Chicago Style: Notes and Bibliographies

The Notes and Bibliography system enables writers to reference sources throughout the paper using a footnote or end note citation in addition to a bibliography. Proper use of this system accomplishes two goals: it protects writers from accusations of plagiarism, and it helps them build credibility by clearly accounting for source material. 

Notes can be formatted using footnotes (placed at the bottom of each page) or an endnotes page (at the end of the paper).

Formatting Notes:

• Insert a number at the point in the text for which a citation is needed, preferably at the end of a sentence or clause, following quotation marks, if any. Format the note number within the text as superscript (above the line). To format a number as superscript in Microsoft Word:
  1. Type the note number, select it, then right-click.
  2. Choose the Font option from the list.
  3. Under Effects, choose Superscript.)
• In the footnotes or endnotes, do not format the note number as superscript.
• Always number notes consecutively, starting with 1. Note numbers are always followed by a period and a space.
• Citing the same source more than once? The second and any subsequent (but not consecutive) references can be cross references referring back to the first note.   Example:  17. See note 1 above.
• Ibid. The term "Ibid." is an abbreviation of the Latin "ibidem" that means "in the same place." Use Ibid. when two or more consecutive notes (e.g., notes numbered 1, 2, and 3) all refer to the same source and the same page number. If you are citing the same source but a different page number, use Ibid., # where # is the page number, e.g. "5. Ibid., 52."
• If you choose to include a comment in a note, include it after the citation.
  Example: "5. Mitchell, People in Organizations, 25. This is the text of my comment."
• If you are referencing more than one source in a sentence or paragraph, insert the superscript note number at the location of the reference, then include all citations in the note, separating them with semicolons, and "and" before the final citation. The order of the citations in the note is based on the order of the references within your text.

Full notes or shortened notes? There are two reasons you might use shortened notes:

1. When a bibliography is required, your professor might indicate that you may use shortened citations for all notes.
2. When a bibliography is not required, your professor might indicate that you may use a full citation in a note when referring to a source for the first time. If you refer to a source more than once, you may use a shortened citation for the subsequent notes. The short form of a note should always include the author(s) last name(s), the title (shortened if it exceeds four words), and the page(s) to which you are referring.

Formatting the Bibliography

• A bibliography is a list of references alphabetized by author's last name. If a citation has no author, use the title for alphabetization purposes.
• The bibliography is not numbered.
• If multiple works have the same author, alphabetize by title. When an author is the sole author of one or more books and a co-author of other books, list the book(s) by the single author before the multi-author book(s).
• More than one book by the same author or an institutional or corporate author in your bibliography? You can use the em dash rather than repeating the name in the bibliography. (In Microsoft Word, click the Insert tab, click Symbol, More Symbols, Special Characters, and then choose character Em Dash.) 

NOTE: When arranging bibliography entries in alphabetical order, use the first element of the citation, usually the author's last name. For some, the first element is the title. When using a title to determine order of a citation, ignore initial articles in the title (A, The). Also note that CMS prefers letter-by-letter alphabetization, so "Williamsen, Seth" comes before "Williams, John" in the Bibliography. For more information about alphabetizing bibliography entries, refer to the CMS or contact a reference librarian for help with CMS rules.

Within the text of your paper, insert a superscript number after a sentence that refers to a resource. You must include a corresponding citation in a footnote or endnote and include a full citation in the Bibliography. The illustration below shows a superscript note referenced within the text.

Depending on the preference of your professor, you may include, on the Notes page, a full citation or a shortened citation.  The image below displays a full citation.

The following image is a shortened citation. Shortened citations can be used (1) in a work with no bibliography when referencing a source that has already been referenced in full in another citation or (2) in a work that requires a bibliography for all notes.

All references noted within the paper must be included in the bibliography. In the bibliography, author names are inverted and ordered alphabetically. Also, note that the publication information is formatted differently than in the note with full citation above.