footnote vs citation

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Footnotes or Text Citations?

Footnote basics, text citations.

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Chicago style allows either footnotes or text citations (also called in-text citations or author-date citations). Ask your professor which style he or she prefers. (Personally, I loathe text citations, as they break up the text and make it very confusing to read. Some people love them. Go figure.)

Whichever style you use, be sure to cite every quotation you use and all information you borrow from other sources. Failure to cite your sources is plagiarism.

Use Word tools! In MS Word, select "References" and then "Insert footnote". This will place the footnote correctly and number it. If you later move the citation it refers to, the footnote will be moved and renumbered automatically.

• If you include a bibliography with complete citations of all the works you have used, you may use abbreviated footnotes throughout.
• If you don't include a bibliography, you  must give a full citation for the first footnote from each work and abbreviated footnotes for subsequent citations.
• A complete footnote has the same information as the citation in the bibliography, with some differences in format, plus the page number of a particular quotation.
• An abbreviated footnote contains the author's last name, a brief title, and the page number of the quotation.

For a Book:

Bibliography

Guion, David M. The Trombone: Its History and Music, 1697-1811 . New York:

         Gordon and Breach, 1988.

Complete footnote:

Author in normal order, followed by comma; publication information in parentheses, page of quotation at end. Not indented, single spaced; use 10-pt. type.

David M. Guion, The Trombone: Its History and Music, 1697-1811 (New York: Gordon

and Breach, 1988), 23.

Abbreviated footnote:

Guion, The Trombone , 78.

For a Periodical Article:

Adair, Douglas. "A Note on Certain of Hamilton's Pseudonyms." The William and Mary Quarterly,

         Third series 12, no. 2 (April 1955)): 282-297.  JSTOR . Viewed 3 Oct. 2014.

Complete footnote

Douglas Adair, "A Note on Certain of Hamilton's Pseudonyms," ( The William and Mary Quarterly, Third series 12, no. 2 (April 1955)): 282.

Abbreviated footnote

Adair, "A Note on Certain of Hamilton's Pseudonyms," 295.

• Text citations must agree exactly with entries in your bibliography.
• Include the last name(s) of the author(s) and the date of publication with no comma in between.
• If you are citing a specific page, put the page number after the date, separated by a comma.
• Put the text citation before a mark of punctuation.
• For more than three authors, use the first author with et al.

Star Trek "adapts its stories to incorporate familiar mythical paradigms" (Geraghty 2005, 191).

Recent literature has examined long-run price drifts following initial public offerings (Ritter 1991; Loughran and Ritter 1995), stock splits (Ikenberry, Rankine, and Stice 1996), seasoned equity offerings (Loughran and Ritter 1995), and equity repurchases (Ikenberry, Lakonishok, and Vermaelen 1995). [ex. from Chicago Manual of Style , 622]

Nanoparticulate formations "may ... ultimately reduce health-care costs" (Tartau et al. 2009).

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What’s a Parenthetical Citation vs. a Footnote?

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Parenthetical citations and footnotes are two different types of citations used in the body of research projects. Their goal is to direct readers to information about the sources used in your research project. Parenthetical citations are often used in MLA format, APA format , and many other styles. Footnotes are often used in Chicago format citations and other styles as well. If you’re unsure what format to use for your research paper, ask your instructor.

Here’s a table of contents for this guide:

Comparison Chart

Parenthetical citations, parenthetical examples, parenthetical quick guide.

Here’s a quick comparison chart:

Let’s first discuss parenthetical citations , which are used in MLA, APA, and many other formats. You use parenthetical citations in a research project when you take a line of text directly from another source and place it in your own project. You also use parenthetical citations in a research project when you use another author’s idea in your research project but instead of taking it directly, you rephrase or paraphrase the content in your own words.

Let’s look at a few parenthetical citation examples:

• Quote: “…evolution isn’t about advancement; it’s about survival”
• Source type: Book
• Page number : 8
• Author : Ackerman, Jennifer
• Title : The Genius of Birds
• Publisher : Penguin
• Year published : 2016

Here are examples of parenthetical citations based on the information above:

MLA citation format :

Contrary to what most people think, “…evolution isn’t about advancement; it’s about survival” (Ackerman 8).

APA format:

Contrary to what most people think, “…evolution isn’t about advancement; it’s about survival” (Ackerman, 2016, p. 8).

Chicago author-date format:

Contrary to what most people think, “…evolution isn’t about advancement; it’s about survival” (Ackerman 2016, 8).

Place parenthetical citations directly after the quote or paraphrase to provide the reader with a quick glimpse, or idea, as to where the borrowed information originated. When relevant—for example, in print materials such as books or magazines—parenthetical citations include the last name of the original author and the page number (or other locating information) where the information was found in parentheses.

If you cite the author’s name in your project’s text (a narrative citation or citation in prose), only include the page number in parentheses.

Ackerman goes on to state that “…evolution isn’t about advancement; it’s about survival” (8).

Ackerman (2016) goes on to state that “…evolution isn’t about advancement; it’s about survival” (p. 8).

Ackerman goes on to state that “…evolution isn’t about advancement; it’s about survival” (2016, 8).

As stated above, the goal of a parenthetical citation is to provide the reader with a quick glimpse, or idea, as to where the borrowed information originated. To find more information about the source, such as the title of the source and the date it was published, readers can go to the last page of a research project, called the “Works Cited” page or “Bibliography,” to find the full citation.

The full citation at the back of the project would look like this:

Ackerman, Jennifer. The Genius of Birds . Penguin, 2016.

Ackerman, Jennifer. (2016). The genius of birds. Penguin.

Jennifer Ackerman. The Genius of Birds (Penguin, 2016).

MLA parenthetical citations

APA parenthetical citations

Chicago parenthetical citations

Let’s now discuss footnotes . Footnote citations are also found in the body of a research project, but footnotes look different from parenthetical citations and are used in Chicago format and other styles. Their purpose is the same as parenthetical citations in that footnotes are used anytime a direct line of text or paraphrase is added into a research project. They’re also included anytime the writer wants to direct the reader to a source that might be briefly mentioned in the research paper.

The biggest difference between footnotes and parenthetical citations is that brief information about the source isn’t found directly after the borrowed text or paraphrase. Instead, a small bit of information, which includes the last name of the author and the page number, is found at the bottom of the page. Numbers are placed next to the borrowed information to help direct readers to the footnote.

Here is an example of a footnote in Chicago format:

Contrary to what most people think, “…evolution isn’t about advancement; it’s about survival.”¹

Notice the small, superscript number 1 next to the quote above. At the bottom of the page, the reader would find the number 1, and next to it they’ll see the footnote.

1. Ackerman, Genius of Birds, 8.

At the end of the research project, readers can find the full citation in the endnote , which would look like this:

Ackerman, Jennifer. The Genius of Birds . New York: Penguin Books, 2016.

While parenthetical citations and footnotes have the same purpose, they are structured and formatted differently. Remember, if you’re unsure of which type of citation to include in your project, ask your instructor for help.

Published October 31, 2011. Updated June 8, 2021.

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Citation Basics / Differences Between Footnotes, Endnotes, and Parenthetical Citations

Differences Between Footnotes, Endnotes, and Parenthetical Citations

There is a lot of terminology when it comes to citations and giving proper credit to sources. Three of the terms that sometimes get mixed up are footnotes, endnotes, and parenthetical citations. Each is different, as we will see below.

No matter which of these types of in-text citations you use, you will need to include a works cited list or bibliography at the end of your paper that includes the full references for your sources. Your instructor may also ask you to create an annotated bibliography where you also include a short paragraph summarizing and evaluating each source along with its full reference.

Here’s a run-through of everything this page includes:

What is a footnote?

Footnotes vs. endnotes, parenthetical citations, troubleshooting.

A footnote is a type of in-text citation. The information in the text body is marked with a superscript number 1 (raised number), and the corresponding source citation and note is at the bottom (or the foot ) of the page the superscript appears on.

Both footnotes and endnotes are common writing tool features implemented when using various citation styles. They provide writers with a clear method in directing the reader to further information on the research topic and additional citations . Though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, footnotes and endnotes have a few key differences.

The most obvious difference between footnotes and endnotes is the placement of each within a paper. Footnotes are found at the bottom of a page (i.e. in the footer) and endnotes are located at the end of a complete document, or sometimes at the end of a chapter or section .

While the content in footnotes and endnotes can look the same, they serve different functions. Footnotes are used as a citation vehicle for a short citation, while endnotes can contain more text without compromising the format of the paper. They each also typically use a different numbering system, which allows the reader to determine where they should look for the additional information (either in the footer of the page, or at the end of the document).

APA format only uses parenthetical citations/reference list. MLA format can have footnotes and/or endnotes, but more commonly uses parenthetical citations and work cited. Chicago format almost always has footnotes or endnotes.

Both footnotes and endnotes tend to be supplemented by a bibliography or works cited page, which displays the complete citation of each source the writer cited in each footnote and endnote throughout their paper. Depending on the citation style, the footnote/endnote entry provides more specific location information than the entry in the bibliography. For instance, when citing a whole book in Chicago Manual of Style, the page number of the cited information is contained in the footnote, whereas this localized information is omitted from that source’s entry in the bibliography.

Footnote Entry Example :

F. Scott Fitzgerald, This Side of Paradise (New York: Scribner, 1920), 25.

Bibliography Entry Example :

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. This Side of Paradise . New York: Scribner, 1920.

Parenthetical Citations are citation tools commonly used in APA and format  MLA format . They usually contain the cited works author’s name, and an additional piece of information that further describes the source, usually the publication date of the source or the page number where the cited material can be located within the source.

Parenthetical Citations are used directly following the quote or cited material written in the document. Typically, they come at the end of the sentence that contains the cited material. They let the reader know when the author is using information or words that are not their own. While they demonstrate that a citation is being made, they should not be treated as a substitute for quotation marks when an author’s words are being presented exactly. They should also be included even when paraphrasing someone else’s work.

Each parenthetical citation made in a document should correspond to an entry in a works cited page or reference list at the end of the document. The entry in the works cited or reference list provides further detail about the source being cited.

Parenthetical Citation Example:

(James, 2009)

Reference List Entry Example:

James, Henry. (2009). The ambassadors. Rockville, MD: Serenity Publishers.

Solution #1: How to choose between using footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical in-text citations

1. Look at the citation style’s guidelines; what does it recommend to use for in-text citations?

Most citation styles favor a certain in-text citation format, but allow flexibility to use notes if needed.

Generally, use parenthetical in-text citations for these styles

• MLA — Notes are allowed in some cases (bibliographic notes, content notes), but are not often used. Click here for more information.
• APA– Notes are allowed in some cases (content footnotes, copyright attribution), but are not encouraged. Click here for more information.
• Chicago, author-date

Use notes for:

• Chicago, notes-bibliography

2. What in-text citation style does your instructor, journal, colleagues, or even area of expertise usually use?

Ask others or examine guidelines from your instructor or journal. Context matters! For example, Chicago style has two styles of citation: notes-bibliography (uses footnotes) and author-date (uses parentheticals).

• Notes-Bibliography :  Often used in the humanities.
• Author-Date:  Often used in the science and social sciences.

Solution #2: How to create small, raised numbers (superscript) numbers for footnotes

The small, raised numbers you see in footnotes are called superscript . It looks like this:

See the example of superscript at the end of this sentence. 1

Below, we will cover how to create superscript in a Google Doc, in a Word document, and via HTML.

• Highlight the number you want to turn into superscript.
• Go to the “Format” section and follow this page:  Format –> Text –> Superscript
• Select “Superscript” to format the number.
• Windows:   [Ctrl] and [.]
• Mac:  [Command] and [.]

Word document

• On the “Home” editing bar/menu, look for the superscript button. It looks like this: [X 2 ]

Place the number you want as super script with the tags ¹.

Find free citing help for  MLA format  at www.easybib.com! We also have guides to help anyone make APA citations for books, websites, and other sources.

• Annotated Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• Citation Examples
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Page Numbers
• Reference Page
• Sample Paper
• APA 7 Updates
• View APA Guide
• Bibliography
• Works Cited
• MLA 8 Updates
• View MLA Guide

The DOI is not included in parenthetical citations. The DOI is usually only included in a source’s full reference in the bibliography.

For more information, see these guides on citing a journal in MLA and citing a journal in APA .

A parenthetical citation is a form of in-text citation. The only difference is it is enclosed in parentheses unlike a narrative citation (APA style) or a citation in prose (MLA style). Narrative citation and citation in prose are incorporated into the text and act as a part of the sentence along with the text.

Rutledge (2018) urged the need for a proper education system.

Parenthetical:

The need for a proper education system is urged (Rutledge, 2018).

Citation in prose:

First occurrence: Bill Rutledge urged the need for a proper education system.

Subsequent occurrences: Rutledge urged the need for a proper education system.

The need for a proper education system is urged (Rutledge).

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What is the difference between an in-text citation and a footnote?

Footnote citation styles require individually numbered footnotes at the bottom of the page for each citation and a bibliography at the end of the document. Referencing styles which use footnote citations include AGLC and Chicago A (Footnote and Bibliography ).

In-text citation

In-text citation styles place citations within the text in brackets, with a reference list of all the sources you cited included at the end of your assessment item. Referencing styles which use in-text citations include  APA ,  Chicago B and  MLA .

Once you have selected your preferred reference style we recommend you review the General style notes section, to develop your understanding of the requirements of the style.

https://library.unimelb.edu.au/recite/help/faqs/choosing-a-referencing-style/what-is-the-difference-between-an-in-text-citation-and-a-footnote

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• Chicago Style Footnotes | Citation Format & Examples

Chicago Style Footnotes | Citation Format & Examples

Published on September 18, 2019 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on December 5, 2022.

The notes and bibliography style is one of two citation options provided by the Chicago Manual of Style . Each time a source is quoted or paraphrased , a superscript number is placed in the text, which corresponds to a footnote or endnote containing details of the source .

Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page, while endnotes appear on a separate page at the end of the text.

Pay attention to the punctuation (e.g., commas , quotation marks ) in your footnotes.

Chicago Reference Generator

Table of contents

Full notes and short notes, placement of footnotes, content of chicago footnotes, footnote examples for different source types, footnotes vs endnotes, frequently asked questions about chicago style footnotes.

There are two types of footnote in Chicago style: full notes and short notes.

Full notes contain the full publication details of the source. The first citation of each source should be a full note.

Full note example

1. Virginia Woolf, “Modern Fiction,” in Selected Essays , ed. David Bradshaw (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 11.

Short notes contain only the author’s last name, the title (shortened if longer than four words), and the page number (if relevant). They are used for all subsequent citations of the same source. It’s also acceptable to use “ ibid. ” instead to refer to the immediately preceding source.

Short note example

2. Woolf, “Modern Fiction,” 11.

The guidelines for use of short and full notes can vary across different fields and institutions. Sometimes you might be required to use a full note for every citation, or to use a short note every time as long as all sources appear in the Chicago style bibliography . Check with your instructor if you’re unsure.

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Footnotes should be used whenever a source is quoted or paraphrased in the text. They appear at the bottom of the relevant page, corresponding to reference numbers in the text. You can easily insert footnotes in Microsoft Word .

The reference number appears in superscript at the end of the clause or sentence it refers to. It is placed after any punctuation except a dash :

Johnson argues that “the data is unconvincing.” 1

Johnson argues that “the data is unconvincing” 1 —but Smith contends that …

Notes should be numbered consecutively, starting from 1, across the whole text. Your first citation is marked with a 1, your second with a 2, and so on. The numbering does not restart with a new page or section (although in a book-length text it may restart with each new chapter).

The footnote contains the number of the citation followed by a period and then the citation itself. The citation always includes the author’s name and the title of the text, and it always ends with a period. Full notes also include all the relevant publication information in parentheses (which varies by source type ).

If you quote a source or refer to a specific passage, include a page number or range. However, if the source doesn’t have page numbers, or if you’re referring to the text as a whole, you can omit the page number.

In short notes, titles of more than four words are shortened. Shorten them in a way that retains the keyword(s) so that the text is still easily recognizable for the reader:

1. Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus , ed. M.K. Joseph (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 91. 2. Shelley, Frankenstein , 91.

Combining multiple citations

Do not place multiple footnotes at the same point in your text (e.g. 1, 2, 3 ). If you need to cite multiple sources in one sentence, you can combine the citations into one footnote, separated by semicolons :

1. Hulme, “Romanticism and Classicism”; Eliot, The Waste Land ; Woolf, “Modern Fiction,” 11.

Sources with multiple authors

Footnotes for sources with two or three authors should include all the authors’ names. When there are four or more authors, add “ et al. ” (Latin for “and others”) after the first author’s name.

Missing information

You sometimes won’t have all the information required for your citation. You might be missing page numbers, the author’s name, or the publication date.

If one of your sources (e.g., a website ) has no page numbers, but you still think it’s important to cite a specific part of the text, other locators like headings , chapters or paragraphs can be used. Abbreviate words like “paragraph” to “par.” and “chapter” to “chap.”, and put headings in quotation marks :

1. Johnson, “Literature Review,” chap. 2.1 . 2. Smith, “Thematic Analysis,” under “Methodology.”

If the source lacks a stated publication date, the abbreviation “n.d.” (no date) should replace the year in a full note:

1. Smith, Data Analysis (New York: Norton, n.d. ), 293.

If a text doesn’t list its author’s name, the organization that published it can be treated as the author in your citation:

1. Scribbr , “Chicago Style Citation.”

If you use a website name as an author, you may end up repeating the same information twice in one citation. Omit the website name from its usual place if you’ve already listed it in place of the author.

Short notes usually look similar regardless of source type—author, title, page number. However, the information included in full notes varies according to the source you’re citing. Below are examples for several common source types, showing how the footnote should look in Chicago format .

Chicago book citation

Italicize the book title. If the book states an edition (other than the first), include this and abbreviate it (e.g., 2nd ed., rev. ed.). Add the URL if you consulted the book online instead of in a physical copy.

Chicago book chapter citation

Sometimes you’ll cite from one chapter in a book containing texts by multiple authors—for example, a compilation of essays. In this case, you’ll want to cite the relevant chapter rather than the whole book.

The chapter title should be enclosed in quotation marks , while the book title should be italicized. The short note only contains the chapter title.

The author is the one who wrote the specific chapter you’re citing. The editor of the whole book is listed toward the end of the footnote (with the abbreviation “ed.”), and left out of the short note.

Chicago journal article citation

The article title should be enclosed in quotation marks, while the journal name should be italicized. Volume and issue numbers identify which edition of the journal the source appears in.

A DOI is a digital object identifier. This is generally more reliable than the URL when linking to online journal content.

Chicago website citation

The page title should be enclosed in quotation marks. Italicization is not used for website names.

If the publication date is unknown, you can instead list the date when you accessed the page at the end of the citation (e.g., accessed on September 10, 2019).

All of the above information also applies to endnotes. Endnotes are less commonly used than footnotes, but they’re a perfectly valid option.

Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page they refer to.

• Footnotes allow the reader to immediately check your citations as they read …
• … but if you have a lot of footnotes, they can be distracting and take up space on the page.

Endnotes appear in their own section at the end of the text, before the bibliography.

• Endnotes take up less space in the body of your text and reduce distraction …
• … but they are less accessible, as the reader has to flip to the end to check each note.

Endnote citations look exactly the same as those in footnotes. Unless you’ve been told which one to use, choose whichever you prefer. Just use one or the other consistently.

Footnotes appear at the bottom of the relevant page.  Endnotes appear in a list at the end of the text, just before the reference list or bibliography. Don’t mix footnotes and endnotes in the same document: choose one or the other and use them consistently.

In Chicago notes and bibliography style , you can use either footnotes or endnotes, and citations follow the same format in either case.

In APA and MLA style , footnotes or endnotes are not used for citations, but they can be used to provide additional information.

In Chicago notes and bibliography style , the usual standard is to use a full note for the first citation of each source, and short notes for any subsequent citations of the same source.

However, your institution’s guidelines may differ from the standard rule. In some fields, you’re required to use a full note every time, whereas in some other fields you can use short notes every time, as long as all sources are listed in your bibliography . If you’re not sure, check with your instructor.

In Chicago author-date style , your text must include a reference list . It appears at the end of your paper and gives full details of every source you cited.

In notes and bibliography style, you use Chicago style footnotes to cite sources; a bibliography is optional but recommended. If you don’t include one, be sure to use a full note for the first citation of each source.

Page numbers should be included in your Chicago in-text citations when:

• You’re quoting from the text.
• You’re paraphrasing a particular passage.
• You’re referring to information from a specific section.

When you’re referring to the overall argument or general content of a source, it’s unnecessary to include page numbers.

In a Chicago style footnote , list up to three authors. If there are more than three, name only the first author, followed by “ et al. “

In the bibliography , list up to 10 authors. If there are more than 10, list the first seven followed by “et al.”

The same rules apply in Chicago author-date style .

To automatically generate accurate Chicago references, you can use Scribbr’s free Chicago reference generator .

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If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, December 05). Chicago Style Footnotes | Citation Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved September 25, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/chicago-style/footnotes/

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Chicago Manual of Style: Footnotes and In-Text Citations

• Chicago Manual of Style

Footnotes and In-Text Citations

• Bibliography
• Useful Links

When writing your Chicago-formatted paper, you will want to use evidence from the resources you have gathered to support your thesis statement. In Chicago, this can be done a couple of ways. But it ultimately depends on if you are using the notes and bibliography system or the author-date system. This should be determined by your professor. If it is not, ask them to verify. 

If you are using the notes and bibliography system, your direct quotes and paraphrased sentences will be cited with footnotes or endnotes. This means that your shortened citation will appear at the bottom of the page (footnote) or at the end of your paper (endnote) and will be noted in the body of your paper with superscript numbers. 

If you are using the author-date system, your direct quotes and paraphrased sentences will be cited in-text. This way of in-text citation will be very similar to that of APA in-text citations. 

This is where the two systems of Chicago vastly differ from each other and is extremely important that you are using the correct system for your citations. Be sure to click on the appropriate tab to see the examples. 

The Chicago Manual of Style

• Chicago Manual of Style Quick Guide The Chicago Manual of Style Quick Guide is a great resource to use when you need to see how to format a foot note and the citation quickly. This is good for basic examples. For more non-traditional resources, consult The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition or ask a librarian.
• Notes and Bibliography
• Author-Date

Book with One Author

For the first time that you use a footnote, write out the full note (see number 1). The next time you use the source, use the shortened note (see number 2).

1. First name Last name,  Title: Subtitle ( City of Publication: Publisher, Publication Date), page #.

2. Last name,  Shortened Title , page #.

1.  M ichael  Pollan ,   The Omnivore's Dream: A Natural History of Four Meals  (New York: Penguin, 2006),  88 .

2. Pollan,  The Omnivore's Dream , 92. 

Book with Multiple Authors

Two Authors

1. First name  Last name  and First name Last name,  Title: Subtitle  (City of Publication: Publisher, Date), page #.

2. Last name and Last name,  Shortened Title , page #.

1. Geoffrey C. Ward  and Ken Burns,  The War: An Intimate History, 1941-1945 ( New York: Knopf, 2007), 50.

2. Ward and Burns,  The War , 102. 

Three authors

1. First name La s t name , First name Last name, and First name Last name,  Title: Subtitle ( City of Publication: Publisher, Date) page #.

2. Last name, Last name, and Last name,  Shortened Title , page #. 

1. Joyce Heatherton, James Fitzgilroy, and Jackson Hsu,  Meteors and Mudslides: A Trip through...

2.  Heatherton, Fitzgilroy, and Hsu,  Meteors and Mudslides ,... 

If there are  4 or more authors , cite only the name of the first listed author followed by 'et al' in the note. 

1. Claire Hacek et al., Mediated Lives: Reflections on Wearable Technologies.. .

2. Hacek et al.,  Mediated Lives ...

Book with Author Plus Editor or Translator

1. First name Last name,   T itle: Subtitle, trans./ed.  First name, Last name (City of Publication: Publisher, Date) page #.

2. Last name, Shortened TItle , page #. 

1. Gabriel García   Márquez ,  Love in the Time of Cholera,  trans. Edith Grossman (London: Cape, 1998), 66. 

2. García   Márquez,  Cholera , 33.

Chapter in an Edited Book

1. Chapter author's First name Last name,  "Title of Chapter," in  Title,  ed. First name Last name of Editor ( City  of  Publication: Publisher,

Date), page #. 

2. Chapter author's Last name, "Chapter Title," page #. 

1. Glenn Gould,  "Streisand as Schwarzkopf," in  The Glenn Gould Reader , ed. Tim Page (New York: Vintage, 1984), 310.

2. Gould, "Streidand as Schwarzkopf," 309.

Electronic Books

For books downloaded from a library or bookseller, the note should reflect specifically where it is located and in which format. 

1. First name Last name, Title ( City of Publication: Publisher, Date) location, Format.

2. Last name,  Shortened Title , location.  

1. Mary Ann Noe,  Ivory Trenches: Adventures of an English Teacher  (self-pub., Amazon Digital Services, 2016), loc. 444 of 3023, Kindle. 

2. Noe,  Ivory Trenches , loc. 500 of 3023.

For books consulted online or through a database, include the DOI (if available) or the URL (if DOI is not available) as part of the note.

1. First name Last name,  Title ( City of Publication: Publisher, date) location, doi: .

2. Last name, Shortened  Title , location, doi. 

3. First name Last name,  Title  (City of Publication, Publisher, date), page #, stable URL.

4. Last name, Shortened TItle ,  page #. 

​1. Mark Evan Bonds,  Absolute Music: The History of an Idea  (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), chap. 3,

https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199343638.003.0004. 

2. Bonds,  Absolute Music , chap. 11,  https://doi.org/10.1093/ acprof :oso/9780199343638.003.0012.

3. Karen Lystra,  Dangerous Intimacy: The Untold Story of Mark Twain's Final Years  (Berkelley: University of California Press, 2004), 59,

http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt8779q6kr/.

4. Lystra,  Dangerous Intimacy , 60-61. 

(Last name Date, page #).

(Pollan 2008, 64)

(Pollan 2008, 79-83)

(Pollan 2008, 88, 95, 103)

For a book with two authors:

(Last name and Last name Date, page #)

(Ward and Burns 2007, 195)

For a book with three authors:

(Last name, Last name, and Last name Date, page #)

(Heatherton, Fitzgilroy, and Hsu 2008, 250)

For a book with  four or more authors , cite only the last name of the first- listed author, followed by  et al.

(Last name et al. Date, page #)

(Hacek et al. 2015, 384)

(Last name of author Date, page #)

(García  M árquez 1988, 230)

Chapter of an Edited Book

(Last name of chapter author Date, page #)

(Gould 1984, 310)

Organization as Author

If there is an abbreviation for the organization, like WHO or NASA, then list the abbreviation first followed by the spelling of the organization name.

(Organization name Date, page #)

(BSI 1985, 23)

Journal Articles

• Author- Date

Physical Journal

1. First name, Last name, "Article Title," Journal Title  vol. number, issue no. (Publication Date): page number.

1. Donald Maletz, "Tocqueville's Tangents to Democracy,"  American Political Thought  4, no. 4 (Fall 2015): 615.

Articles Consulted Online

If you accessed an article through a database, then you will need to include the DOI (digital object identifier) or if there is no DOI available, the stable URL.  If there is no DOI, use the shortened stable URL in the place of the DOI.

1. First name Last name,  "Article Title,"  Journal Title  vol. number, issue no. (Publication Date): page number, https://doi.org/xxxxxx. 

2.  First name Last name,  "Article Title,"  Journal Title  vol. number, issue no. (Publication Date): page number, shortened URL.

1. Miriam Schoenfield, "Moral Vagueness Is Ontic Vagueness,"  Ethics  126, no. 2 (2016): 260-61, https://doi.org/10.1086/683541.

2. Frank P. Whitney, "The Six-Year High School in Cleveland,"  School Review  37, no. 4 (April 1929): 268,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1078814.

If the URL is very long and not available, list the name of the commercial database in lieu of the the URL. 

1.  First name Last name,  "Article Title,"  Journal Title  vol. number, issue no. (Publication Date): page number, name of Database.

1. Zina Giannopoulou ,  "Prisoners of Plot in José Saramago's  The Cave "  Philosophy and Literature  38, no. 2 (2014): 335, Project Muse.

2. Giannopoulou, "Prisoners," 337.  

This will be the same, whether it is a physical journal article or an article from a database. 

(Last name  Date, page #)

(Maletz 2015, 615)

Magazines and Newspapers

Physical magazine articles.

1. First name Last name, "Article Name,"  Magazine Title , Month and year of publication, page.

1. Beth Saulnier, "From Vine to Wine,"  Cornell Alumni Magazine , September/October 2008, 48. 

2. Jill Lepore, "The Man Who Broke the Music Business," New Yorker , April 27, 2015, 59. 

Magazine Articles Consulted Online

Include the URL at the end of the citation. If the URL is not available, then include the name of the database where you got the article. 

1. First name Last name, "Article Name,"  Magazine Title , Month and year of publication, [page if given], URL/ Database name.

1. Karl Vick,  "Cuba on the Cusp,"  Time , March 26, 2015, http://time.com/3759629/ cuba-us-policy /.

2.  Henry William Hanemann ,  "French as She Is Now Spoken,"  Life,  August 26, 1926, 5,  ProQuest . 

Newspapers are formatted the same way as magazine articles. 

1.  First name Last name, "Article Name,"  Newspaper Title , Month and year of publication [, edition if given].

1. Mike Ryoko, "Next Time, Dan, Take Aim at Arnold,"  Chicago Tribune , September 23, 1992. 

2. Christopher Lehmann- Haupt, "Robert Giroux, Editor, Publisher and Nurturer of Literary Giant, Is Dead at 94,"  New York Times ,

September 6, 2008, New York edition.

If the newspaper article was accessed online, include the URL at the end. If there is no URL and it was accessed via a database, include the database name. 

1.  First name Last name, "Article Name,"  Newspaper Title , Month and year of publication, URL.

2.  First name Last name, "Article Name,"  Newspaper Title , Month and year of publication, Database name.

1. David G. Savage, "Stanford Student Goes to Supreme Court to Fight for Her Moms,"  Los Angeles Times , April 27, 2015, Nation,

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-gay-marriage-children-201504024-story.html.

2. John Meyers, "Invasive Faucet Snails Confirmed in Twin Ports Harbor,"  Duluth (MN) News-Tribune , September 26, 2014, EBSCOhost.  ​

Magazine and Newspaper Articles

Magazine and newspaper article in-text citations will be very similar to that of journal articles, no matter where they were accessed. 

If the page number is listed, include the page number.

If the page number is not listed, still include the last name and date.

(Last name  Date)  

1. "Title of Webpage," Title of Website, Owner or Sponsor of website, [last modified or accessed date], URL. 

1. "Apps for Office Sample Pack," Office Dev Center, Microsoft Corporation, updated October 20, 2015,

https://code.msdn.microsoft.com/office/Apps-for-Office-code-d04762b7.

2. "Privacy Policy," Privacy & Terms, Google, last modified March 25, 2016, http://www.google.com/policies/privacy. 

3. "Balkan Romani," Endangered Languages, Alliance for Linguistic Diversity, accessed April 6, 2016, http://www.endangered

languages.com/lang/5342. 

University of Chicago.  The Chicago Manual of Style . 17th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017. 

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Citation & Reference Guide

• Getting Started
• In-Text Citations & Quotations
• Reference List

Footnotes & Quotations

• Bibliography
• Tools and Resources

Every time you use another person's ideas in your assignment, whether you present them in quotations or write them in your own words, you must cite and reference. This page demonstrates how to create citations using the Notes and Bibliography system of the Chicago Citation Style, and how to add quotations to your text. If you are interested in learning about creating references for your bibliography, please consult the   Bibliography page. 

For more information on citing in the Notes and Bibliography system, and quoting, please consult chapter 14 of The Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition, 2017).

Footnotes  (to go to the Quotations section, click here )

General Information 

The Chicago Notes and Bibliography Citation Style uses footnotes for the citation of sources in the text:

• Insert a superscript number after the clause or sentence you wish to cite in your assignment. This number refers the reader to a note starting with the same number at the bottom of the same page , also known as a footnote. A footnote offers information on the source being cited, such as the author's name, the title of the work, the year and place of publication, and the page(s) from which a specific piece of information originated. 
• In the Chicago Notes and Bibliography style, it is also possible to use endnotes instead of footnotes. They are distinguished by their location. Footnotes can be found at the bottom of the relevant page, whereas endnotes are located at the end of a chapter or a document. Since footnotes are most commonly used by students at Saint Paul University, this guide focuses on that particular note style.
• When a superscript number is found at the end of a sentence, it is placed after the final punctuation mark. When a superscript number is found at the end of a quote, it is placed after the final quotation mark.
• Place an indent of 5 spaces (1 cm) on the first line of every footnote. Do not indent subsequent lines.
• Separate the different components of a footnote (author's name, title of the work, date of publication, etc.) by commas.

Single space footnotes internally. Put double spaces between footnotes.

For example:

In the body of your text:

Studies demonstrate that team building activities are essential to having a harmonious workplace. 1 Polish researchers, in particular, recommend “reserving an afternoon for employees during which they are able to enjoy and collaborate on an activity, whether it is playing board games or taking part in sports.” 2 This is a strategy (which is explained in great detail by Johnson) 3 that was very popular in the 1970s.

At the bottom of the same page:

_______________________________________

 1. Jill E. Cumberland, An Introduction to Team Management (New York: MBA Press, 2005), 22.

       2.  Lara Bobienski and Anatol Kaczka, "Building Stronger Teams in the Corporate World," Management Monthly 34, no. 2 (2014): 134, doi:10.1045/rmh0000009.

           3.  Harold Johnson, "Team Building Games," in Increasing Team Spirit in the Workplace , eds. Juliet L. Burns and Cara Watson (Sudbury, ON: White Water, 2005), 334-50.

Full and Short Form of Footnotes

The first time you cite a source in your work, the full form of the footnote must be given, which includes the author's full name, the title of the work, and the publication information.  A short form is presented in subsequent citations. In this case, the family name, a shortened version of the title (if longer than four words), and the page number(s) are given. Omit the initial A or The, and only include the significant words of the short form of the title.

Here's an example for an online journal article:

     1. Trevor Devine, "Relations Between Europe and the Middle East During the Middle Ages: The Case of the Holy Roman Empire," World History and Archaeology Journal 118, no, 3 (2010): 364-65, http://www.whaj.com/issues/index.

     14. Devine, "Relations Between Europe,"  370.

In the case above, Devine's work was cited at the beginning of the research paper and, again, a few pages later.

Footnote Types

For footnote types, see the Chicago Citations and References  page. 

• Short direct quotations are quotes that are less than 100 words. You need to put short quotations in quotation marks, and indicate the quote by using a subscript number. You will then include a citation in your footnotes section for the quote. You will also need to create a full reference in your bibliography. 

Mitchell investigates “possible causal pathways connecting genetic replicators and social behaviors.” 1

(taken from https://getproofed.com)

• Long direct quotations are quotes that are more than 100 words. You need to start a new paragraph for a long direct quotation, and you do not use quotation marks. The quote is indented 0.5 from the margin and is a freestanding block of text. You will also need to include a footnote and a full reference in your bibliography. 

Discussing genetics and behavior, Mitchell writes that:

In order to evaluate the legitimacy of such explanations it is, thus, necessary to explicate the variety of possible causal pathways connecting genetic replicators and social behaviors. If phenotypic variation is the direct object of natural selection, one must understand the underlying relationship between the phenotypic expression and genetic replicators to argue that any such phenotypic trait is, or can be, an adaptation.¹

This suggests the relationship between genetics and behavior in animals is…

Sample Citations in Chicago

To find out what citations (footnotes) done in the Chicago Citation Style look like, consult the following link:

Chicago Style: Sample Notes & Bibliography Paper

Abbreviations

Certain words may be abbreviated in your footnotes.

Here is a list of commonly used abbreviations that are accepted in the Chicago Style. For full information on abbreviations, consult chapter 10 of the  The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition, 2017 .

Place Names

Here are guidelines for writing place names in your footnotes. A place name is normally found before the name of a publisher to indicate where a specific work was published. The guidelines for place names can be found in sections 8.44-8.59 (pp. 478-485) of The Chicago Manual of Style :

If the city of publication of a work is not well known or may be confused with another city of the same name, include the abbreviation for the state, province, or country in which that city is located. Use the two-letter postal codes for Canadian provinces and territories, and American states. The capital of the United States, Washington, is always followed by the abbreviation "DC". For example:

If the city of publication is well known, an abbreviation for the state, province, or country is not required. For example:

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

A digital object identifier, or DOI, is a unique alphanumeric code assigned to an online article. This code helps you quickly identify and locate that article on the web. Some electronic books can also have DOIs.

A DOI is typically found on the first page of an article/book or in the article/book's record in a database. If you are unable to find it, use the free DOI lookup by crossref.org. Please note that not all online articles and e-books are assigned a DOI.

If a DOI is listed with an electronic article or an e-book, make sure to include it in your footnote. This piece of information will make it easier for readers of your research paper to find that article/book.

Here is an example of a DOI:

     doi:10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225

If you have a DOI number and want to find the article or book that it is associated with, simply enter it in the search box on crossref.org .

                                                                                                                                                                                      [Back to top]

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Gladhill Learning Commons FAQ: Citations

What is the difference between footnotes or endnotes and a bibliography when you are using the chicago manual of style.

In the Chicago Manual of Style (also known as Turabian), a bibliography is an alphabetical list of all of the sources that you have quoted, paraphrased, and/or summarized in the body of your research-based assignment. Bibliographies are usually included at the end of your paper. Bibliographies are optional in the Chicago Manual of Style, but be sure to ask your professor for their requirements.

Footnotes or endnotes  are how you give credit to a source in the text itself. You use a superscript number in the text that corresponds to a note with citation information at the end of the document (endnotes) or at the bottom of the page (footnotes). Footnotes/endnotes are formatted differently than bibliography citations.

If you do not include a bibliography, the footnotes/endnotes in your paper must be full citations. If you include a bibliography, or if you are citing a source for the second time, you can use shortened citations  for your footnotes or endnotes.

For example:

" Lincoln's vision of democracy—a vision, it should be noted, strongly shared by Tarbell—could only be saved if the Union was saved." 1

1  Robert G. Wick, “‘He Was a Friend of Us Poor Men’: Ida M. Tarbell and Abraham Lincoln’s View of Democracy,”  Indiana Magazine of History  114, no. 4 (December 2018): 255, https://doi.org/10.2979/indimagahist.114.4.01.

Footnote/endnote-Shortened Citation:

     1  Wick,"Poor Men," 256.

Citation in Bibliography 

Wick, Robert G. “‘Poor Men’: Ida M. Tarbell and Abraham Lincoln’s View of Democracy.”  Indiana Magazine of History  114, no. 4 (December 2018): 255–82. https://doi.org/10.2979/indimagahist.114.4.01.

For more examples, go to the Chicago Manual of Style website.

More Resources:

How to Add Footnotes/Endnotes in Microsoft Word

OWL at Purdue- Chicago Manual of Style

What is a DOI

Shortened Citations in the Chicago Manual of Style

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• Help and Support
• Referencing Guides

Footnote - Referencing Guide

• Citing in the Text
• Footnote Style
• Citation Examples
• Citing Personal Communications
• Citing Secondary Sources
• Annotated Bibliographies
• AI Generated Content
• Assignments
• A-V Materials
• Book Chapters
• Conference Papers
• Electronic Documents
• Internet Documents
• Journal Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Personal Communications
• Readers/Study Guides
• Secondary Sources
• Part 1: Assignments to Books
• Part 2: Conference Proceedings to Datasets
• Part 3: Internet Documents to Newspaper Articles
• Part 4: Podcasts to Theses
• Sample Bibliography
• Abbreviations
• 4 Easy Steps
• Referencing Terms
• More Information ...

Indicating the Relevant Citation in the Text

• A number in superscript format, placed in the text of the essay, indicates the relevant footnote.

• Citations are numbered sequentially in the order in which they appear in the text and each citation corresponds to a numbered footnote containing publication information about the source cited.

• The notes generally serve two purposes: to cite sources and to make cross-references to previous notes.

• Phrases used to introduce cited material are called signal phrases. These phrases usually come before quotations.

• No distinction is made between print and electronic references when citing within the text. Here are some examples of this kind of referencing:

The theory was first put forward in 1987. 1 Scholtz 2 has argued that... Several recent studies 3 have suggested that... For example, see 4 . The largest lesion in the first study was 10 cm. 5

• It is not necessary to mention either the author(s) or the date of the reference unless it is relevant to your text.

• It is not necessary to say "In reference 6 ...", "In 6 ..." is sufficient.

Footnotes are listed at the bottom of the page on which a citation is made. A numeral is placed in the text to indicate the cited work and again at the bottom of the page in front of the footnote. A footnote lists the author, title and details of publication, in that order. Footnotes are used when there are only a small number of references. If there are a large number of notes, they may be placed either at the end of the chapter or the end of the whole work.

Here is an example of this kind of referencing:

Breaker Morant has been described as, "... a hard-fisted bushman, a versifier, womaniser, drunkard, gambler, a brilliant horseman, social success, brave soldier, and a ruthless adversary ...". 1 It is, however, the circumstances which led to his trial and execution, which most concern the average Australian. Morant and his fellow soldier Handcock have been viewed as "scapegoats of the Empire". 2 ...

The corresponding footnotes have the following format:

1.    Kit Denton, Closed File (Adelaide: Rigby, 1983), 68.

2.    Barry Bridges, "Lord Kitchener and the Morant/Handcock Executions", Journal of the Australian Historical Society 73 (June 1987): 37.

• Authors names are presented in full if known, with given name or initials before surname.

• The title and subtitle are capitalised.

• Publication details for a book are enclosed in parentheses.

• Commas are used to separate the main elements of the citation.

• Titles of books and journals are italicised if typed or underlined if hand-written.

• Title of chapters, titled parts of a book, or titles of journal articles are enclosed in quotation marks.

Subsequent Citations

• A footnote cannot reappear out of sequence.

• The content of a footnote which applies to more than one citation must be repeated under a new citation number.

• To avoid repetition of an exact citation, a cross reference may be used:

18.    see note 3 above

• If referring to the immediately preceding footnote, you may use Ibid.

• Subsequent citations of sources already given with minor differences, such as page numbers, should be shortened whenever possible.

• The short form should consist of authors' surname, shortened title (4 words or less) and page number:

1.    Regina M Schwartz, "Nationals and Nationalism: Adultery in the House of David," Critical Inquiry 19, no. 1 (1992): 131-32.

2.    David N. Freedman and Jeffrey C. Geoghegan, "House of David Is There," Biblical Archaeology Review 21, no. 2 (1995): 78-9.

3.    Schwartz, "Nationals and Nationalism," 138.

4.    Freedman and Geoghegan, "House of David," 79.

5.    Ibid.

6.    Ibid., 78.

Citing More Than One Source at a Time

Although more than one note citation should never appear at a single location (such as 7,8 ), a single footnote can contain more than one citation:

1.    Regina M Schwartz, "Nationals and Nationalism: Adultery in the House of David," Critical Inquiry 19, no. 1 (1992): 131-32.; David N. Freedman and Jeffrey C. Geoghegan,"House of David Is There," Biblical Archaeology Review 21, no. 2 (1995): 79.

See the  All Examples  page for examples of in-text and reference list entries for specific resources such as articles, books and web pages.

In text citation.

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