Chicago Manual of Style

The Chicago Manual of Style is a documentation system that references sources in two methods: 1. Parenthedical author-date citations within the text with reference lists; 2. notes with biliographies.


  • Parenthetical citations: One method the Chicago Manual of Style uses for identifying sources is author-date parenthetical citations, which identify works by author’s last name and date of publication within parenthesis in the text of a paper. A full description of the source is found at the end of the paper in a “Bibliography” or “Works Cited”.
  • Standard Identification: Documentation is placed in parenthesis at the end of a quote or paraphrase and contains the author’s last name, publication date, and page or pages being referenced.

    • (Smith 1984, 126-28)

    References should be placed before a mark of punctuation:

    Many families moved West during the Depression to harvest fruit in California (Hoover [1972] 1984, 76).

    If reference placement at the end of the sentence is impractical, the reference should be inserted at a logical place in the sentence:

    Various historians (Jones and Carter 1980) have reported findings at variance with the foregoing.

    When all or part of the citation is incorporated into a sentence, there is not need to repeat information in parenthesis:

    Jones and Carter (1980) report findings at variance with the foregoing.

  • Identification of a multi-volume work:When a reference is to both a volume and page numbers, a colon is used.

    (Wallace 1993, 3:78-9)

    If a reference is to a volume only, insert “vol.” to clarify.

    (Wallace 1993, vol. 3)

  • Identification of an edited work: If a work was edited or compiled and does not have an author, place the name in quotation marks.Note: Ed. or comp. is not used in the text reference.

    (“Miller” 1987)

  • Identification of a reference by two or three authors:List authors’ names in the order they appear on the title page.

    (Anderson and Floyd 1976)

    (Weber, Austin, and Kemper 1988)

  • Identification of a work with four or more authors:List the first author followed by “et al”.

    (Frank et al. 1986)

  • Identification of a work published by a corporation, agency, or organization:Use the group name in place of the author if no author is given.

    (American Food and Drug Administration 1999)

  • Identification of a new edition of a work:The original publication date is placed in [brackets] followed by the date of the edition used.

    (Hoover [1972] 1984)

  • Two or more references given together are separated by semicolons:

    (Walker 1987; Kinston and Kemper 1988; Frank 1986)

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Bibliography A bibliography (or “works cited” page) is a list of sources that were used to obtain information on a subject. It is found at the end of a paper. Entries are arranged alphabetically by author’s last name.

  • Information included in a bibliography entry for a book
    • Name of the author or authors, the editors, or the institution responsible for the writing of the book
    • Full title of the book, including subtitle, if any (italicized)
    • Title of series, if any, and volume or number in the series
    • Volume number or total number of volumes of a multi-volume work
    • Edition, if not the original
    • City of publication
    • Publisher’s name
    • Date of publication

  • Standard reference to a book:

    Smith, Richard. The Fall of Rome. New York: Publisher’s Publishing Co., 1984.

  • Multi-volume work:

    1) The general title may be given first, followed by the number volume and the title of the particular volume:

    Wallace, Andrew. Art History. Vol. 3, Cuneiform Forms. Philadelphia: New Haven Press, 1993.

    2) The title of the volume may be given first followed by its volume number and the general title.

    Wallace, Andrew. Cuneiform Forms. Vol. 3 of Art History. Philadelphia: New Haven Press, 1993.

  • Edited, compiled or translated work: ed., comp. or trans. follows the name, preceded by a comma.

    Miller, Susan, ed. Letters from Literary Geniuses. Chicago: Chicago Press, 1987.

    Parker, Theresa and David Williams, comps.

  • A work by two or three authors

    The name of the first author is reversed and the following names are either

    1) not reversed and separated by commas, or

    Anderson, Brian, and Wilson R. Floyd.

    Weber, Drew, Frank P. Austin, and Michael Kemper.

    2) all reversed and, when more than two, separated by semicolons.

    Anderson, Brain, and Floyd, Wilson R.

    Weber, Drew; Austin, Frank P.; and Kemper, Michael.

  • A work by four or more authors:

    Frank, Philip et al.

  • Information included in a bibliography for journal, magazine, and periodical articles:

    • Name of the author
    • Title of the article (placed in “quotation marks”)
    • Name of the periodical
    • Volume number (sometimes issue number)
    • Date (placed in parentheses)
    • Pages occupied by the article

  • Standard reference to a journal article:

    Franklin, Robert. “A Week in Europe.” The Journal of Foreign Travel 12 (1983): 76-84.

    Variations on issue/volume, date, and pages, acceptable if followed consistently:

    The Journal of Foreign Travel 12 (July 1983): 76-84. (includes month or season of publication)

    The Journal of Foreign Travel 12, no. 3 (1983): 76-84. (includes issue/volume number)

    The Journal of Foreign Travel (3): 76-84 (July 1983). (includes issue/volume number and month/season)

    The Journal of Foreign Travel (3): 76-84 (1983). (includes issue/volume number)

    NOTE: The volume number follows the journal title with no punctuation separating them.

    Arabic numbers (0-9) are used for volume numbers even when a journal itself uses roman numerals.

  • Reminders for punctuating entries:

    Use a period after each main segment of an entry: Author’s name. Title. Publication data.

    Italicize book and journal titles. Use a colon to separate the title from the subtitle.

    Placearticle titles in quotation marks.

    Indent the second and subsequent lines of an entry.

  • Tips for arranging bibliography entries: A single-author entry comes before a multi-author entry beginning with the same name.

    Original works precede edited works by the same author. Works by the same author may be arranged chronologically by publication date or alphabetically by title.

    For more than one work by an author, successive entries use a dash followed by a period instead of using the author’s name:

    Franklin, Robert. A European Travel Journal. New York: Random House, 1978.

    ---. “A Week in Europe.” The Journal of Foreign Travel 12 (1983): 76-84.

    Dashes should not be used when a co-author is added. Repeat the name.

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The Coe College Writing Center compiled this information using The Chicago Manual of Style: The 13th Edition of A Manual of Style Revised and Expanded. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1982. 399-405, 420-83.

The text is available in the Writing Center to clarify further questions on citation and documentation.
This website created and maintained by the Coe Writing Center. Copyright 2001.
Email Dr. Bob Marrs with any questions, comments or suggestions.