first-listed author, followed by et al. (e.g. Barnes et al. 2008, 118-19)

For more examples, see chapters 14 and 15 of the official style manual (sixteenth edition), or find more information available here.

Plagiarism occurs when a writer does not properly credit their source material; stealing the ideas or words of another and passing them off as one’s own is literary theft. Failure to acknowledge the sources upon which you’ve built your work is a breach of academic integrity, and this can result in a failed module, expulsion from university or even legal action from the original author. The proper use of a referencing system protects writers from committing plagiarism and being accused of plagiarising their work.

Both courtesy and copyright laws require you to identify the following in your work:

• Where you directly quote another author’s words
• Where you paraphrase or summarise another author’s words or ideas
• Where you include information, facts or ideas that are not generally known or easily checked

As a general rule, you must highlight any borrowed source material that might appear to be your own if it is not referenced correctly. When in doubt, remember that it is much better to over-cite your work than under-cite.

The importance of attributing your research goes beyond avoiding plagiarism, and whilst it may seem like a tedious process, attributing and documenting your sources is an essential practice for all academic writers. Accurate Chicago style referencing will validate your work by demonstrating that you have thoroughly researched your chosen subject and found a variety of scholarly opinions and ideas to support, or challenge, your thesis. As an academic writer, your written work is a chance to engage in conversation with the scholars that you are referencing by placing your own ideas in the context of the larger intellectual conversation about your topic. In correctly using references, you also lead your reader directly to the sources you have consulted, thereby enabling them to form their own views on your opinions and appreciate your contribution to the topic.

Here at Cite This For Me we know that referencing can be an arduous and time-consuming process. Luckily for you, you can work more efficiently – and avoid being marked down for plagiarism – by using Cite This For Me’s Chicago style citation generator.