Chicago A: 18th edition

Footnote

Click on each of the elements below to learn about footnoting books in Chicago 18 style.

Text version

Bibliography

Click on the elements below to learn about the basic requirements for books in your bibliography.

Text version

Notes

• Punctuation and formatting: Footnotes use commas to separate citation elements, while the bibliography uses periods. Footnotes have a first-line indent, and bibliography entries have a hanging indent.
• Author/s: In the bibliography, the first author's name is inverted (surname first). Don't invert the names of authors whose cultural naming conventions place the family name first.
• Title: Use title case, except for prepositions consisting of four or fewer letters (for example, as, of, the, in).
• Ebooks: Online books in fixed-page format, where the online version matches a printed counterpart can be cited without a URL. However, reflowable formats where page numbers do not match (for example, Kindle, Apple Books) should be noted (see CMOS 14.58).
• Subsequent Footnotes: Chicago discourages the use of Ibid., for citations referring to the immediately preceding footnote. In such cases, the title may be excluded from the subsequent footnote.

First footnote

^No Given Name(s) Surname, Title of Book: Subtitle, edition (Publisher, Year), Pinpoint.

Examples:

¹ Paul Guyer, Kant’s Impact on Moral Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 2024), 20.

² Tamara Sonn, Islam : History, Religion, and Politics, 3rd ed. (Wiley Blackwell, 2016), 105-8.

Subsequent footnotes

³ Guyer, Kant's Impact, 32.

Bibliography

Surname, Given Name(s). Title of Book: Subtitle. Edition. Publisher, Year.

Examples:

Guyer, Paul. Kant’s Impact on Moral Philosophy. Oxford University Press, 2024.

Sonn, Tamara. Islam : History, Religion, and Politics. 3rd ed. Wiley Blackwell, 2016.

First footnote

^No Given Name(s) Surname and Given Name(s) Surname, Title of Book: Subtitle, edition (Publisher, Year), Pinpoint.

Example:

¹ J. Christiaan Beker and N. T. Wright, Paul: Narrative or Apocalyptic (Augsburg Fortress Press, 2023), 78-82.

Subsequent footnotes

³ Beker and Wright, Paul, 132-5.

Bibliography

Surname, Given Name(s) and Given Name(s) Surname. Title of Book: Subtitle. Edition. Publisher, Year.

Example:

Beker, J. Christiaan, and N. T. Wright. Paul: Narrative or Apocalyptic. Augsburg Fortress Press, 2023.

For books with 3-6 authors, list all authors in the bibliography citation. Only the first author followed by "et al.", is listed in the footnote entry.

First footnote

^No First Author's Given Name(s) Surname et al., Title of Book: Subtitle, edition (Publisher, Year), Pinpoint.

Example:

¹ Stanislas Breton et al., A Radical Philosophy of Saint Paul (Columbia University Press, 2011), 141-7.

Subsequent footnotes

³ Breton et al., A Radical Philosophy, 23.

Bibliography

Surname, Given Name(s), Given Name(s) Surname, and Given Name(s) Surname. Title of Book: Subtitle. Edition. Publisher, Year.

Example:

Breton, Stanislas, Joseph N. Ballan, and Ward Blanton. A Radical Philosophy of Saint Paul. Columbia University Press, 2011.

For books with more than 6 authors, list the first three authors in the bibliography, followed by "et al.". Only the first author followed by "et al.", is listed in the footnote entry.

First footnote

^No Given Name(s) Surname et al., Title of Book: Subtitle, edition (Publisher, Year), Pinpoint.

Example:

¹ Nicola Whiteing et al., Case Studies for Health, Research and Practice in Australia and New Zealand (Council of Australian University Librarians, 2023), 68.

Subsequent footnotes

³ Whiteing et al., Case Studies for Health, 99-100.

Bibliography

Surname, Given Name(s), Given Name(s) Surname, and Given Name(s) Surname. Title of Book: Subtitle. Edition. Publisher, Year.

Example:

Whiteing, Nicola, Lucy Shinners, Nicole Graham et al., Case Studies for Health, Research and Practice in Australia and New Zealand. Council of Australian University Librarians, 2023.

Classical works

Classical and ancient sources are usually cited directly in-text or in a footnote. The author's name is typically included, followed by the work's title or abbreviated title if necessary, and then the reference to a specific part of the text (for example, book number, chapter, section).

In-text citation examples

• Aristotle in Nicomachean Ethics discusses the importance of experience and maturity in studying philosophy, specifically political science, arguing that young people lack the life experience necessary for this study (1925, 1095a).

• Plato argues that justice is a matter of inner harmony, comparing the soul to wool that must be prepared before it can take on the colour of virtue (Republic, 429d).

First footnote

⁴ Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, 1095, 1095a.

⁵ Plato, Republic, 429d.

Subsequent Footnote

⁶ Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics, 1200.

⁷ Plato, Republic, 427e, 429d, 441c.

Modern editions of classical texts

When you quote or rely heavily on a specific modern translation or edition of a classical text - especially when interpreting the author’s meaning or referencing footnotes, annotations, or translator choices - you must cite that edition in your footnotes and list it in the bibliography. Details of the modern edition used, along with the editor and translator (if any), and the details of publication should be cited.

First footnote

¹ Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics, trans. W. D. Ross, rev. ed. (Oxford University Press, 2009), 27.

² Aristotle, The Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation, ed. J. Barnes, vol. 2, Bollingen Series (Princeton University Press, 1984), 2: 1869.

Subsequent footnote

⁵ Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, 55.

⁸ Aristotle, Complete Works, 2: 2039.

Bibliography examples

Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by W. D. Ross. Rev. ed. Oxford University Press, 2009.

Aristotle. The Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation. Edited by J. Barnes. 2 vols. Bollingen Series. Princeton University Press, 1984.

Notes

• Author: Authors generally known only by their given names (and not by any surname) are listed and alphabetised by that name, e.g. Augustine, Cicero. Titles such as "King" or "Saint" or identifiers by place (e.g. "of Hippo") are omitted, unless needed for reasons of disambiguation (See CMOS 13.85).

First footnote

^No Editor's Given Name(s) Surname, ed., Title of Book: Subtitle (Publisher, Year), Pinpoint.

Example:

⁴ Jessica Lark, ed., Why are We ‘Artists’?: 100 World Art Manifestos (Penguin, 2017), 217-19.

Subsequent footnotes

⁷ Lark, Why are We ‘Artists’?, 219.

Bibliography

Editor Last name, First name, ed(s). Title of Book. Publisher, Year.

Example:

Lark, Jessica, ed. Why are We ‘Artists’?: 100 World Art Manifestos. Penguin, 2017.

Notes

• Editor/s: In the bibliography, the first author's name is inverted (surname first). Don't invert the names of authors whose cultural naming conventions place the family name first.

First Footnote

Full work

^No Given Name(s) Surname and Given Name(s) Surname, Title of Reference Work, edition (Name of Publisher, Year), Pinpoint.

¹ W. R. F. Browning, A Dictionary of the Bible, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2010), s.v. "Obed".

Entry in work

^No Entry Author's Given Name(s) Surname, "Entry Title," in Title of Reference Work, ed. Editor's Given Name(s) and Surname (Name of Publisher, Year), Pinpoint.

² Dale Tuggy, "Trinity," in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Spring 2016 ed., ed. Edward N. Zalta (Stanford University, 2015. Article published July 23, 2009; last modified March 18, 2016), para. 12, https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2016/entries/trinity/.

Bibliography

Full work

Entry Author's Surname, Given Name(s). Title. Edition. Name of Publisher, Year of Publication.

Browning, W. R. F. A Dictionary of the Bible. 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, 2010.

Entry in work

Entry Author's Surname, Given Name(s). "Entry Title." In Title of Reference Work: Subtitle. Edition, edited by Editor Given Name(s) Surname. Publisher: Copyright Year. Article date published and modified.

Tuggy, Dale. "Trinity." In Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Spring 2016 ed., edited by Edward N. Zalta. Stanford University, 2015. Article published July 23, 2009; last modified March 18, 2016. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2016/entries/trinity/.

Notes

• Well known reference works, such as major dictionaries and encylopaedias, are not cited in the bibliography. They are cited in the footnotes only.
• s.v. (sub verbo) (shown in the first example above) means under the word, and is used in the pinpoint to point to works arranged alphabetically, rather than page numbers, for example, s.v. "Wadsworth, Jeremiah".
• Author/s: If there is no author listed, start the entry from the title. For multiple authors, check the author layout table for in-text and bibliography format.

First footnote

^No Author's Given Name(s) Surname, Title of Book: Subtitle, trans.Translator's Given Name(s) Surname (Publisher, Year), Pinpoint.

Example:

⁴ Walter Kasper, Theology and Church, trans. Margaret Kohl (Crossroad, 1989), 159.

Subsequent footnotes

⁷ Kasper, Theology and Church, 160-2.

Bibliography

Author's Last name, First name. Title of Book: Subtitle. Translated by Translator's Given Name(s) Surname. Publisher, Year.

Example:

Kasper, Walter. Theology and Church. Translated by Margaret Kohl. Crossroad, 1989.