Chicago style citation is one of the oldest writing styles and product of Chicago University Press that is used to write research papers. It traces its origin to 1906 and has since evolved through seventeen editions that have been released over the years to cater for the emerging trends regarding formatting and citation of papers. The following is a guide on how to format your research paper on the latest Chicago style.

Paper Formatting

Your paper should include;

  • Title/CoverPage
  • Body
  • Appendix (if necessary)
  • Notes
  • Bibliography

Citation and Referencing/ Bibliographies in Chicago Style

According to 17th Edition Chicago Manual of Style Citation, there are two ways of formatting a paper: Notes and Bibliography and Author-Date. Notes and bibliography is format is commonly known as NB among users. It often makes use of footnotes or end notes which acts as in-text citations and included in the reference section of the paper.

End Notes and Foot Notes Rules

studentsUnder Chicago style, every time you use a source, whether a summary, direct quote or a paraphrase, you have to place a superscript number at its end in reference to the end note or footnote that is included in the text. End note is added at the end of a chapter while a footnote appears at the end of each page of the paper. Note that you have to use these to fulfill the requirements of Chicago formatting style.
It’s typically recommended to use bibliography in Chicago style. In this case, you don’t need to provide full publication details in the end note or footnote. However, if your paper does not include a bibliography, then you should add all the relevant information source including title, author and publication facts. If the source is cited more than once or if your work contains a bibliography, then you only need to include the author’s surname, shorten form of the source’s title (in case it’s in more than four words) and page number (s).
In contrast to earlier editions, the latest Chicago Manual of style demands that you should use shortened citations if you cite the same source twice or more times consecutively. Papers with bibliography should have the first reference in a shortened citation. This should include the name of the author, title of the source, page number (s). In the following references of the same source, you may omit the title of the source and just include the author’s name and page number (s).
Under the Notes and Bibliography (NB) system, you should list your sources in alphabetical order under a centered title “Bibliography.” The bibliography usually comes in the last part of the paper and include all sources used in the article and at times even other relevant sources that were not cited, for further reading.
Although bibliography entries vary depending on the source, all sources included in your research work (websites, journals, articles, books, e.t.c) should be arranged in alphabetical order, starting with the author’s last name. If the source doesn’t have an editor or author listed, you’re allowed to use the title or a descriptive phrase. Though bibliography is crucial, it’s not necessary for works that already have full bibliographic information in the notes.

Common Elements in Chicago Formatting Style

When you contract an online paper writing service to write a paper for you or format the paper using the Chicago format style, make sure that the paper conforms to the following elements.

To begin with, the bibliography includes the name of the author/ editor/ translator/ compiler, title, and publication information.

Author’s Names

The last name of the author should be placed first followed by the second one, separated by a comma. The principle applies to editors, compilers, and translators who are the authors are not listed.

Titles

Title of books, article, chapters, etc. should be in quotations and italicized.
Publication Information-List the year of publication for the source after the publishers or source name.

Punctuation

All the major elements in the bibliography should be separated by periods.