Citing and Avoiding Plagiarism

Where to find the Chicago Manual of Style Guides

Online:

The Chicago Manual of Style Online Content List 

In the Library:

The most recent editions of Turabian's A Manual for Writers and The Chicago Manual of Style are kept at the Reference Desk. Ask at the Desk if you need help or would like to consult them.

General Overview of The Chicago Manual of Style

The Chicago Manual of Style presents two basic documentation systems, the Notes and Bibliography system (humanities) and the Author-Date system. Choosing between the two often depends on subject matter and nature of sources cited, as each system is favored by different groups of scholars.

The Notes and Bibliography system is preferred by many in literature, history, and the arts. This style presents bibliographic information in notes and, often, a bibliography. It accommodates a variety of sources, including esoteric ones less appropriate to the author-date system. In the Notes and Bibliography system, use superscript 1 for endnote and footnote numbers in the text and at the beginning of each note.

The more concise Author-Date system 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. In the Author-Date system, the note number in the text is in parentheses (1) and is followed by a period and space in the note. 

Online sources that are analogous to print sources (such as articles published in online journals, magazines, or newspapers) should be cited similarly to their print counterparts but with the addition of a URL. Some publishers or disciplines may also require an access date. For online or other electronic sources that do not have a direct print counterpart (such as an institutional Web site or a Weblog), give as much information as you can in addition to the URL.

Additional Online Resources

Brief History of the Chicago and Turabian Styles

The Chicago and Turabian styles are nearly identical.

Kate Turabian, the dissertation secretary at the University of Chicago for over 30 years, developed her guide for students and researchers writing papers, theses, and dissertations. Her manual is based on the University of Chicago Press's Manual of Style and departs from it in few places. "Turabian," as her guide is called, synthesizes the rules most important for students' papers and other scholarly research not intended for publication, and omits some of the publishing details and options that "Chicago" provides.