The Chicago Manual of Style is a style guide published by the University of Chicago Press. Its recommendations for editorial practice, covering grammar, diction, spelling, document formatting, and citation, are widely used in publishing, particularly in the humanities. This guide focuses on the citation guidelines presented in the Manual, providing examples of citations for a wide variety of sources. It follows the 17th edition of the Manual, issued in 2017.
You can navigate to the citation examples through the "Guide Contents" list on the left (on the right side of every other page), through the tabs across the top of the guide, or through these links:
Be sure to check out the general guidelines page as well for general rules on writing notes (footnotes & endnotes) and bibliography entries. The plagiarism page offers information to help you understand what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.
Should you have a citation problem that this guide doesn't answer, it is best to consult the actual Manual for more information (see links below). Also, don't forget that you can ask one of our helpful librarians any citation or research-related question (see the library help section on the right).
The Chicago Manual of Style Online
This is the electronic version of the Manual. Page numbers are
not included, so you must navigate by section numbers (e.g., 14.84).
The Chicago Manual of Style (Print)
This is the print version of the Manual, available behind
the Information & Research Assistance Desk. For the
online version, follow the link above.
Note that The Chicago Manual of Style recognizes two similar but distinct citation styles: the Notes and Bibliography System and the Author-Date System. The examples in this guide follow the Notes and Bibliography System. For information on citing according to the Author-Date System, see section 15 of the Manual (pp. 891-921).