Style Notes
Author notes - In-text citations
General
- The author(s) name(s) should be written as: Surname (year, page number) or (Surname year, page number) for a direct quote.
- Applies to author, editor, translator and other contributors.
- Do not include suffixes, e.g. Dr or Jr.
- In-text list all authors up to 3 – for 4 or more authors write first author Surname et.al.
Special types of names
- For foreign names, capitalise and spell the name just as it appears in the article you're citing.
- If the surname starts with a lower-case letter, use that form in-text and keep the author's original capitalisation even in the reference list entry. Note: you may need to check additional sources to see the correct order for the name.
Same last name
- For first authors with the same surname, include the first author’s initials in all in-text citations to differentiate even if the publication year is different, e.g. (E. Smith 2018), (P. Smith 2020). If the initials are the same spell out the first names. (Peter Smith 2019), (Paul Smith 2022).
Same author and date
- For works by the same author (or group of authors) and date (year), arrange them alphabetically by surname and then by title in the reference list. Add the suffixes a, b, c, etc. to the publication year and refer to these in the in-text citation., e.g. Elkind (2007b) or (Elkind 2007a), etc.
No author
- If a work has no identifiable author, cite in-text the title and the year, using up to four words from the title. Use double quotes around the title of an article or chapter e.g. (“Study finds mobile phones ” 2007) or if it is a book place the title in italics, e.g. (Science for Dummies 2008). For further information Turabian 19.3 and 19.4.
- For works where the author is “Anonymous,” use it in the in-text citation e.g. (Anonymous 1998).
No date
- n.d. (short for no date) is used when there is not date on a publication website etc.
More than one work cited
- When citing 2 or more sources to make a point, put them all in one set of parentheses and arrange alphabetically, chronologically or in order of importance with a semicolon in between e.g. (Adams 2004; Smith 2008). (See Turabian 18.3.2.)
- When citing 2 or more works by the same author in the one instance, arrange the in-text citation by year of publication and only write the author’s name once e.g. (Smith 2002; 2004).
Organisation as author
- For publications issued by an organisation, association, commission, corporation etc . Also known as corporate author.
- Use the organisation name as author, even when it will quite often also be the publisher. This means when the reference is written out the organisation name appears in both the author and publisher (source) position. For example
WHO (World Health Organization). 2005. Health and the Millennium Development Goals. Geneva: World Health Organization.
- For well known organisation acronyms (like WHO), you can use the abbreviation/acronym for the in-text citation – the reference list entry is then the acronym with the full spelling out of name in parentheses after it. (CMOS 15.37). Example below:
In-text
Wold Health Organisation (Year) or (World Health Organisation Year)
Reference list
World Health Organisation. Year. Title. Publisher. URL
OR
In-text
The WHO (Year) report concluded… or Text text text (WHO Year)
Reference list
WHO (World Health Organisation). Year. Title. Publisher. URL
Pseudonyms
- If work is by a made-up name can put pseud. after it in square bracket.
- If well known just put in, for example George Eliot.
- If of interest to readers put real name in square bracket after - Jay-Z [Shawn Carter].
- If real name better known that pseudonyms, use real name. Charlotte Bronte rather than Currer Bell.
Other variations
- If authorship is guessed at put in square brackets [ ] .
- If an author is known by one name, just use it (e.g. Virgil, Augustine) and alphabetise accordingly.
- Note eds./trans. are not used for in-text citation.
Table 1. Basic in-text citations styles
Type of citation |
Citation in text |
Parenthetical format |
One work by one author |
Walker (2007) |
(Walker, 2007) |
One work by two authors |
Walker and Allen (2004) |
(Walker and Allen 2004) |
One work by three authors |
Bradley, Ramirez, and Soo (1999) |
(Bradley, Ramirez, and Soo 1999) |
One work by four or more authors |
Maxwell et al. (2016) |
(Maxwell et al. 2016) |
Groups (readily identified through abbreviation) as authors |
WHO (2003) |
(WHO 2003) |
Groups (no abbreviation) as authors |
University of Pittsburgh (2005) |
(University of Pittsburgh, 2005) |
Source: Compiled from Chicago Manual of Style Online (2017) - 15.9 and 15.37.
Author notes - Reference list
General
Each in-text citation has to have an entry in the reference list – unless its personal communication (pers. comm.), unpublished data, or similar non-retrievable sources. As long as the author is fully identified in the text somewhere there is no need for an entry in the reference list for personal communications – they are usually defined as things that won't be retrievable by the person reading your work. See Personal communications in Other.
- Applies to authors, editors, translators and other contributors.
- Generally use the form of authors name is as it appears on the book, article, website etc.
- If in one source the author uses initials but in another their full name – you should use the fuller version of the name.
- Cite the names of authors in the order they appear.
- Invert the first author name (ie. Last name, First Name) – the rest of the authors are listed in order (ie. First name Last name,).
- Authors who always use initials continue to do so (J K Rowling / T S Eliot).
- In the reference list all authors are listed up to 10 authors.
- For 11 authors and more – list the first 7 and then et al.
Editors and translators
- Listed the same as author with addition of ed. after the name (or eds. for more than one; and trans. (singular and plural).
- Editor or translator as well as author – then list Author first and after Title write
Edited by … or Translated by … or
Edited by Jason Pollock. Translated by Trevor Smith where both appear.
No author
- Use Title of Publication in author position.
- In most cases do not use ‘Anonymous’ . Exception - if Anonymous is explicit, then use in author position.
Same author and date
- For works by the same author(s) and year, arrange them alphabetically by title. Add the suffixes a, b, c, etc. to the publication year and refer to these in the in-text citation., e.g. Elkind (2007a) or (Elkind, 2007b), etc.
- When an author (or same group of authors) has more than one entry use a long dash (3 em ———) to save retyping name over and over again.
Note: When referencing materials by First Nations creators, it is important to note the Nation or Country and/or language group of the person or community who created them. At present no styles, including Chicago, incorporate this officially.
Table 2. Abbreviations
Abbreviation | Book or publication part |
anon. | anonymous |
art. | article |
ca. or c. | circa, use when you are not sure of a date (c. 1993) |
chap. or ch. | chapter |
comp. or comps. | compiler or compilers (plural) |
DOI | digital object identifier |
ed. or eds. | editor or editors (plural) |
ed. | edition |
et al. | et alii (or et alia) means "and others" |
n.d. | no date |
no. or nos. | number or numbers |
p. or pp. (pp.) | page or pages (eg pp.32 – 45) |
para. or par. | paragraph |
pt. | part |
rev. | revised / reviser |
Suppl. | Supplement |
Tech. Rep. | Technical Report |
trans. | translated (singular and plural) |
vol. | Volume (as in Vol. 4) |
Source: Adapted from Chicago Manual of Style Online (2017) - chap. 10 and more specifically 10.42 Scholarly Abbreviations.
For official U S state abbreviations : https://pe.usps.com/text/pub28/28apb.htm
Formatting your document
General
Instructions on how to format your assignment is usually found in the Subject Learning Guide (SLG) on LMS - if instructions exist follow them.
Otherwise this information will help...
Please note that the Chicago Manual of Style is aimed at publishers and authors of books etc - not students.
For guidance on formatting documents for essays/class papers/reports etc. use:
Turabian, Kate L. 2018. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers 9th ed.Chicago, IL: UCP.
The Chicago Manual of Style Online (2017) and more specifically for students: Resources for Students.
For legal references refer to Legal materials (within this guide) and AGLC (Australian Guide to Legal Citation) - as we don't have access to or use the Bluebook in Australia.
Note on parentheses
- Use square brackets within parentheses preferred ([]) (World Health Organisation [WHO] date) NOT parentheses within parentheses (()).
- See CMOS 6.97 and 6.101.
Capitalisation and Italics
- See Titles tab of the Style Notes.
Font
- Use commonly and widely available font such as12-point Times New Roman or 10 point Arial.
Page numbers
- Ignore title page and number from first page of text to the end of the document.
Margins
- 2.54 cm at the top, bottom, left-hand, and right-hand sides of the page.
Justification of text
- Align left - do not Justify (i.e. it stays ragged on right).
Spacing
- Double space (2.0) for the body of assignment.
Paragraph indents
- Generally use Tab key to indent (differing rule for tables and block quotes - see Manual).
References
- Reference list at the end of the document starts on a new page – 2 lines between title ‘References’ and the first entry.
- Reference list single spaced (1.15) with hanging indent and space between entries.
- Apply the hanging indent for the second and subsequent lines of a reference. (Note - Do not use tab to achieve hanging indent – its available on most word processing programs under Paragraphs – indents and spacing - indentation – special hanging).
- List is alphabetical by author surname (where no author - list by the title alphabetically ignoring initial A, An, The).
- Spell out edited by or translated by – but also ok to have editor (ed.), translator (trans.) volume (vol.) and number (no.) – consistency is the key (BUT never ed. by Jack Jones).
Appendices
Used for information that can’t easily be fitted into main text – such things as figures and tables that are not important but are related, forms you may have used in surveys, documents that readers won't have access to otherwise etc.
- Start a separate page for each one and add number or letter if more than one (Appendix 1, Appendix 2, Appendix A, Appendix B).
- Just title Appendix if there is only one.
- Add 2 line spaces between title and first line of text or whatever is going into the appendix. (more info Turabian text A.2.3.2)
Order of assignment paper
Generally student papers would include a title page, text and reference list. You may be told the order for your discipline, and there may be other sections required such as abstracts and appendices - follow the instructions given for the subject.
If there is no guidance provided this is an order you can follow:
- Title page*
- Abstract
- Text / body of assignment*
- Illustrations
- Appendices
- Glossary
- Reference list*
Tables, figures and most illustrations would be in the body of the work (text) in student papers. In longer papers/theses and when specified, they have to appear at the front after the Table of Contents for Tables and Figures, and separately at the end for Illustrations unless they are an Appendix. A Glossary can be either at the end or at the front of the paper.
For more information about stylistic aspects consult -
Turabian, Kate L. 2018. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers 9th ed.Chicago, IL: UCP.
Page numbers / No page numbers
- Page numbers go in the in-text citation – can be a one number or a span of pages (Smith 2022, 15) or (Smith 2022, 145–48).
- In the reference list page numbers follow a colon :34–46.
- Can denote chapter (chap.), part (pt.), book (bk.) or section (sec.) instead of a span of pages (Smith 2022, pt. 2).
- For line numbers – for example used in poetry or plays - write line or lines – ie do not use l or ll.
- Old books pre 1800 may not have pages numbers but use signatures, leaves and folios – consult manual for advice.
- Consult manual for further advice on location information on how to cite a note, a figure, illustration or table.
- For ebooks – sometimes pages are not included in online versions – in the first instance try and find a better version which has original paging. You can also refer to chapter or sections to pinpoint the information you are using. Sometimes if viewing online version there will be a link to the pdf (especially for journal articles etc) – open pdf and use the pages there.
- The manual gives no guidance for online information other than ebooks – use the infomation for ebooks and use notations like paragraphs, heading and sections to identify the text you are referring to.
- Include a time stamp audiovisual and multimedia materials, e.g. (Jaws 1975, 4:25)
- For more information, see CMOS 14.160 and 15.23.
Publishing information
Publishing details consist of the place of publication (city), name of publisher, and year of publication.
Place of Publication
- Place of publication is the name of the city, but you may need to add the state, province, or country.
- Use English names for cities - so Milan NOT Milano.
- If 2 or more cities are named, only use the first.
- If no place of publication appears on modern self-published platforms, you can omit this element.
Publisher Name
- For older books published before the 20th century you can omit the publisher name.
- If the author is also the publisher (common in government/organisation reports), both appear in the reference list.
- If multiple publishers are named, only include first named.
- Give publisher name exactly as it appears in the publication - even if you know the name has changed (over time publishers have been known to change their name - e.g. Harcourt Brace and World, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Harcourt ).
- Omit the initial The in publisher names and also omit abbreviations like Co., Inc., and Ltd.
- For foreign publishers write as is, and do not omit anything. Give the city name in English form.
Date/Year of publication
- Year of publication is part of publishing details and is placed after the author name.
- Year of publication is usually the same date as copyright date.
- Reprints and new editions may have a string of dates on the publishing page - most times you will be using the last date in the string.
- If there are 2 dates - one for the physical copy and one for the online copy - use the date on the source you are viewing (for online it would be the date it was 'published' online, even if its just a digital version of the original and has the original cover and publishing details etc). There are some exceptions where you might put the original published date as well - see CMOS 15.40.
No date
- If you cannot determine the year of publication it is ok to use notation n.d. (no date).
- If a website or other online material has no date, or the site is frequently updated (eg Wikipedia), you can use n.d. and add an access date after the title (Accessed July 1, 2016 or Last modified March 25, 2015).
- If you think you know the date even though it doesn't appear on the item, use square brackets and a question mark [1955?].
Not yet published
If something is not yet published but you know it is in the process of being published, you can use forthcoming. Forthcoming stands in for Year and page numbers. See CMOS 14.172 and 14.173, 15.45.
Ebooks
If consulting electronic/online book you need to give information about how you accessed as part of publication details – include URL or DOI after the publishing details, or if the online version required specific software specify that instead (iBooks, Adobe Digital Editions). If accessing from a specific database you could just its name (Business Source Ultimate).
Quotations and paraphrasing
Golden rule - you must acknowledge everything that is not your own work.
- For information on the writing process or how to tackle your assessments – visit Achieve @Uni - Writing. There is a section which explains quotes, paraphrases and summarising.
- In all cases you will need to correctly use an in-text citation and have an entry on the reference list.
- In Chicago you are required to put pages numbers in for quotes and paraphrases. See CMOS 15.23.
Direct quotations - short
- If the quote is 4 lines or less run it into the text and enclose with quotation marks.
- Follow the quotation with the in-text citation (Surname year, page number). A period or comma follows the closing parentheses.
- The 2016 presidential election was “a battle between the two least-trusted candidates in the history of modern polling” (Comey 2021, 171).
- When you mention the author in the text, the year and page number can appear next to the author's name OR at the end of the quote, e.g.
Comey (2021, 219) concludes his book by saying its “time for America to move past a fallen and corrupt president and turn to the work of restoration”.
OR
Comey concludes his book by saying its “time for America to move past a fallen and corrupt president and turn to the work of restoration” (2021, 219).
- If there is a quote within the quote you are using, then single quote marks go within double quotes marks.
Direct quotations - long (block quotations)
Prose
- More than 5 lines of prose should be presented as a block with no quotation marks around it. If there are quotes within the block quote you must put those in.
- Single space it and leave a line before and after it.
- Indent size - same as first line indent of each paragraph.
- Example of block quotation:
Ironically, Menzies’s commitment to education had produced a large population of university students, often schooled in the critique of the new social sciences and whose affluence and idealism made them ready and eager to overthrow the old order associated with Menzies and Calwell. Across the country the old concern to preserve the status quo, to converse uniformity, to safeguard the Australian way of life and the family home from subversion was giving way to demands for change. (Grimshaw et al. 2006, 300)
- The in-text citation follows the block quotation – after the period.
- For the long quote above the reference for the book is:
Grimshaw, Patricia, Marilyn Lake, Ann McGrath and Marian Quartly. eds. 2006. Creating a Nation. Melbourne: McPhee Gribble. Publishers.
Poetry
- Present 2 lines or more as block quotation.
- If it has variable line lengths and indents reproduce these as well as you can.
- For line numbers – for example used in poetry or plays - write line or lines – ie do not use l or ll.
Dialogue from dramatic works
- Set it apart in block quote with each speakers name in capitals or a different font to differentiate.
- Each speech on a new line and indent runovers.
Paraphrasing (and Summaries)
- Use past tense when citing someone else's work.
- For in-text referencing use author, date and a specific locator such a page, section etc. CMOS 15.23.
Reference list example
References
Abdul-Rahim, Abdulai. 2022. "A New Green Revolution (GR) Or Neoliberal Entrenchment in Agri-Food Systems? Exploring Narratives Around Digital Agriculture (DA), Food Systems, and Development in Sub-Sahara Africa." The Journal of Development Studies 58, no. 8 (August): 1588–1604. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2022.2032673.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 2022a. “Government Figures Underestimate the Cost of New Workplace Laws.” Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Media Release November 23, 2022. https://www.australianchamber.com.au/news/government-figures-underestimate-the-cost-of-new-workplace-laws/.
——— 2022b. Overcoming Australia’s Labour and Skills Shortages: Through Skills Development, Workforce Participation and Migration. Workforce Policy Position Paper. Canberra: Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. https://www.australianchamber.com.au/publication_taxonomies/policy-publications/.
Baxendale, Rachel. 2022. “Victorians Warned to Prepare for Floods.” Australian, October 12, 2022. http://ez.library.latrobe.edu.au/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/victorians-warned-prepare-floods/docview/2723620489/se-2.
Central Intelligence Agency. n.d. “A Brief History of Basic Intelligence and the World Factbook.” Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/about/history/.
Dexter, Rachael. 2022. “Candidates Pushed in Marginal Melton: Victorian Election.” Age, November 4, 2022. http://ez.library.latrobe.edu.au/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/candidates-pushed-marginal-melton/docview/2731374595/se-2
Fair Work Ombudsman. n.d. “Flexible Working Arrangements.” Tools and Resources: Best Practice Guides. Accessed December 5, 2022. https://www.fairwork.gov.au/tools-and-resources/best-practice-guides/flexible-working-arrangements#flexible-working-arrangements.
Grigg, Brendan. 2017. “Environmental Crime.” In Crime and Criminology: A Guide to Criminology 5th ed. Edited by Darren Palmer, Willem De Lint and Derek Dalton, 193–216. Pyrmont, NSW: Thomson Reuters.
Moroney, Robyn, Fiona Campbell and Jane Hamilton. 2020. Auditing: A Practical Approach 4th ed. Milton, Qld: John Wiley & Sons.
Qantas. n.d. “Our History.” Qantas. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.qantas.com/au/en/about-us/our-company/our-history.html.
Sohana, Nasrin and Dana R. Fisher. 2022. "Understanding Collective Identity in Virtual Spaces: A Study of the Youth Climate Movement: PROD." The American Behavioral Scientist 66, no.9 (August): 1286–1308. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642211056257.
WHO (World Health Organisation). 2022. “New Recommendations for the Composition of Influenza Vaccines in 2023 for the Southern Hemisphere.” Released September 24, 2022. WHO. https://www.who.int/news/item/23-09-2022-new-recommendations-for-the-composition-of-influenza-vaccines-in-2023-for-the-southern-hemisphere.
Titles
Use of Capitals for Titles
- Chicago uses title case capitalisation - this means each word in the title and subtitle is capitalised except for small words like the, a, an, and, but, for, or and nor.
- Do not capitalise articles, prepositions, second parts of hyphenated words, second parts of a species name or parts of proper nouns that are normally lower case (Ludwig van Beethoven - ie. van).
- There are exceptions so please read rules - CMOS 8.159 - 161.
- Use sentence case for foreign language titles only. (Sentence case is where only the first word of the title and subtitle have a capital letter plus any proper nouns).
Formatting of Titles
Italics are used for Titles of longer form works:
- Books
- Plays and longer poems
- Journals, magazines, newspapers and blogs
- Long musical compositions and album titles
- Paintings, sculptures and other visual arts (including photos)
- Movies, television and radio programs
Quotation marks are used around "Titles" of shorter works:
- Chapters and other titled parts of books
- Short stories, short poems and essays
- Articles and other matter in journals, magazines and newspapers, websites and blogs
- Individual episodes of TV
- Short musical compositions
Not formerly published works also have Quotation marks around their "Titles" :
- Theses and dissertations
- Lectures and papers presented at conferences
- Titled documents in a manuscript collection
Capitals BUT no italics or quotation marks for the following types:
- Book series
- Manuscript collections
- Scriptures and other revered works, versions of the Bible and its books
- Musical works referred to by genre (Symphony no. 4) - but italics if referring to popular titles (the Jupiter Symphony)
- Websites (Google Maps, Facebook,Wikipedia)
Punctuation
- Preserve punctuation in titles when writing them in a sentence - add commas if needed.
- Exception - when it is the end of a sentence and the title has a ? - do not put in the period after a ? or a !
Further Information on:
- Capitalisation, Punctuation and Italics CMOS 8.157 - 167.
- Titles CMOS 14.85 - 99.
- Titles Special Cases CMOS 15.38 - 39.
Help
For further help
Contact us - via chat or phone, or send your feedback to libreftool@latrobe.edu.au.
Please consult the manual directly for more detailed information:
- The Chicago Manual of Style Online (2017) and more specifically for students: Resources for students.
- Print versions of the The Chicago Manual of Style (2017) are also available at all campus libraries.