How to Cite in Chicago 17: Complete Notes-Bibliography Guide

The Chicago Manual of Style, now in its 17th edition, is the gold standard for citation in history, the humanities, and many social sciences. Unlike APA 7's author-date system or MLA 9's parenthetical approach, Chicago's Notes-Bibliography (NB) system uses footnotes or endnotes paired with a bibliography — giving you the flexibility to comment, contextualize, and cross-reference sources right where you cite them. This guide covers everything you need: formatting rules, examples across every major source type, shortened note conventions, and the mistakes that cost students marks.

Whether you're writing a seminar paper on the French Revolution or a senior thesis on postcolonial literature, this page will walk you through exactly how to format every footnote, endnote, and bibliography entry you'll encounter.

Understanding the Notes-Bibliography System

Chicago offers two citation systems: Notes-Bibliography (NB) and Author-Date. This guide covers NB, which is overwhelmingly preferred in history, literature, philosophy, religion, and the arts. If your professor says "use Chicago," they almost certainly mean Notes-Bibliography unless they specify otherwise.

How the System Works

Every time you quote, paraphrase, or reference a source, you place a superscript number in your text. That number corresponds to either a footnote (at the bottom of the same page) or an endnote (collected at the end of the paper or chapter). At the end of your paper, a bibliography lists every source you cited, plus any sources you consulted but didn't directly cite.

The critical thing to understand: notes and bibliography entries use different formatting. A note reads like a sentence — author's name in normal order, elements separated by commas, enclosed in parentheses for publication details. A bibliography entry inverts the first author's name (last name first) for alphabetization, uses periods between major elements, and omits parentheses around publication information.

Footnotes vs. Endnotes

This is one of the most common points of confusion. Here's what you need to know:

Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page where the citation occurs. They're easier for readers to check without flipping pages.
Endnotes are collected at the end of the paper (or chapter, in a book). They keep pages cleaner but require the reader to flip back and forth.
The formatting is identical. Whether you use footnotes or endnotes, the content of each note is exactly the same. The only difference is placement.
Your professor or publisher decides. Unless told otherwise, footnotes are generally preferred in student papers. Some journals and book publishers require endnotes.
Never use both simultaneously for citations. You can use footnotes for citations and endnotes for substantive commentary (or vice versa), but this is rare and must be consistent.

The Three Note Formats

Chicago NB uses three different note formats depending on context. Understanding when to use each one is essential:

Full note: Used the first time you cite a source. Contains complete bibliographic information.
Shortened note: Used for every subsequent citation of the same source. Contains only author's last name, a shortened title, and page number.
Ibid.: Short for ibidem ("in the same place"). Used when citing the same source as the immediately preceding note. Chicago 17 permits but no longer encourages "Ibid." — shortened notes are preferred for clarity.

The Three Note Formats in Action

First (full) note:
1. Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877 (New York: Harper & Row, 1988), 124.

Shortened note (subsequent citations):
5. Foner, Reconstruction, 251.

Ibid. (same source as immediately preceding note):
6. Ibid., 253.

Bibliography entry:
Foner, Eric. Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877. New York: Harper & Row, 1988.

Important: Chicago 17 discourages heavy use of "Ibid." because it can become confusing when notes are added, deleted, or reordered during revision. When in doubt, use a shortened note instead.

Books: The Core of Humanities Research

Books are the most frequently cited source type in history and humanities papers. Master these formats and you'll handle the majority of your citations confidently.

Single Author

Book by One Author

Full note:
1. Jill Lepore, These Truths: A History of the United States (New York: W. W. Norton, 2018), 47.

Shortened note:
4. Lepore, These Truths, 112.

Bibliography:
Lepore, Jill. These Truths: A History of the United States. New York: W. W. Norton, 2018.

Note the key differences: the note uses the author's name in normal order (first last), separates elements with commas, wraps publication info in parentheses, and ends with a page number. The bibliography inverts the name, uses periods, drops the parentheses, and omits specific page numbers.

Two or Three Authors

Book by Two Authors

Full note:
2. Elizabeth Hinton and DeAnza Cook, America on Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion since the 1960s (New York: Liveright, 2021), 89.

Shortened note:
7. Hinton and Cook, America on Fire, 134.

Bibliography:
Hinton, Elizabeth, and DeAnza Cook. America on Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion since the 1960s. New York: Liveright, 2021.

In the bibliography, only the first author's name is inverted. The second (and third) author's name stays in normal order. In notes, all names appear in normal order.

Four or More Authors

Book by Four or More Authors

Full note:
3. Dana Goldstein et al., The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession (New York: Doubleday, 2014), 56.

Shortened note:
9. Goldstein et al., Teacher Wars, 103.

Bibliography:
Goldstein, Dana, Rachel M. Cohen, Eliza Shapiro, and Troy Closson. The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession. New York: Doubleday, 2014.

Key rule: Notes use "et al." after the first author when there are four or more authors. The bibliography always lists all authors, no matter how many there are.

Edited or Translated Books

Edited Volume (Citing the Whole Book)

Full note:
4. Lynn Hunt, ed., The New Cultural History (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989), 12.

Shortened note:
11. Hunt, New Cultural History, 45.

Bibliography:
Hunt, Lynn, ed. The New Cultural History. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.

Translated Book

Full note:
5. Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, trans. Constance Borde and Sheila Malovany-Chevallier (New York: Vintage Books, 2011), 283.

Shortened note:
13. Beauvoir, Second Sex, 301.

Bibliography:
Beauvoir, Simone de. The Second Sex. Translated by Constance Borde and Sheila Malovany-Chevallier. New York: Vintage Books, 2011.

Notice that notes abbreviate "translated by" to "trans." while the bibliography spells it out. The same applies to "edited by" (abbreviated "ed." in notes, spelled out in bibliography).

Chapter in an Edited Volume

This is one of the most common — and most commonly botched — citation types in humanities papers.

Chapter or Essay in an Edited Book

Full note:
6. Natalie Zemon Davis, "Women on Top," in Society and Culture in Early Modern France (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1975), 124–51.

Shortened note:
15. Davis, "Women on Top," 136.

Bibliography:
Davis, Natalie Zemon. "Women on Top." In Society and Culture in Early Modern France, 124–51. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1975.

Chapter in a Book Edited by Someone Else

Full note:
7. Clifford Geertz, "Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture," in The Interpretation of Cultures, ed. Clifford Geertz (New York: Basic Books, 1973), 3–30.

Shortened note:
17. Geertz, "Thick Description," 14.

Bibliography:
Geertz, Clifford. "Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture." In The Interpretation of Cultures, edited by Clifford Geertz, 3–30. New York: Basic Books, 1973.

The chapter title goes in quotation marks; the book title is italicized. In the bibliography, include the full page range of the chapter. In a note, cite the specific page(s) you're referencing.

Common Mistake: Missing Page Range in Bibliography

Wrong:
Davis, Natalie Zemon. "Women on Top." In Society and Culture in Early Modern France. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1975.

Correct:
Davis, Natalie Zemon. "Women on Top." In Society and Culture in Early Modern France, 124–51. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1975.

The bibliography entry for a chapter must include the chapter's full page range. The note cites the specific page; the bibliography gives the entire span.

Edition Other Than the First

Book with an Edition Number

Full note:
8. William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, The Elements of Style, 4th ed. (New York: Longman, 2000), 23.

Shortened note:
19. Strunk and White, Elements of Style, 23.

Bibliography:
Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. 4th ed. New York: Longman, 2000.

E-books

E-book with a DOI or Stable URL

Full note:
9. Saidiya Hartman, Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments (New York: W. W. Norton, 2019), chap. 3, Kindle.

Shortened note:
21. Hartman, Wayward Lives, chap. 3.

Bibliography:
Hartman, Saidiya. Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments. New York: W. W. Norton, 2019. Kindle.

If the e-book has fixed page numbers, cite those. If it doesn't (as with many Kindle editions), cite the chapter or section number instead. If a DOI or stable URL is available, include it at the end of the bibliography entry.

Check Your Chicago Book Citation

Paste a footnote or bibliography entry to validate Chicago 17 formatting

Journal Articles

Scholarly articles are essential to academic writing across every humanities discipline. Chicago treats print and online journal articles slightly differently.

Print Journal Article

Article in a Print Journal

Full note:
10. Hayden White, "The Value of Narrativity in the Representation of Reality," Critical Inquiry 7, no. 1 (Autumn 1980): 5–27.

Shortened note:
23. White, "Value of Narrativity," 12.

Bibliography:
White, Hayden. "The Value of Narrativity in the Representation of Reality." Critical Inquiry 7, no. 1 (Autumn 1980): 5–27.

Journal articles include: volume number, issue number (preceded by "no."), season or month and year in parentheses, and the page range. In a note, cite the specific page. In the bibliography, give the full article page range.

Online Journal Article with DOI

Journal Article Accessed Online

Full note:
11. Joan W. Scott, "Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis," American Historical Review 91, no. 5 (December 1986): 1053–75, https://doi.org/10.2307/1864376.

Shortened note:
25. Scott, "Gender," 1060.

Bibliography:
Scott, Joan W. "Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis." American Historical Review 91, no. 5 (December 1986): 1053–75. https://doi.org/10.2307/1864376.

DOI vs. URL: Always prefer a DOI over a URL. DOIs are permanent and won't break. Format the DOI as a full URL: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx. If no DOI exists, use the article's stable URL. Only include an access date for online sources that lack a publication date or that change over time.

Article Accessed Through a Database

Article from JSTOR or Similar Database

Full note:
12. E. P. Thompson, "The Moral Economy of the English Crowd in the Eighteenth Century," Past & Present, no. 50 (February 1971): 76–136, https://www.jstor.org/stable/650244.

Shortened note:
27. Thompson, "Moral Economy," 89.

Bibliography:
Thompson, E. P. "The Moral Economy of the English Crowd in the Eighteenth Century." Past & Present, no. 50 (February 1971): 76–136. https://www.jstor.org/stable/650244.

Note that Past & Present numbers issues only (no volume). When a journal has no volume number, the issue number follows the journal title directly, preceded by "no." and a comma.

Common Mistake: Incorrect Punctuation Around Volume and Issue

Wrong:
White, Hayden. "The Value of Narrativity." Critical Inquiry, vol. 7, no. 1 (Autumn 1980): 5–27.

Correct:
White, Hayden. "The Value of Narrativity in the Representation of Reality." Critical Inquiry 7, no. 1 (Autumn 1980): 5–27.

Chicago does not use "vol." before the volume number in notes or bibliography entries for journals. The volume number follows the journal title with a space, not a comma. Also, never truncate the article title in the bibliography.

Primary Sources and Archival Materials

History students in particular will need to cite primary sources — letters, government documents, manuscripts, and archival collections. Chicago handles these with care.

Archival or Manuscript Sources

Unpublished Manuscript in an Archive

Full note:
13. George Washington to John Adams, July 13, 1798, George Washington Papers, Series 2, Letterbooks 1754–1799, Letterbook 24, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Shortened note:
29. Washington to Adams, July 13, 1798.

Bibliography:
Washington, George. George Washington Papers. Series 2, Letterbooks 1754–1799. Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Archival sources are cited differently from published works. Notes are more specific (identifying the particular document), while the bibliography entry typically cites the collection as a whole. Your instructor may have specific preferences — always ask.

Government Documents

Congressional Hearing or Report

Full note:
14. United States Congress, Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, The Gulf of Tonkin, the 1964 Incidents, 90th Cong., 2nd sess., 1968, S. Rep. 90-797, 12.

Shortened note:
31. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Gulf of Tonkin, 12.

Bibliography:
United States Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations. The Gulf of Tonkin, the 1964 Incidents. 90th Cong., 2nd sess., 1968. S. Rep. 90-797.

Published Primary Source Collections

Letter or Document in a Published Collection

Full note:
15. Abraham Lincoln, "Gettysburg Address," November 19, 1863, in The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, ed. Roy P. Basler, vol. 7 (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953), 23.

Shortened note:
33. Lincoln, "Gettysburg Address," 23.

Bibliography:
Lincoln, Abraham. "Gettysburg Address." November 19, 1863. In The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, edited by Roy P. Basler, vol. 7, 22–23. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953.

Newspapers, Magazines, and Reviews

Newspaper Article

Newspaper Article (Print or Online)

Full note:
16. Nikole Hannah-Jones, "What Is Owed," New York Times Magazine, June 30, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/24/magazine/reparations-slavery.html.

Shortened note:
35. Hannah-Jones, "What Is Owed."

Bibliography:
Hannah-Jones, Nikole. "What Is Owed." New York Times Magazine, June 30, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/24/magazine/reparations-slavery.html.

Special rule for newspapers: Newspaper articles are often cited only in notes, not in the bibliography. Chicago considers this acceptable because newspapers are consulted so frequently. However, if a specific article is central to your argument, include it in the bibliography. When in doubt, include it.

Page numbers are generally omitted for newspaper articles, since editions and pagination vary.

Magazine Article

Article in a Popular Magazine

Full note:
17. Rebecca Mead, "The Troll Slayer," New Yorker, September 1, 2014, 30.

Shortened note:
37. Mead, "Troll Slayer," 32.

Bibliography:
Mead, Rebecca. "The Troll Slayer." New Yorker, September 1, 2014.

Book Review

Review of a Book

Full note:
18. David A. Bell, review of The Origins of the French Revolution, by William Doyle, Journal of Modern History 73, no. 4 (December 2001): 956–58.

Shortened note:
39. Bell, review of Origins of the French Revolution, 957.

Bibliography:
Bell, David A. Review of The Origins of the French Revolution, by William Doyle. Journal of Modern History 73, no. 4 (December 2001): 956–58.

Online and Digital Sources

The 17th edition significantly expanded its guidance on digital sources. The general principle: cite online sources as completely as possible, and always include a URL or DOI.

Website Content

Page on a Website

Full note:
19. "The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy," Yale Law School, Lillian Goldman Law Library, accessed March 5, 2026, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/.

Shortened note:
41. "Avalon Project."

Bibliography:
Yale Law School, Lillian Goldman Law Library. "The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy." Accessed March 5, 2026. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/.

Include an access date for web pages that lack a publication or revision date, or for content that may change. If there's a clear publication date, use that instead and omit the access date.

Blog Post

Blog Entry

Full note:
20. Ben Schmidt, "Sapping Attention: When You Have a MALLET, Everything Looks Like a Nail," Sapping Attention (blog), November 2, 2012, http://sappingattention.blogspot.com/2012/11/when-you-have-mallet.html.

Shortened note:
43. Schmidt, "When You Have a MALLET."

Bibliography:
Schmidt, Ben. "Sapping Attention: When You Have a MALLET, Everything Looks Like a Nail." Sapping Attention (blog). November 2, 2012. http://sappingattention.blogspot.com/2012/11/when-you-have-mallet.html.

Blog posts are usually cited only in notes, like newspaper articles. Include in the bibliography if the post is significant to your argument. The word "(blog)" appears after the blog's name.

Social Media

Tweet / Social Media Post

Full note:
21. Barack Obama (@BarackObama), "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion," Twitter, August 12, 2017, https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/896523232098078720.

Shortened note:
45. Obama, "No one is born hating."

Bibliography:
Obama, Barack (@BarackObama). "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion." Twitter, August 12, 2017. https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/896523232098078720.

Social media posts are typically cited in notes only. Quote the first 160 characters or so if the full post is too long, and always include the URL.

Check Your Chicago Citation

Paste a citation to validate Chicago 17 formatting

Dissertations and Theses

Unpublished Dissertation or Thesis

Full note:
22. Maria Elena Martinez, "Space, Order, and Group Identities in a Spanish Colonial Town: Puebla de los Angeles" (PhD diss., University of California, Los Angeles, 1999), 45.

Shortened note:
47. Martinez, "Space, Order, and Group Identities," 78.

Bibliography:
Martinez, Maria Elena. "Space, Order, and Group Identities in a Spanish Colonial Town: Puebla de los Angeles." PhD diss., University of California, Los Angeles, 1999.

Titles of unpublished dissertations and theses are placed in quotation marks, not italicized. "PhD diss." is the standard abbreviation. For master's theses, use "MA thesis" or "MS thesis."

Multimedia Sources

Film or Video

Film

Full note:
23. 13th, directed by Ava DuVernay (Los Angeles: Forward Movement, 2016), Netflix.

Shortened note:
49. DuVernay, 13th.

Bibliography:
DuVernay, Ava, dir. 13th. Los Angeles: Forward Movement, 2016. Netflix.

Podcast Episode

Episode of a Podcast

Full note:
24. Chenjerai Kumanyika and Jack Hitt, "The Spin," July 23, 2017, in Uncivil, produced by Gimlet Media, podcast, MP3 audio, 41:00, https://gimletmedia.com/shows/uncivil.

Shortened note:
51. Kumanyika and Hitt, "The Spin."

Bibliography:
Kumanyika, Chenjerai, and Jack Hitt. "The Spin." July 23, 2017. In Uncivil. Produced by Gimlet Media. Podcast, MP3 audio, 41:00. https://gimletmedia.com/shows/uncivil.

YouTube Video

Video on YouTube or Other Platform

Full note:
25. "The Atlantic Slave Trade: Crash Course World History #24," Crash Course, YouTube video, 11:07, July 5, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnV_MTFEGIY.

Shortened note:
53. "Atlantic Slave Trade: Crash Course."

Bibliography:
Crash Course. "The Atlantic Slave Trade: Crash Course World History #24." YouTube video, 11:07. July 5, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnV_MTFEGIY.

Conference Papers and Lectures

Paper Presented at a Conference

Full note:
26. Susan Sontag, "Regarding the Torture of Others" (paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Historical Association, Chicago, IL, January 8, 2005).

Shortened note:
55. Sontag, "Regarding the Torture of Others."

Bibliography:
Sontag, Susan. "Regarding the Torture of Others." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Historical Association, Chicago, IL, January 8, 2005.

The Bibliography: Rules and Formatting

The bibliography appears at the end of your paper and lists all sources cited in your notes, plus any additional sources you consulted. Here are the formatting rules:

General Rules

Title: Center the word "Bibliography" at the top of the page (not bold, not in quotation marks).
Alphabetical order: Arrange entries alphabetically by the last name of the first author (or by title if there's no author).
Hanging indentation: The first line of each entry is flush left; subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inches.
Single-author entries come first: If you cite multiple works by the same author, list the single-author works before co-authored works. Replace the author's name with a 3-em dash (———) for the second and subsequent entries.
Chronological within same author: Multiple works by the same author are arranged by year of publication, earliest first.
Line spacing: Single-space within entries, double-space between entries (though some professors prefer double-spacing throughout — follow your assignment guidelines).

Multiple Works by the Same Author

Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Translated by Alan Sheridan. New York: Vintage Books, 1977.

———. The History of Sexuality. Vol. 1, An Introduction. Translated by Robert Hurley. New York: Vintage Books, 1978.

———. Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972–1977. Edited by Colin Gordon. New York: Pantheon Books, 1980.

The 3-em dash (———) replaces the author's name for consecutive entries by the same author. Each dash entry is arranged chronologically.

Alphabetizing Tricky Names

Particles (de, von, van): Follow the person's own preference or the convention of their language. For French names, "de" is usually lowercase and alphabetized under the family name (e.g., Beauvoir, Simone de). For Dutch names, "Van" is capitalized and alphabetized under V (e.g., Van Gogh, Vincent).
Titles without authors: Alphabetize by the first significant word of the title (ignore "A," "An," "The").
Organizations as authors: Alphabetize by the first significant word of the organization name.

Shortened Notes: The Rules That Trip Everyone Up

After the first full citation of a source, every subsequent citation uses a shortened note. Getting these right is crucial — they make up the majority of notes in a typical paper.

How to Form a Shortened Note

Author's last name only. Use just the surname. For multiple authors, use both last names (two or three authors) or the first author's last name plus "et al." (four or more).
Shortened title. Reduce the title to its key words — usually four words or fewer. Keep the shortened version recognizable. Italicize shortened book and journal titles; put shortened article and chapter titles in quotation marks.
Page number. Cite the specific page(s) being referenced.

Shortening Long Titles

Full title: Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877
Shortened: Reconstruction

Full title: "The Value of Narrativity in the Representation of Reality"
Shortened: "Value of Narrativity"

Full title: The Second Sex
Shortened: Second Sex (drop initial articles)

Full title: "Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis"
Shortened: "Gender"

Rules for shortening titles:

Drop initial articles (A, An, The).
Keep enough words that the reader can easily find the source in the bibliography.
If the title is already short (four words or fewer), keep it as-is.
Retain the first noun and key identifying words.
A subtitle is almost always dropped.

Common Mistake: Forgetting the Shortened Title

Wrong:
5. Foner, 251.

Correct:
5. Foner, Reconstruction, 251.

A shortened note must always include a shortened title, even if you've cited only one work by that author. The title is required — it's not optional just because the author is unambiguous.

Common Mistake: Using "Op. cit." or "Loc. cit."

Wrong:
5. Foner, op. cit., 251.

Correct:
5. Foner, Reconstruction, 251.

Chicago 17 does not use "op. cit." or "loc. cit." at all. These are outdated Latin abbreviations that have been replaced entirely by shortened notes. If you see them in older style guides, disregard them.

Numbers, Dates, and Punctuation Details

Small formatting details make the difference between a polished paper and one that loses marks on technicalities.

Page Numbers and Ranges

Use an en dash (–) for page ranges, not a hyphen (-). In HTML and most word processors: 124–51, not 124-51.
Compress page ranges following Chicago's rules: 3–10, 71–72, 100–104, 124–51, 321–25, 1100–1123. The general rule: for numbers 100 and above, use only the changed part of the second number, but always use at least two digits.
Use "p." and "pp." only when needed for clarity (rare in Chicago). In standard notes and bibliography entries, page numbers stand alone without "p." or "pp."

Dates

In notes and bibliography: month day, year (e.g., "June 30, 2020").
Seasons are capitalized when used with a year: "Autumn 1980."
Access dates use the same format: "Accessed March 5, 2026."

Punctuation Essentials

Notes end with a period. Always.
Bibliography entries end with a period. Even after a URL or DOI.
Commas separate elements in notes; periods separate elements in the bibliography.
Publication info in notes uses parentheses: (New York: Norton, 2018). The bibliography drops the parentheses.
Colons separate place of publication from publisher: "New York: Norton."
No comma before "and" in two-author citations in notes: "Hinton and Cook" (not "Hinton, and Cook").

Comparing Chicago NB with Other Styles

If you've used APA 7 or MLA 9 before, here's how Chicago NB differs:

Feature	Chicago 17 NB	APA 7	MLA 9
In-text citation	Superscript number → footnote/endnote	Parenthetical (Author, Year)	Parenthetical (Author Page)
End-of-paper list	Bibliography	References	Works Cited
Author names in list	Last, First (first author only)	Last, Initials (all authors)	Last, First (first author only)
Title capitalization	Headline-style (capitalize major words)	Sentence-style (lowercase after colon)	Headline-style
Publisher location	Included	Not included	Not included
Date placement	Near end of entry	After author	Near end of entry
Allows commentary in citations	Yes (discursive notes)	No	No

Chicago's biggest advantage for humanities scholars is the ability to include discursive notes — substantive commentary, cross-references, and qualifications — right alongside your citations. This is impossible with parenthetical systems like APA and MLA.

Formatting Your Paper in Chicago Style

Beyond citations, Chicago has specific requirements for the overall paper format:

Title Page

Title centered about one-third down the page.
Your name, class information, and date centered in the lower third.
No page number on the title page.
Chicago does not require a header on the title page (unlike APA).

Body Text

Double-spaced throughout.
12-point Times New Roman or similar serif font.
1-inch margins on all sides.
Page numbers in the header or footer, beginning on the second page.
First line of each paragraph indented 0.5 inches.

Block Quotations

Quotations of 100 words or more (roughly 5+ lines) should be set as block quotations.
Indent the entire block 0.5 inches from the left margin.
Single-space the block quotation (or follow your instructor's preference).
Do not use quotation marks around block quotations.
Place the footnote number after the final punctuation of the block quotation.

Footnote Formatting

Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page, separated from the body text by a short rule (line).
Use a smaller font than the body text (typically 10-point).
Single-space within each note; add a blank line between notes.
The note number is full-size (not superscript) and followed by a period and a space in the footnote itself.
First line of each footnote is indented 0.5 inches; subsequent lines are flush left.

Discursive (Content) Notes

One of Chicago NB's unique strengths is the discursive note — a note that includes substantive commentary alongside or instead of a citation. This lets you:

Acknowledge a counter-argument without disrupting your narrative.
Provide additional context or background on a source.
Cross-reference related sections of your paper.
Cite multiple sources that support a single point.
Offer translations of foreign-language quotations.

Discursive Note Examples

Commentary with citation:
14. For a contrasting view, see Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, rev. ed. (London: Verso, 2006), especially chap. 3. Anderson argues that nationalism is a fundamentally modern phenomenon, in tension with Gellner's earlier account.

Multiple sources in one note:
15. On the demographic consequences of the Columbian Exchange, see Alfred W. Crosby, The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1972); Charles C. Mann, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus (New York: Knopf, 2005); and Noble David Cook, Born to Die: Disease and New World Conquest, 1492–1650 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998).

When citing multiple sources in a single note, separate them with semicolons. Each citation follows the same format as a standalone note.

Validation Checklist

Use this checklist before submitting your paper to catch the most common Chicago 17 NB errors.

Check Your Chicago Citation

Paste a footnote or bibliography entry to validate Chicago 17 formatting

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need both footnotes/endnotes AND a bibliography?

Yes. The Notes-Bibliography system requires both. Notes provide the citation at the point of use; the bibliography provides a comprehensive alphabetical list at the end. Some instructors may waive the bibliography requirement for short papers, but the standard expectation is both. The only exception is sources conventionally cited only in notes (such as personal communications or casual newspaper references), which may be omitted from the bibliography.

When should I use "Ibid." versus a shortened note?

Use "Ibid." only when citing the exact same source as the immediately preceding note — meaning no other note intervenes. Add a page number if the page differs: "Ibid., 45." However, Chicago 17 now recommends shortened notes over "Ibid." because shortened notes remain clear even when notes are reordered during revision. Many professors still accept "Ibid." — but if you're unsure, shortened notes are always safe. Never use "Ibid." to refer to a source from two or more notes back.

Do I include the publisher's city for all books?

Yes. Unlike APA 7, which dropped publisher location, Chicago 17 NB still requires the city of publication for books. Use the city listed on the title page. For well-known cities, the state or country is unnecessary (New York, London, Chicago). For less familiar cities, include the state abbreviation or country: (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2015) or (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020) — context makes clear this is Cambridge, England, given the publisher name. When multiple cities are listed, use only the first.

How do I handle sources with no author?

Begin the note and bibliography entry with the title. In the bibliography, alphabetize by the first significant word of the title (ignoring "A," "An," "The"). For government documents, treat the government body as the author. For organizational publications, use the organization name. If the author is truly unknown and you need to cite the source, the title alone is sufficient — do not write "Anonymous" unless "Anonymous" is actually specified as the author.

Should I include URLs for everything I accessed online?

Include a URL or DOI for any source you accessed online, with these guidelines: (1) Always prefer a DOI over a URL — DOIs are permanent. (2) For journal articles, the DOI is usually sufficient; you don't need the database URL. (3) For books, include a URL only if the book is freely available online or if you accessed an electronic edition with no equivalent print version. (4) For websites, blogs, and social media, always include the URL. (5) URLs should be live and functional at the time of submission.

What's the difference between headline-style and sentence-style capitalization?

Chicago NB uses headline-style capitalization for all titles: capitalize the first and last words, all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so), and prepositions (of, in, to, for, with, on, at, by) unless they're the first or last word. This differs from APA 7, which uses sentence-style capitalization (only capitalize the first word and proper nouns) for article and book titles in the reference list.

Quick Reference: Chicago 17 NB at a Glance

Note Anatomy

Full note (book):
[Note number]. [First Last], [Title] ([City]: [Publisher], [Year]), [Page].

Full note (article):
[Note number]. [First Last], "[Article Title]," [Journal] [Vol], no. [Issue] ([Season/Month Year]): [Pages].

Shortened note:
[Note number]. [Last], [Short Title], [Page].

Bibliography Anatomy

Book:
[Last], [First]. [Title]. [City]: [Publisher], [Year].

Article:
[Last], [First]. "[Article Title]." [Journal] [Vol], no. [Issue] ([Season/Month Year]): [Pages]. [DOI or URL].

Chapter:
[Last], [First]. "[Chapter Title]." In [Book Title], edited by [First Last], [Page range]. [City]: [Publisher], [Year].

Chicago's Notes-Bibliography system may seem complex at first, but it follows consistent internal logic. Once you internalize the difference between note format and bibliography format, and understand when to use full versus shortened notes, you'll find that Chicago actually gives you more flexibility and precision than any other citation style. For history and humanities work, that flexibility is exactly what rigorous scholarship demands.

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