Note: This is an advanced guide to Chicago (CMoS) Footnote and Bibliography Referencing, useful for professional editors, academics, and students looking to bump up their grades with flawless referencing! If you’re new to Chicago and feel a little lost, check out our introduction to Chicago referencing. For extra help from Chicago experts, try our student proofreading services for free, or learn more about our editing services for businesses.
The Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS) uses both a footnote and bibliography system and an author-date system to cite sources.
This guide is to the footnotes and bibliography approach. You can access the CMoS author-date citation guide here.
This guide includes all information related to CMoS 17th ed. The customer should use this (the most up-to-date) edition, but please watch out for any customer comments saying that they’re using an older one.
You should also pay attention to the requested dialect (usually US, Australian, or UK English ) and note:
CMoS footnotes correspond to a superscript number in the text. Subsequent footnotes referencing the same source should use a shortened footnote.
The in-text superscript number doesn’t have a period (so like this 1 ), while the footnote number is written as normal text and with a period.
| Source type | Footnote | Shortened footnote | Bibliographic entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| One author | 1. Author's First Name Last Name, Title of Book: Subtitle if Any (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), Page Number. | 2. Last Name, Title of Book, Page Range. | Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book: Subtitle if Any. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. |
Commenting on footnotes
Highlight the word next to the superscript number (as otherwise Word does strange things with the footnote numbering) and preface your comment with “Footnote:”. E.g. “Footnote: The publication date is missing, please review.”
If a source has no date, use “n.d.” in the footnote and corresponding bibliographic entry.
Page numbers
Page numbers should be included in footnotes (full and shortened) for direct quotes and paraphrasing. Do not use “p.” in front of the page numbers. If a page range is needed, use an en dash.
In the bibliography, page ranges should only be given in instances such as a chapter in a book or an article in a journal.
Organization as author
Corporate (group/organizational) authors are given at the start of bibliographic entries even if the publisher is the same as the author.
If a group’s/organization’s name is given as an acronym in the footnotes, the acronym should be used in the bibliography as well (to make it easier to find), with the full name given in parentheses afterward.
NISO (National Information Standards Organization).
Bibliographic References. ANSI/NISO Z39.29-2005. Bethesda, MD: NISO, approved June 9, 2005; reaffirmed May 13, 2010. [Text goes here]
If the author’s real name is not known, write [pseud.] following the pseudonym. If the author’s real name is known, write their real name in square brackets instead.
In the case of common pseudonyms, you would usually omit the author’s real name, but it can be included if the customer wishes.
| Type | Full/Shortened footnote | Bibliographic entry |
|---|---|---|
| Real name unknown | 1. Alaska Muckraker [pseud.], “Palin Is Back at Work,” Mudflats: Tiptoeing through the Muck of Alaskan Politics (blog), December 5, 2008. https://mudflats.wordpress.com/. |
CMoS has specific author guidelines for footnotes, shortened footnotes, and bibliographic entries. Please pay attention to the first and last name order for the first author in all cases.
See the table below for formatting and examples of sources with multiple authors.
| Full/shortened footnote | Bibliography | |
|---|---|---|
| Two Authors | 1. First Author's First Name Last Name and Second Author's First Name Last Name, Title of Book: Subtitle if Any (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), Page Number. 2. Last Name and Last Name, Title of Book, Page Range. | First Author's Last Name, First Name, and Second Author's First Name Last Name. Title of Book: Subtitle if Any. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. |
| e.g. | 1. Maggie Wykes and Barrie Gunter, The Media and Body Image: If Looks Could Kill (Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2005), 128. 2. Wykes and Gunter, Media and Body Image, 132. | Wykes, Maggie, and Barrie Gunter. The Media and Body Image: If Looks Could Kill. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2005. |
| Three Authors | 1. First Author's First Name Last Name and Second Author's First Name Last Name, Title of Book: Subtitle if Any (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), Page Number. 2. Last Name, Last Name, and Last Name, Title of Book, Page Number. | First Author's Last Name, First Name, Second Author's First Name Last Name, and Third Author's First Name Last Name. Title of Book: Subtitle if Any. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. |
| e.g. | 1. Gerald R. Ledlow, Karl Manrodt, and David Schott, Health Care Supply Chain Management: Elements, Operations, and Strategies (Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2017), 68. 2. Ledlow, Manrodt, and Schott, Health Care Supply Chain, 83. | Ledlow, Gerald R., Karl Manrodt, and David Schott. Health Care Supply Chain Management: Elements, Operations, and Strategies. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2017. |
| Four or More Authors | 1. First Author's First Name Last Name et al., Title of Book: Subtitle if Any, Edition if given and is not first edition (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), Page Number. 2. First Author’s Last Name et al., Title of Book, Page Range. | First Author's Last Name, First Name, Second Author's First Name Last Name, Third Author's First Name Last Name, and Fourth Author's First Name Last Name. Title of Book: Subtitle if Any. Edition if given and is not first edition. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. |
If multiple entries are written by the same author, list them chronologically in the bibliography and use three em dashes (–––) to replace the author’s name after the first entry for that author.
If multiple entries are written by the same author and are from the same year, use YYYYa, YYYYb, etc. to differentiate the works in the bibliography and the footnotes. Entries with the same author and year should be listed alphabetically according to the first main word in the title (i.e., ignore articles).
NB: If two (or more) sources are by the same two (or more) authors, only use a, b, etc. if their names are in the same order for both sources. If the sources swap name orders, do not use a, b, etc.; treat them as normal.
Fogel, Robert William. 2004a. The Escape from Hunger and Premature Death, 1700–2100: Europe, America, and the Third World. New York: Cambridge University Press.
———. 2004b. “Technophysio Evolution and the Measurement of Economic Growth.” Journal of Evolutionary Economics 14, no. 2 (June): 217–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00191-004-0188-x.
You can cite more than one source in the same footnote, separated by semi-colons. The sources should be put in alphabetical order (using the author’s name).
If there is no corporate or individual author provided for your source, start the bibliographic entry or footnote with the title of the source .
Works that have “Anonymous” listed as the author should be cited accordingly and listed in the reference list alphabetically. However, do not put “anonymous” for a source with no attributed author.
Secondary sources are not encouraged but may be necessary if the original source is not available. In these cases, the source is cited as “quoted in…” and both the original and secondary sources should be listed in the footnotes and bibliography.
| Footnote | 1. Original Author First and Last Name, Title of Work, Date, quoted in Secondary Source Author First and Last Name, ed., Title of Work (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), Page Range. |
| e.g. | 1. E.E. Cummings, "A Poet's Advice to Students," Ottawa Hills Spectator, October 26, 1955, quoted in George J. Firmage, ed., E.E. Cummings: A Miscellany Revised, (New York: October House Inc, 1965), 335. |
| Bibliography | Original Author Last Name, First Name. Title of Work. Date, quoted in Secondary Source Author Last Name, First Name, ed. Title of Work. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. |
| e.g. | Cummings, E.E. "A Poet's Advice to Students." Ottawa Hills Spectator, October 26, 1955, quoted in Firmage, George J., ed. E.E. Cummings: A Miscellany Revised. 335. New York: October House Inc, 1965. |
CMoS author-date puts the bibliography on a separate page at the end of a document. All footnotes should point to a full entry in the bibliography. Exceptions to this include personal communications (e.g., emails and social media posts), well-known encyclopedias and dictionaries, and web pages.
The bibliography is placed at the end of a document (before the index) on a separate page. It should be titled “Bibliography” at the beginning of the page.
The bibliography should be single spaced and use hanging indents.
Bibliographic entries should be listed alphabetically by the first author’s last name, organization name, titles, descriptions in square brackets, or abbreviations (i.e., whatever the bibliographic entry begins with).
For sources with no date (n.d.), such as web pages, use an “Accessed” or “Modified” date in the entry (see the specific bibliographic entry for specific formatting guidelines).
Author Names
The first author listed in a source is written in Last Name, First Name order. All other authors and contributors’ names are written in First and Last Name order.
“And” is used between two/the last two authors, not an ampersand.
Titles are written in title case unless they are in a language other than English.
Titles of large works are italicized.
Short works, such as articles or chapters of a book, and unpublished works, such as working papers, use quotation marks.
When to use abbreviations
Noun forms such as editor, translator, volume, and edition are abbreviated in a bibliographic entry, but verb forms (e.g., edited by, translated by) are spelled out.
| Common Abbreviations in CMoS | |
|---|---|
| Editor(s) | ed(s). |
| Translator | trans. |
| Volume(s) | vol(s). |
| Number | no. |
| No date | n.d. |
| Director | dir. |
| Edition | ed. |
| page(s) | N/A |
If available, the year a source was written or published, as appropriate, should appear in all reference entries.
If an accessed date or modification date is needed for a source (e.g., for an online source), it should go before the URL and should take the following form: Month Day, Year (e.g., Accessed April 24, 2023).
Punctuation
Elements in bibliographic entries are separated by periods. See the examples for more specific formatting guidelines.
| Source type | Full/shortened footnote | Reference entry |
|---|---|---|
| Book | 1. Author First and Last Name, Title of Book (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), Page Range. |
Author Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.
Strayed, Cheryl. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012.
Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Chapter.” In Title of Book, edited by Editor First and Last Name, Page Range. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.
Gould, Glenn. “Streisand as Schwarzkopf.” In The Glenn Gould Reader, edited by Tim Page, 308–11. New York: Vintage Books, 1984.
Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Journal Name issue, no., (Month/Season Year): Page Range.
Bagley, Benjamin. “Loving Someone in Particular.” Ethics 125, no. 2 (January 2015): 477–507.
Audiovisual media may have other contributors, such as performers, directions, composers, featured artists, etc. List other contributors’ roles using the abbreviation guidelines given earlier (i.e., nouns are abbreviated and verbs are written out).
| Source type | Full/shortened footnote | Bibliographic entry |
|---|---|---|
| Movie/film | 1. Film Title, directed by Director’s Name (year of original release; distributor details, year of edition cited), format/URL. |
Shankman, Adam, dir. Hairspray. 2007; New York City, NY: New Line Cinema. https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B01DDOQA44/.
Last name, First name of main contributor, job title. Series title. Season #, Episode #, “Episode Title.” Other contributors. Aired Month Day, Year of original air date, in broadcast syndication. Distributor of medium, copyright year of medium, format.
Morgan, Peter, writer. The Crown. Season 3, episode 3, “Aberfan.” Directed by Benjamin Caron, featuring Olivia Colman, Tobias Menzies, and Helena Bonham Carter. Aired November 17, 2019, in broadcast syndication. Sony Pictures, 2020, DVD.
Performer Last Name, First Name, role. Title of Work. With Other Contributor Name (role), recording date, on Disc Title, Record Label #, Year, format.
Holiday, Billie, vocalist. “I’m a Fool to Want You.” By Joel Herron, Frank Sinatra, and Jack Wolf. Recorded February 20, 1958, with Ray Ellis. Track 1 on Lady in Satin. Columbia CL 1157, 33⅓ rpm.
Online sources may require an accessed or modification date. If there is no date, use n.d. in place of the year.
Keep in mind that website pages do not have to be listed in the bibliography and can just be mentioned in the text. This is up to the discretion of the customer. Keep a consistent approach and follow the customer’s lead in this situation.
| Source type | Full/shortened footnote | Bibliographic entry |
|---|---|---|
| Online journal article | 1. Author First and Last Name, “Title of Article,” Journal Name issue, no. (Month/Season Year): Page Range, URL/DOI/Database Name. |
Liu, Jui-Ch’i.. “Beholding the Feminine Sublime: Lee Miller’s War Photography.” Signs 40, no. 2 (Winter 2015): 308–19. https://doi.org/10.1086/678242.
2. Publisher Last Name/Organization, “Shortened Web Page Title.”
Alliance for Linguistic Diversity. “Balkan Romani.” Endangered Languages. Accessed April 6, 2016. http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/5342.
2. Author Last Name, Title of Book, Page Range.
Borel, Brooke. The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016. ProQuest Ebrary.
Keep in mind that a customer may have specific guidelines from their institution that deviate from the guidance listed here. Here are some things to consider if you have a document that requires CMoS 17th ed. but differs from the advice given in this guide.
Tables should be numbered separately from any figures (table 1, table 2, etc.). Tables should be cited in the text by number, not location (e.g., don’t write “see the above table”), and should be labeled consecutively. In in-text mentions, “table” is lowercase, for example, “see table 1 for more information.”
If more than one table is referenced in the text at one time, write out each table number rather than using a number range. For example, “tables 14, 15, and 16 [not 14–16] illustrate this idea.”
Figures (or illustrations) may be labeled as “figure #” or “(fig. #).” When referring to a figure in the text, write out “figure.” If referring to a figure in parentheses, use the abbreviation (fig.). All figures in a text should be numbered consecutively.
Block quotes?
CMoS states that quotations of five or more lines, or more than 100 words, should be blocked. CMoS recommends blocking two or more lines of poetry. Block quotations should be indented and single spaced. The superscript for the block quotation follows the final period in the quote and should have a corresponding footnote and bibliographic entry.
The main purpose of referencing is for writers to avoid plagiarism. For that same reason, there is a limit on what can be done for a customer. Additionally, some actions might come under our formatting service.
Here is a list of footnote and bibliographic entries you may come across in your proofreading.
| Source Type | Full/shortened footnote | Bibliography entry |
|---|---|---|
| Annual report (print or online) | 1. Author/Organization, Title of Annual Report, Page Range, URL. | Author/Organization Name. Title of Report. URL. |
| Audio CD/vinyl (classical) | 1. Performer First and Last Name (role), Composition/Track/Album Title, by Composer Names, with Ensemble, and/or Conductor information, recording date, on Disc Title, Label Publisher #, Year, format. |
2. Author Last Name, review of Title of Book in Review, Page Number.
2. Author Last Name, review of Title of Book in Review, Page Number.
2. Organization Name, Short Title, Page Number.
2. Author Last Name, Title of Book, Page Range.
2. Last Name, “Entry Title,” Page Number.
Online:
3. Author First and Last Name, “Entry Title,” in Encyclopedia Name (Publisher, Year), Accessed Date, URL/DOI.
2. Encyclopedia Name, s.v. “Entry Name,” page number.
Online:
3. Encyclopedia Name, # ed., s.v. “Entry Name,” accessed Date, URL.
Online:
Encyclopedia Name. s.v. “Entry Name.” # ed. # vols. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Accessed date. URL/DOI
2. Author Last Name, Title of Book, Page Range.
2. (Shortened Footnote): Name of Government Department, Shortened Title, Page Number.
In Print:
3. Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Title of Government Publication, Edition if given and is not first edition, Publication Date, Page Number.
2. Author Last Name, Title of Book, Page Range.
Between Two People:
2. Interviewee First and Last Name, “Title of Interview,” interview by Interviewer First and Last Name, Interview Source, Date of Publication, audio, time, URL.
Between Two People:
Interviewee Last Name, First Name. “Title of Interview.” Interview by Interviewer First and Last Name. Interview Source, Date of Publication. Audio, time. URL.
2. Author Last Name, “Shortened Title,” Page Range.
Online:
3. Author First and Last Name, “Title of Article,” Magazine Name, Date of Publication, Page Range, URL.
Online:
Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Magazine Name, Date of Publication. URL/Database Name.
2. Author Last Name, “Shortened Article Title,” Page Range.
Online:
3. Author First and Last Name, “Title of Article,” Newspaper Name, Date, Page Range, URL/Database Name.
2. Host Last Name, “Short Episode Title.”
2. Last Name, “Short Title of Poem.”
Hardcopy:
3. Author First and Last Name, “Title of Poem,” in Title of Book, # ed., Editor’s First and Last Name (if any) (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), Page Number.
2. Last Name, “Short Title of Speech.”
In Print:
3. Speaker First and Last Name, “Title of Speech,” in Title of Book, ed. Editor First and Last Name (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), Page Number.
2. Author Last Name/Organization, “Shortened Title.”
In Print:
3. Author First and Last Name/Organization, “Title of Statistical information,” in Name of Source (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), Page Range, additional information like table # if any.
2. Publisher Last Name/Organization, “Shortened Webpage Title.”