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Citations: Chicago Style (17th ed.)

Guide to formatting and citing using the notes-bibliography format for Chicago Style, 17th. ed.

Notes and References

The first time you write an in-text citation for a source, it will look like a full-blown reference that would appear on your Bibliography page. That's just how Chicago does it.

The second, third, fourth, etc. times you refer to that same source, you will use a short version of that note, which uses the author's last name, part of the title of the work, and a page number.

To see examples, just browse this guide for your source type. Each example provides a general format (labeling the different elements of the citation) as well as specific examples for a full note, shortened note, and the bibliography entry.

Adding Footnotes in Word

Unlike MLA and APA, you'll be using footnotes to add your in-text documentation. (There is a version of Chicago which uses parenthetical citations -- Author-Date format -- but you're more likely to use Notes-Bibliography, which this guide focuses on.)

To add footnotes to your paper, just click the "Insert Footnote" option in Word (under References) wherever you'd normally be adding a parenthetical citation. Word will take care of all the spacing and footnote numbering for you.

Screenshot of References tab in Word, with a red arrow pointing at the "Insert Footnote" button

You will need to do some slight reformatting to your footnotes to make them fit Chicago Style. Footnotes should be single-spaced (with an empty line separating each footnote) and use a first line indent.

Default Word footnotes (wrong for Chicago Style):

Default footnote example: the size, spacing, and alignment are all wrong for Chicago Style.

Chicago-formatted footnotes:

Correct Chicago footnotes in size 12 Times New Roman, with an empty line in between footnotes and a first-line indent applied.

Our document template has already been formatted to Chicago style for all parts of the paper, including the footnotes.