Chicago Referencing Guide

Chicago referencing style overview

This guide follows The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition (2024). Chicago has two systems: notes and bibliography, and author-date. Use the one your course specifies. A footnote, bibliography entry and author-date reference have different punctuation and ordering.

Use the Chicago reference generator

1. Bibliography example
2. Books and chapters
3. Articles
4. Online sources
5. Films, videos and images
6. Other source types
7. Modern sources and AI guidance

Choose your citation system

Chicago style footnotes and bibliography

In the notes system, insert a superscript note number at the relevant point in your text. The first note can give full details; later notes can use the surname, a shortened title and the page. Each note gets its own number, even when it cites a source already used. The bibliography is alphabetical.

Chicago in-text citation examples (author-date)

In author-date, use a parenthetical citation such as (Green 2024, 27). There is no comma between the surname and year. The corresponding alphabetical reference-list entry puts the year immediately after the author.

Two authors are both named. For three or more, notes and in-text citations use the first surname followed by “et al.” Bibliographies and reference lists name up to six authors; for more than six, give the first three and “et al.” Reverse only the first author's name in the list.

These formats are based on Chicago's official notes and bibliography examples and author-date examples.

Chicago style citation examples

Chicago bibliography example

This example uses Chicago's notes and bibliography system. Arrange entries alphabetically by author or organisation name.

1. Books

A book with one author

The eighteenth edition normally omits the publisher's city. For a later edition, add its number after the title.

Books with more than one author

A chapter in an edited book

Give the page you used in a note or in-text citation. In the eighteenth edition, the chapter's complete page range is no longer required in the bibliography. For a whole edited collection, put the editors first and identify their role.

Several works by the same author

In notes, distinguish works with their shortened titles. In author-date, same-author works from the same year need a letter attached to the year, such as 2024a and 2024b, matching the reference list. Do not add those letters to a notes-and-bibliography entry simply because the years match.

For an online book, add its DOI, URL or database as applicable. An ebook without fixed pages can use a chapter or section locator instead of an invented page number.

Reference a book · Reference a chapter

2. Articles

Journal articles, print and online

Use the article title in quotation marks and the journal title in italics. A note gives the particular pages cited; the bibliography gives the whole article's range. An article identifier can replace the range. Add a DOI-based URL for an online article where available.

Newspaper and magazine articles

Use the article's full date and publication name. A print page may appear in a note; newspaper and magazine page numbers are omitted from bibliography entries. Add the article URL for an online version. A routine dated article does not normally need an access date.

Reference a journal article

3. Online sources

Webpages

Credit a named author when available. A page without a personal author can start with its title in the note and be listed under the site's owner or sponsor in the bibliography. Include the publication or revision date. If none is supplied, give an access date; author-date references use “n.d.” for the year.

Reference a webpage

Emails and social media

Private emails, texts and direct messages normally belong in the text or a note, rather than the bibliography. Public social posts can be identified by their creator, content, platform, date and URL. Chicago's official examples show how to handle posts, comments and a formal bibliography entry when one is appropriate.

4. Films, videos and images

Films and recordings

Identify the title, director or other relevant creator, release information and the version you used. A note can add a timestamp to locate a scene. For a DVD, identify the distributor and disc release date. For a streamed film or uploaded extract, give the platform and URL.

YouTube and other online videos

Give the creator or speaker, title, relevant event and dates, platform or uploader, duration and URL. Keep the creator distinct from an account that merely uploaded the recording. Put a timestamp in the note when discussing a particular passage. See the official video and podcast examples.

Photographs and artworks

Describe the artist, work and date where relevant to your discussion. If you found an image reproduced in a book or article, cite that source and its page or figure. The official guidance on reproduced artworks explains why a separate invented image citation is unnecessary.

5. Other source types

Dissertations and theses

Use quotation marks around the title. A full note places the degree type, institution and year in parentheses; a bibliography separates them from the title with a full stop. Add the repository or database and identifier when available.

Government and official publications

Identify the agency or author responsible and use the format for the actual document: a report, book, webpage or legal source. Include report numbers or other identifiers where needed. Do not assume every government publication has the same author or publisher.

Interviews

Chicago generally credits the interviewee first. A published interview then gives its title, interviewer and publication or recording details. A private interview is usually cited in text or a note. The official quick guide includes a published audio interview.

Music

Identify the performer or composer relevant to your discussion, the recording, label, release date and any track or catalogue information needed to locate it. Use the version actually heard. Include the recording date as well as the release date when they differ; see Chicago's guidance on citing recordings.

Chicago citations for video, podcasts, social posts and AI

Recordings

Identify the creator or host, the recording, its publication details and running time. A timestamp can locate the passage you discuss. Chicago puts the podcast series before its episode title; author-date entries move the year after the author. Our tools support short online videos and podcast episodes in both systems. The official notes and author-date examples show the punctuation and order for each system.

Social media posts

A mention in your text or a note is often enough. A bibliography entry is only occasionally needed. Quote up to the first 280 characters and record the account, platform, posting date and URL. Format a Chicago social post citation.

AI-generated text

Chicago’s current AI advice allows a credit in your prose or a formal note. Name the tool and company, the generation date, and the sharing URL when available. A note can identify the prompt; say if you edited the output. Create an AI acknowledgement note. This option does not add an automatic bibliography entry.

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