Notes and bibliography explained
The Chicago Manual of Style Online (CMOS) states that the notes and bibliography system uses superscript numbers in the text that correspond to numbered footnotes or endnotes. Sources cited in the notes may also be listed together in a separate bibliography at the end of the work.1
Footnotes and endnotes
Footnotes appear at the bottom of each page. Endnotes usually appear at the end of a chapter/section. For simplicity we are talking about footnotes in this guide.
In most assignments you will be asked to provide a bibliography for all the sources you used and referred to in the footnotes. In this case Chicago manual says a shortened form of citing in the footnotes can be used (see CMOS 13.18). It will be up to the subject coordinator/academic if this is the way they want references done.
Note: Throughout this guide we will give a format for the footnote entry in full – and then how it will look in the bibliography. Shortened form examples will appear for second and subsequent footnotes of the same citation.
If you are asked to do anything other than a full bibliography based on everything you used in the assignment, and have in the footnotes, please consult the manual which covers the variations.
If you are not required to include a bibliography with your assignment, you will need to include the full bibliographic details in your footnotes and / or endnotes.
1. Chicago Manual of Style Online,18th ed. (University of Chicago, 2024), sec. 13.18.
Footnotes formatting
|
Author prominent (where you use the authors name in the sentence - it also appears in the footnote). |
In the text: Number superscripted after period or clause.1 Footnote: Corresponding numbered note has |
|
Information prominent (where the focus of the sentence is the ideas or theories - the authors name(s) appear in the footnote only). |
In the text: Number superscripted after period or clause.2 Footnote: Corresponding numbered note has |
Year of publication
- Year of publication is part of publishing details and is placed after the publisher's name.
- Year of publication is usually the same date as copyright date.
- If you cannot determine the year of publication, it is okay to use notation n.d. [no date].
Need more information? See Chicago (Footnotes) Style notes.
Page numbers and other locators
- “Ethics, copyright laws, and courtesy to readers require authors to identify the sources of direct quotations or paraphrases and of any facts or opinions not generally known or easily checked…source citations must always provide sufficient information … to lead readers directly to the sources consulted…”1 This means page number are required for quotes and paraphrases. See CMOS 13.1.
- Furthermore “in [foot]notes where reference is usually to a particular passage in a book or journal article, only the page number or numbers pertaining to that passage are given”.2 See CMOS 13.20.
- Include a time stamp for multimedia and audiovisual resources.
- See Direct quotes and Paraphrasing tabs for more information.
Need more information? See Chicago (Footnotes) Style notes.
1. Chicago Manual of Style Online,18th ed. (University of Chicago, 2024), sec. 13.1.
2. Chicago Manual of Style, sec. 13.20.
| Author prominent |
In the text: Larkin claims that Paine's writings "represented a turning point in the revolution."1 Bakris et al. found this applied to "15 patients (4%) in the darusentan treatment."2 Footnotes: 1. Edward Larkin, Thomas Paine and the Literature of Revolution (Cambridge University Press, 2005), 10. 2. George Bakris et al., “Divergent Results Using Clinic and Ambulatory Blood Pressures,” Hypertension 56, no. 5 (2010): 828, https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.110.156976. |
|
Information prominent |
In the text: "Paine's choice of metaphors, diction, syntax, and evidence were crucial to his success."3 It was found that "individuals can discriminate between members of their own and a closely related sympatric species on the basis of song and beak morphology."4 Footnotes: 3. Edward Larkin, Thomas Paine and the Literature of Revolution (Cambridge University Press, 2005), 2. 4. Peter R. Grant and B. Rosemary Grant, How and Why Species Multiply: The Radiation of Darwin’s Finches (Princeton University Press, 2008), 78. |
| Notes |
|
| Author prominent |
In the text: Benesch described the function of the rhetorical-grammatical process chart.5 Chambers et al. state the benefit of working collaboratively.6 Footnotes: 5. Sarah Benesch, Critical English for Academic Purposes (Lawrence Erlbaum, 2001), 6. 6. Josephine M. Chambers et al., “Co-productive Agility and Four Collaborative Pathways to Sustainability Transformations,” Global Environmental Change 72, (2022): 11-13, e102422, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102422. |
|
Information prominent |
In the text: It was suggested that the packaging made a difference.7 International students are reporting higher levels than domestic students.8 Footnotes: 7. George Bakris et al., “Divergent Results Using Clinic and Ambulatory Blood Pressures,” Hypertension 56, no. 5 (2010): 829, https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.110.156976. 8. Wendy Larcombe et al., “Are International Students Relatively Resilient? Comparing International and Domestic Students Level of Self-Compassion, Mental Health and Wellbeing,” Higher Education Research & Development 43, no. 2 (2024): 363, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2023.2234315. |
| Notes |
|