Write to Excellence Center: Chicago Style

Per the 5th Edition of The Little Seagull:

Formatting: 

Name, Course Title: Type the title of your paper about one-third of the way down the page; capitalize it as you would the title of a book. Place your name several lines below the title, along with information such as the title of your course, your instructor's name, and the date. Center each element on the title page on a separate line. 

Page Numbers: Number all pages consecutively, starting AFTER the title page. (If applicable) include your name and the date or draft number alongside the page number. Place the page number and this information in either the upper-right corner or bottom-right corner. If all you need is the page number, you can either format it the same way or center it at the top of bottom of the page. 

Spacing and Margins: Double-space the main text of the paper as well as block quotations, table titles, captions, footnotes, endnotes, and the bibliography. Set one-inch margins on all sides. 

Long Quotations: When quoting a hundred words/two or more paragraphs, set off the quotation as a block, indenting it one-half inch from the left margin. Double-space the quotation and do not add extra line space above or below. Do not use quotation marks. 

Illustrations: Figures and tables should be numbered and given a title (ie. Figure 1. *insert descriptive title here*). Any illustration that comes from another source should include documentation (ie. Source: *insert name here*). If you created the illustration yourself with data from another source, add "Data from" before the author's name. Put the title above the illustration and any source note below. Position illustrations as soon as possible after they are discussed in your text--and be sure to explain how they relate to your point. 

Notes: (If applicable) for both footnotes and endnotes, indent the first line one-half inch. Do not indent subsequent lines. Double-space. 

Bibliography: Start on a new page at the end of the paper, following any notes. Center the heading. Double-space each entry. Each entry should begin at the left margin, and subsequent lines should be indented one-half inch. Alphabetize by authors' or editors' last names. For works with no author/multiple works by the same author, use the first important word in the title. If using multiple works by the same author, use a three-em dash in place of the author's name in every entry after the first. 

In-Text Citations: 

You must use present tense for verbs in signal phrases: Kaplan insists

Put a superscript number in your text to indicate to your reader that you are citing material from a source. The superscript should follow the quotation, paraphrase, or summary of the source you are citing. The superscript number directs your reader to a footnote or endnote that gives more information about the source. The number that introduces the note should not be set superscript and should be followed by a period. If your bibliography does not include all the works you reference in your notes, you should use the full version of the note the first time you cite a source. If you cite the same source later in your paper, give a shorter form of the note that lists just the author's last name, and abbreviated title, and the page(s) cited. If your bibliography does include all the works you reference in your notes, then you can use the shorter form of the note the first time you cite it as well.

Notes entry for a book: Author's first and last name, Title (Publication City: Publisher, Year of publication), Page(s). 

Notes entry for an article: Author's first name Last name, "Title of Article," Title of Journal volume, no. issue (Month Year): Page(s).

Notes entry for a website: Title of Site, Sponsor, Date of publication or last modification, accessed Month Day, Year, URL.

Bibliography: 

Bibliographies follow the same formatting as notes do, but do not include the page number. 

For most books, you'll need to provide information about the author; the title and any subtitle; and the place of publication, publisher, and year of publication. Treat pamphlets and brochures like books, giving whatever information is available.

• AUTHORS: Include the author's middle name or initial, if any.
• TITLES: Capitalize the first and last words and all principal words of titles and subtitles. Italicize book titles. Use quotation marks around titles of chapters or other short works within books.
• PUBLICATION PLACE: If there's more than one city, use only the first. If a city may be unfamiliar or could be confused with another of the same name, give the state, province, or country. For the US capital, use "Washington, DC." Do not list the state or country if that information is part of the publisher's name.
• PUBLISHER: Omit "The" at the start of a publisher's name, along with abbreviations such as "Inc." If you shorten a publisher's name (e.g. "Wiley" for "John Wiley"), be consistent.

Bibliography entry for a book: Author's last name, First name, Title, Publication City: Publisher, Year of publication.

Bibliography entry for an article: Author's last name, First name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal volume, no. issue (Month Year): Page range. 

Bibliography entry for a website: Title of Site. Sponsor. Date of publication or last modification. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.