How to Format Chicago 17 Footnotes and Endnotes

The Chicago Manual of Style's Notes-Bibliography (NB) system is the dominant citation method in history, art history, philosophy, and many humanities disciplines. Unlike parenthetical systems such as APA 7 or MLA 9, Chicago NB uses numbered footnotes or endnotes for in-text citations, paired with a bibliography at the end of your paper. Mastering the three-part structure—full note, shortened note, and bibliography entry—is essential for any serious humanities student. This guide walks through every rule you need, with concrete examples and common pitfalls that trip up even experienced writers.

Footnotes vs. Endnotes: Which to Use

Chicago 17 permits both footnotes (at the bottom of each page) and endnotes (collected at the end of a chapter or paper). The content and formatting are identical—only placement differs. Your choice usually depends on your instructor's preference or your publisher's house style.

When to Use Footnotes

Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page where the citation occurs. They are preferred in most history departments because readers can immediately verify sources without flipping pages. Shorter papers, dissertations, and most academic books in history use footnotes.

When to Use Endnotes

Endnotes collect all notes at the end of the paper or chapter under the heading "Notes." They are common in journal articles, edited volumes, and papers where extensive footnotes would overwhelm the page. Some instructors prefer endnotes to keep the page visually clean.

Key Rules for Both

Notes are numbered sequentially throughout the entire paper (not restarting per page or chapter, unless your publisher specifies otherwise).
In the text, the superscript number goes after punctuation—after periods, commas, and closing quotation marks. The only exception: the superscript goes before a dash (em dash).
Each note number corresponds to exactly one note. Do not reuse numbers.
Multiple sources cited at the same point are combined into a single note, separated by semicolons.

Superscript Placement Examples

Correct: The revolution began in 1789.¹

Correct: As one historian argued, "the terror was inevitable."²

Correct: The king fled³—though some dispute the timeline.

Wrong: The revolution began in 1789¹.

The Three-Part System: Full Note, Shortened Note, Bibliography

Every source in a Chicago NB paper has three possible forms. Understanding when to use each form is the single most important skill for Chicago citation.

1. Full Note (First Reference)

The first time you cite any source, you provide the complete bibliographic information in the note. This is the only time readers see the full details inline. Full notes use a specific order and punctuation that differs from the bibliography entry.

2. Shortened Note (Subsequent References)

Every subsequent citation of the same source uses a shortened form: author's last name, a shortened title (usually the first few meaningful words), and the page number. This applies regardless of how far apart the citations are.

3. Bibliography Entry

The bibliography at the end of the paper lists every source in alphabetical order by the first author's last name. Bibliography entries use different punctuation and order than notes—most notably, the first author's name is inverted (Last, First), and elements are separated by periods rather than commas.

Book — All Three Forms

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

Shortened note:
2. Foner, Reconstruction, 130.

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

Notice the critical differences: the full note uses parentheses around publication information and commas between elements. The bibliography inverts the author name, drops the parentheses, and uses periods. Getting these distinctions right is where most students lose points.

Formatting Full Notes by Source Type

The following examples cover the most common source types humanities students encounter. For each, all three forms are shown.

Single-Author Book

First note:
1. Natalie Zemon Davis, The Return of Martin Guerre (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1983), 42–43.

Shortened note:
5. Davis, Return of Martin Guerre, 50.

Bibliography:
Davis, Natalie Zemon. The Return of Martin Guerre. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1983.

Two or Three Authors

For two or three authors, list all authors in the note. In the bibliography, only the first author's name is inverted.

First note:
2. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, How Democracies Die (New York: Crown, 2018), 87.

Shortened note:
6. Levitsky and Ziblatt, How Democracies Die, 90.

Bibliography:
Levitsky, Steven, and Daniel Ziblatt. How Democracies Die. New York: Crown, 2018.

Four or More Authors

In notes, list only the first author followed by "et al." In the bibliography, list all authors (up to ten). If there are more than ten, list the first seven followed by "et al."

First note:
3. Dana Barnes et al., Collaborative Research Methods in the Humanities (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2020), 14.

Shortened note:
7. Barnes et al., Collaborative Research, 22.

Bibliography:
Barnes, Dana, Rachel Torres, Samuel Wright, and Maria Chen. Collaborative Research Methods in the Humanities. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2020.

Edited Volume (Editor as Author)

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

Shortened note:
8. Hunt, New Cultural History, 18.

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

Chapter in an Edited Volume

This is one of the most frequently needed formats for humanities research. The chapter author comes first, followed by the chapter title in quotation marks, then "in" before the book title.

First note:
5. Roger Chartier, "Texts, Printing, Readings," in The New Cultural History, ed. Lynn Hunt (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989), 154–75.

Shortened note:
9. Chartier, "Texts, Printing, Readings," 160.

Bibliography:
Chartier, Roger. "Texts, Printing, Readings." In The New Cultural History, edited by Lynn Hunt, 154–75. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.

Note the differences: in the note, "ed." precedes the editor's name (first-last order). In the bibliography, "edited by" is spelled out, and the editor's name stays in normal order.

Journal Article

First note:
6. William Cronon, "A Place for Stories: Nature, History, and Narrative," Journal of American History 78, no. 4 (March 1992): 1347–76.

Shortened note:
10. Cronon, "Place for Stories," 1350.

Bibliography:
Cronon, William. "A Place for Stories: Nature, History, and Narrative." Journal of American History 78, no. 4 (March 1992): 1347–76.

Journal articles include the volume number, issue number (preceded by "no."), and date in parentheses. A colon follows the closing parenthesis before the page range. If the article has a DOI, append it after the page range as a full URL: https://doi.org/xxxxx.

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Journal Article Accessed Online (with DOI)

First note:
7. Saidiya Hartman, "Venus in Two Acts," Small Axe 12, no. 2 (June 2008): 1–14, https://doi.org/10.1215/-12-2-1.

Shortened note:
11. Hartman, "Venus in Two Acts," 5.

Bibliography:
Hartman, Saidiya. "Venus in Two Acts." Small Axe 12, no. 2 (June 2008): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1215/-12-2-1.

Newspaper or Magazine Article

Newspaper articles are typically cited in notes only and omitted from the bibliography unless they are critical to the argument. Page numbers are generally omitted for newspapers.

First note:
8. Jennifer Schuessler, "Historians Question Trump's Use of the Antiquities Act," New York Times, March 22, 2025.

Shortened note:
12. Schuessler, "Historians Question."

Bibliography (if included):
Schuessler, Jennifer. "Historians Question Trump's Use of the Antiquities Act." New York Times, March 22, 2025.

Website or Blog Post

First note:
9. American Historical Association, "Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct," updated 2019, https://www.historians.org/standards.

Shortened note:
13. American Historical Association, "Statement on Standards."

Bibliography:
American Historical Association. "Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct." Updated 2019. https://www.historians.org/standards.

For websites, include as much identifying information as possible: author or organization, page title in quotes, site name (if different from author), publication or revision date, and URL. Add "accessed [date]" only if no publication date is available.

Archival or Primary Source

Primary source citations are common in history papers. Chicago recommends citing the specific document, then the collection, box/folder numbers, and repository.

First note:
10. Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, October 28, 1813, in The Adams-Jefferson Letters, ed. Lester J. Cappon (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1959), 387–92.

Shortened note:
14. Jefferson to Adams, October 28, 1813, 389.

Bibliography:
Jefferson, Thomas. Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, October 28, 1813. In The Adams-Jefferson Letters, edited by Lester J. Cappon, 387–92. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1959.

Unpublished Archival Source

First note:
11. "Petition of the Free Negroes of Charleston," 1791, Records of the General Assembly, Petitions, South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, SC.

Shortened note:
15. "Petition of the Free Negroes."

Bibliography:
"Petition of the Free Negroes of Charleston." 1791. Records of the General Assembly, Petitions. South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, SC.

Shortened Notes: Rules and Common Mistakes

After the first full citation, every subsequent reference to the same source uses the shortened form. This is where many students make errors.

What Goes in a Shortened Note

Author's last name (or editor's last name for edited volumes cited as a whole)
Shortened title—typically the first noun phrase of the title, italicized for books or in quotation marks for articles. Omit initial articles (A, An, The) unless doing so changes the meaning.
Page number(s) for the specific passage

Shortening Titles Correctly

Full title: The Return of Martin Guerre
Shortened: Return of Martin Guerre ✓

Full title: "A Place for Stories: Nature, History, and Narrative"
Shortened: "Place for Stories" ✓

Full title: How Democracies Die
Shortened: How Democracies Die ✓ (already short enough)

Full title: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Shortened: Decline and Fall ✓

Common Shortened-Note Errors

Wrong: Omitting the title entirely

3. Foner, 130.

If you cite multiple works by the same author, readers won't know which one you mean. Chicago requires the shortened title even when you've cited only one work by that author.

Correct

3. Foner, Reconstruction, 130.

Wrong: Using the full note again

7. Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877 (New York: Harper & Row, 1988), 130.

Repeating the full note wastes space and signals unfamiliarity with Chicago style.

Correct

7. Foner, Reconstruction, 130.

Ibid.: When and How to Use It

"Ibid." (from the Latin ibidem, meaning "in the same place") refers to the source cited in the immediately preceding note. Chicago 17 still permits ibid. but notes that shortened notes are acceptable as a complete replacement. Many instructors and publishers now discourage ibid. because it creates confusion when notes are added, deleted, or reordered during revision.

Rules for Ibid.

Ibid. (with a period, since it's an abbreviation) refers to the single source in the immediately preceding note.
If the page number is the same, use "Ibid." alone.
If the page number differs, use "Ibid., [new page number]."
Never use ibid. if the preceding note cites multiple sources.
Never use ibid. to refer to a note that is itself an ibid.—technically allowed, but widely discouraged because it creates fragile chains.
Ibid. is capitalized at the start of a note (which is always) and is not italicized.

Ibid. in Practice

1. Natalie Zemon Davis, The Return of Martin Guerre (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1983), 42.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid., 67.

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

5. Davis, Return of Martin Guerre, 80.

In note 5, you cannot use "Ibid." because the preceding note (4) cited a different source. You must use the shortened form instead.

Should You Use Ibid. at All?

Chicago 17 section 14.34 states: "Authors may prefer to use shortened citations in place of ibid. throughout." Many history departments now recommend this approach because it eliminates the risk of ibid. chains breaking when you rearrange notes during revision. If your instructor doesn't specifically require ibid., consider using shortened notes exclusively—they're always correct and never ambiguous.

Wrong: Ibid. after a multi-source note

6. Foner, Reconstruction, 200; Davis, Return of Martin Guerre, 15.

7. Ibid., 20.

Which source does ibid. refer to? This is ambiguous and incorrect.

Correct

7. Davis, Return of Martin Guerre, 20.

Numbering and Punctuation Rules

Superscript Numbers in Text

Use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3), not Roman numerals or symbols.
Numbers run sequentially from 1 through the entire paper.
Place the superscript number at the end of the clause or sentence to which it refers, after all punctuation marks except the em dash.
Do not place superscript numbers in headings or titles.
Avoid placing a note number after a short introductory phrase; attach it to the end of the relevant sentence instead.

Punctuation Within Notes

Notes and bibliography entries have fundamentally different punctuation systems:

Punctuation Comparison

Note (comma-separated, parenthetical publication info):
1. Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877 (New York: Harper & Row, 1988), 124.

Bibliography (period-separated, no parentheses):
Foner, Eric. Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877. New York: Harper & Row, 1988.

Key punctuation differences to memorize:

Element	Note	Bibliography
Author name	First Last	Last, First
Between author and title	comma	period
Publication info	in parentheses	no parentheses
Between title and pub info	space + open paren	period
After pub info	close paren + comma + page	period
Page numbers	specific pages cited	full range (articles) or omitted (books)

Page Number Formatting

Use en dashes (–), not hyphens (-), for page ranges: 124–30, not 124-130.
Chicago uses the "minimum digits" rule for page ranges: drop repeated digits except where needed for clarity. Examples: 3–10, 71–72, 100–104, 321–28, 1087–89, 1496–500.
Use "p." or "pp." only when the context would otherwise be unclear (rarely needed in notes).

Combining Multiple Sources in One Note

When citing multiple sources for a single claim, combine them in one note separated by semicolons. You may add brief commentary within the note.

3. Foner, Reconstruction, 124; Davis, Return of Martin Guerre, 42. See also Cronon, "Place for Stories," 1350, for a contrasting methodological approach.

This format lets you create discursive notes—a hallmark of excellent history writing. Unlike APA 7 or MLA 9, Chicago notes can include explanatory commentary, cross-references, and qualifications alongside citations.

Discursive (Content) Notes

Chicago permits—and historians often use—notes that go beyond simple source citation. You can provide additional context, acknowledge a counter-argument, explain a translation choice, or point readers toward further reading.

Discursive Note Example

4. The death toll remains disputed. Contemporary accounts range from two hundred to over one thousand. For the lower estimate, see Richardson, Death of Reconstruction, 112–14. For higher figures, see Foner, Reconstruction, 437, and Lemann, Redemption, 25–27. I follow Foner's more conservative analysis.

Special Cases and Tricky Scenarios

No Author

Begin with the title. In shortened notes, use a shortened version of the title.

First note:
12. The Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 7, pt. 1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), 200.

Shortened note:
16. Cambridge Ancient History, 7, pt. 1:200.

Translated Works

First note:
13. Fernand Braudel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, trans. Siân Reynolds, 2 vols. (New York: Harper & Row, 1972), 1:355.

Shortened note:
17. Braudel, Mediterranean, 1:362.

Bibliography:
Braudel, Fernand. The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II. Translated by Siân Reynolds. 2 vols. New York: Harper & Row, 1972.

Note: in the note, "trans." is abbreviated; in the bibliography, "Translated by" is spelled out.

Reprinted or Reissued Editions

First note:
14. W. E. B. Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America, 1860–1880 (1935; repr., New York: Free Press, 1998), 237.

Shortened note:
18. Du Bois, Black Reconstruction, 240.

Bibliography:
Du Bois, W. E. B. Black Reconstruction in America, 1860–1880. 1935. Reprint, New York: Free Press, 1998.

Sacred and Classical Texts

The Bible, the Quran, classical Greek and Roman works, and other canonical texts are usually cited in notes only (not in the bibliography). Use standard abbreviated book names and traditional divisions (book, chapter, verse) rather than page numbers.

Note:
15. 1 Cor. 13:4–7 (New Revised Standard Version).

16. Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 2.40.2–3.

Multiple Works by the Same Author

In the bibliography, list works by the same author chronologically. After the first entry, replace the author's name with a 3-em dash (———) followed by a period.

Bibliography:
Foner, Eric. Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party before the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1970.

———. Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877. New York: Harper & Row, 1988.

———. The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery. New York: W. W. Norton, 2010.

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Formatting the Notes Section (Endnotes)

If you're using endnotes rather than footnotes, format the notes section as follows:

Title the section "Notes" (centered, not bold, not in quotation marks).
If your paper has chapters, use subheadings like "Notes to Chapter 1" or begin each chapter's notes section with the chapter title.
Notes are single-spaced internally with a blank line between notes (or follow your instructor's spacing requirements—many require double-spacing throughout).
Begin each note with the corresponding Arabic numeral followed by a period (not a superscript in the notes section itself).
First lines of notes are indented like a paragraph (typically 0.5 inches).

Formatting the Bibliography

Title the section "Bibliography" (or "Selected Bibliography" if not every consulted source is included).
Entries are listed alphabetically by the first element (usually the author's last name).
Use hanging indentation: the first line is flush left, subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inches.
Single-space entries internally with a blank line between entries (or double-space throughout per instructor requirements).
Do not number bibliography entries.

Common Errors and How to Fix Them

These are the mistakes history instructors see most frequently. Fixing these alone will dramatically improve your citation quality.

Error 1: Using Bibliography Punctuation in Notes

Wrong:
1. Davis, Natalie Zemon. The Return of Martin Guerre. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1983.

This uses bibliography formatting (inverted name, periods, no parentheses) in a footnote.

Correct:
1. Natalie Zemon Davis, The Return of Martin Guerre (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1983), 42.

Error 2: Missing Page Numbers in Notes

Wrong:
3. Foner, Reconstruction.

Notes should include specific page numbers unless you're citing the work as a whole, which is rare for a specific claim.

Correct:
3. Foner, Reconstruction, 130.

Error 3: Incorrect Ibid. Usage

Wrong:
4. Foner, Reconstruction, 130.
5. Davis, Return of Martin Guerre, 42.
6. Ibid., 150. [Intended to refer back to Foner]

Ibid. refers to the immediately preceding note (Davis), not to an earlier one.

Correct:
6. Foner, Reconstruction, 150.

Error 4: Hyphens Instead of En Dashes in Page Ranges

Wrong: 124-30

Correct: 124–30 (use an en dash: – not -)

In most word processors, type the en dash with Ctrl+Minus (Windows) or Option+Hyphen (Mac).

Error 5: Including Access Dates Unnecessarily

Wrong:
8. Cronon, "Place for Stories," 1350. Accessed January 15, 2026.

Access dates are only needed when no publication or revision date is available.

Correct:
8. Cronon, "Place for Stories," 1350.

Error 6: Putting the Period Inside the Italicized Title

Wrong (bibliography):
Foner, Eric. Reconstruction. New York: Harper & Row, 1988.

The period after the title should not be italicized.

Correct:
Foner, Eric. Reconstruction. New York: Harper & Row, 1988.

Validation Checklist

Before You Submit: Chicago Notes-Bibliography Checklist

☐ Every superscript number in the text corresponds to a note
☐ Notes are numbered sequentially (no gaps, no duplicates)
☐ Superscript numbers appear after punctuation (except before em dashes)
☐ First citation of every source uses the full note format
☐ All subsequent citations use shortened notes (or ibid. if preferred)
☐ Shortened notes include: last name, shortened title, page number
☐ Ibid. is used only when referring to the single source in the immediately preceding note
☐ Notes use commas between elements and parentheses around publication info
☐ Bibliography entries use periods between elements and no parentheses
☐ Bibliography entries use inverted author names (Last, First); notes do not
☐ Bibliography is alphabetized by the first element of each entry
☐ Bibliography uses hanging indentation
☐ Page ranges use en dashes, not hyphens
☐ Titles of longer works (books, journals) are italicized
☐ Titles of shorter works (articles, chapters) are in quotation marks
☐ DOIs are included for journal articles when available
☐ Every source in the notes appears in the bibliography (except personal communications, classical texts, and well-known reference works)
☐ Every source in the bibliography is cited in at least one note

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need both footnotes/endnotes and a bibliography?

Yes. In the Notes-Bibliography system, the notes provide specific page references at the point of citation, while the bibliography gives readers a comprehensive alphabetical list of all sources consulted. Some instructors may waive the bibliography for short papers, but the standard expectation is both. If you're using Chicago's Author-Date system instead (common in the sciences), you use parenthetical citations and a reference list—but that's a different system entirely.

Can I mix footnotes and endnotes in the same paper?

No. Choose one format and use it consistently throughout. However, some publishers allow footnotes for substantive (content) notes and endnotes for citation notes, or vice versa. This is uncommon in student papers. When in doubt, ask your instructor.

How do I cite a source I found cited in another source (secondary source)?

Chicago prefers that you consult the original source directly. If that's not possible, cite the original work and indicate where you found it using "quoted in" or "cited in."

Note:
20. Gabriel Kolko, The Triumph of Conservatism (New York: Free Press, 1963), 98, quoted in Eric Foner, Reconstruction (New York: Harper & Row, 1988), 124.

In the bibliography, list only the source you actually consulted (Foner). If you frequently rely on secondary citations, your instructor may flag this as a research weakness.

What's the difference between Chicago Notes-Bibliography and Chicago Author-Date?

Chicago offers two citation systems. Notes-Bibliography (NB) uses footnotes/endnotes plus a bibliography, and is standard in history, art history, and most humanities. Author-Date uses parenthetical citations like (Smith 2020, 45) plus a reference list, and is common in the social and natural sciences. The two systems should never be mixed in a single paper. This guide covers only the Notes-Bibliography system. If your field uses Author-Date, see your discipline's specific style guidelines.

How do I handle multiple editions of a book?

Include the edition number after the title. For well-known reference works with many editions, include the edition you consulted to help readers locate the passage.

First note:
21. Strunk and White, The Elements of Style, 4th ed. (New York: Longman, 2000), 23.

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

Do I cite lecture notes or course materials in Chicago style?

Class lectures, handouts, and course packs are generally cited in notes only, not in the bibliography. Provide as much information as possible: instructor's name, lecture title or topic in quotation marks, course name, institution, and date.

Note:
22. Maria Santos, "The Fall of the Weimar Republic" (lecture, History 201, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, September 15, 2025).

Quick Reference: Note vs. Bibliography Format

Use this side-by-side reference for the most common source types when you need a fast reminder.

Book

Note: 1. First Last, Title (Place: Publisher, Year), Page.
Bib: Last, First. Title. Place: Publisher, Year.

Chapter in Edited Volume

Note: 2. First Last, "Chapter Title," in Book Title, ed. First Last (Place: Publisher, Year), Pages.
Bib: Last, First. "Chapter Title." In Book Title, edited by First Last, Pages. Place: Publisher, Year.

Journal Article

Note: 3. First Last, "Article Title," Journal Name Vol, no. Issue (Date): Pages.
Bib: Last, First. "Article Title." Journal Name Vol, no. Issue (Date): Pages.

Website

Note: 4. Author/Organization, "Page Title," Site Name, Date, URL.
Bib: Author/Organization. "Page Title." Site Name. Date. URL.

Chicago's Notes-Bibliography system gives humanities writers powerful tools for integrating sources into their arguments. The numbered-note format allows discursive commentary that parenthetical systems like APA and MLA cannot match, making it ideal for the kind of interpretive, source-driven writing historians and humanists do. Master the three-part structure—full note, shortened note, bibliography—and you'll have a citation system that supports rigorous scholarship for the rest of your academic career.

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