The Online Writing Lab at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects.
Official Chicago Style Homepage
A quick guide with citation examples offered by the Chicago Style manual homepage.
A quick guide on proper Turabian style citation offered by the Chicago University Press.
An online sample of Chicago/Turabian styles.
Citation examples, videos, and formatting guides for MLA, APA, and Chicago styles.
This presentation from OWLPurdue covers the basics of formatting a document in Chicago style, including spacing, margins, headers, and use of notes.
Based on Kate L. Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Turabian citation style presents two basic documentation systems, notes-bibliography style (or simply bibliography style) and author-date style (previously called parenthetical citations–reference list style). These styles are essentially the same as those presented in The Chicago Manual of Style with slight modifications for the needs of student writers. It is always a good idea to double-check the style guide or official online resources; do not rely on these examples for formatting such as indents.
Notes/Bibliography style is used widely in literature, history, and the arts. This style presents bibliographic information in footnotes or endnotes and, usually, a bibliography.
Material |
Note |
Bibliographic Entry |
Books in print |
1. Wendy Doniger, Splitting the Difference (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999), 65. |
Doniger, Wendy. Splitting the Difference. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999. |
An article in a print journal |
8. John Maynard Smith, “The Origin of Altruism,” Nature 393 (1998): 639. |
Smith, John Maynard. “The Origin of Altruism.” Nature 393 (1998): 639–40. |
An article in an electronic journal |
33. Campbell Brown. "Consequentialize This," Ethics 121, no. 4 (July 2011): 751, http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/660696. |
Brown, Campbell. "Consequentialize This." Ethics 121, no. 4 (July 2011): 749-71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/660696. |
A website |
11. "Privacy Policy,” Privacy & Terms, Google, last modified April 17, 2017, https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/. |
Google. “Privacy Policy.” Privacy & Terms. Last modified April 17, 2017. https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/. |
Author-date style has long been used in the physical, natural, and social sciences. In this system, sources are briefly cited in parentheses in the text by author’s last name and date of publication. The parenthetical citations are amplified in a list of references, where full bibliographic information is provided.
Material |
Parenthetical Citation |
Reference List |
Books in print |
(Doniger 1999, 65) |
Doniger, Wendy. 1999. Splitting the Difference. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. |
An article in a print journal |
(Smith 1998, 639) |
Smith, John Maynard. 1998. "The Origin of Altruism." Nature 393: 639–40. |
An article in an electronic journal |
(Kiser 2011, 340) |
Kiser, Lisa J. 2011. "Silencing the Lambs: Economics, Ethics, and Animal Life in Medieval Franciscan Hagiography." Modern Philology 108, no. 3 (February): 323-42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/658052. |
A website |
(Google 2017) |
Google. 2017. “Privacy Policy.” Privacy & Terms. Last modified April 17, 2017. https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/. |
(Sources: Turabian Guide website; A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses and Dissertations, 9th ed.)
This tutorial deals with specific concerns that students have about Turabian formatting. I also discuss what it means to do research, research writing, proper documentation and the overall sociologoical encounter with writing a research paper by
hicago is a documentation syle that has been published by the Chicago University Press since 1906. This citation style incorporates rules of grammar and punctuation common in American English. Typically, Chicago style presents two basic documentation systems: (1) notes and bibliography and (2) author-date. Choosing between the two often depends on subject matter and the nature of sources cited, as each system is favored by different groups of scholars.
The notes and bibliography style is preferred by many in the humanities, including those in literature, history, and the arts. This style presents bibliographic information in notes and, often, a bibliography.
Material Type |
Notes/Bibliography Style |
A book in print |
Note Style: 1. Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (New York: Penguin, 2006), 99–100. Duplicate Note: 2. Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma, 3. Bibliography: Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin, 2006. |
An article in a print journal |
Note Style: 1. Joshua I. Weinstein, "The Market in Plato’s Republic," Classical Philology 104 (2009): 440. Duplicate Note: 2. Weinstein, "Plato’s Republic," 452–53. Bibliography: Weinstein, Joshua I. "The Market in Plato’s Republic." Classical Philology 104 (2009): 439–58. |
An article in an electronic journal |
Note Style: 1. Gueorgi Kossinets and Duncan J. Watts, “Origins of Homophily in an Evolving Social Network,” American Journal of Sociology 115 (2009): 411, accessed February 28, 2010, doi:10.1086/599247. Duplicate Note: Kossinets and Watts, “Origins of Homophily,” 439. Bibliography: Kossinets, Gueorgi, and Duncan J. Watts. “Origins of Homophily in an Evolving Social Network.” American Journal of Sociology 115 (2009): 405–50. Accessed February 28, 2010. doi:10.1086/599247. |
A website |
Note Style: 1.“Google Privacy Policy,” last modified March 11, 2009, http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html. Duplicate Note: “Google Privacy Policy.” Bibliography: Google. “Google Privacy Policy.” Last modified March 11, 2009. http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html. |
The author-date style has long been used by those in the physical, natural, and social sciences. In this system, sources are briefly cited in the text, usually in parentheses, by author’s last name and date of publication. The short citations are amplified in a list of references, where full bibliographic information is provided.
Author/Date Style |
In-text Citation |
Bibliography |
A book |
(Pollan 2006, 99–100) |
Pollan, Michael. 2006. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin. |
An article in a print journal |
(Weinstein 2009, 440) |
Weinstein, Joshua I. 2009. “The Market in Plato’s Republic.” Classical Philology 104:439–58. |
An article in an electronic journal |
(Kossinets and Watts 2009, 411) |
Kossinets, Gueorgi, and Duncan J. Watts. 2009. “Origins of Homophily in an Evolving Social Network.” American Journal of Sociology 115:405–50. Accessed February 28, 2010. doi:10.1086/599247. |
A website |
(Google 2009) |
Google. 2009. “Google Privacy Policy.” Last modified March 11. http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html. |
(Source: Official Chicago Manual website)