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Turabian Citation Style Guide 9th Edition: I. Reference Book

About Citing Books

For each type of source in this guide, the general form and specific examples will be provided for both the Notes-Bibliography and the Author-Date style options of Turabian.

This information and several of the examples were drawn from A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations (9th edition). Numbers in parentheses refer to specific pages in the manual.

For further information, please ask your instructor or refer to the Turabian manual.

Getting Help - The Writing Center

The Writing Center [TWC] is located on the first floor of the Library in room L101. Writing center staff will be available to help with your essays, research, and more.  

At the Writing Center, they can help with any writing assignment for any class at any stage in the process. That means they can help you:

  • brainstorm a topic
  • refine your thesis
  • organize a rough draft
  • practice paraphrasing or incorporating source material
  • understand a citation style like MLA, APA, or Turabian
  • revise your work before final submission

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Reference Book

Well-known reference works, including major dictionaries or encyclopedias are generally only cited in notes or parenthetical citation depending on which style you are using.  It is generally not necessary to include a full citation in the bibliography or reference list unless the source is critical to your argument. If entries are arranged alphabetically, then cite the name of the item instead of the volume or page numbers. This should be preceded by s.v. which stands for sub verbo or "under the word." Use s.vv. for plural entries.

 

If the reference item is not well-known, include specific publication details in your notes and also include it in the bibliography or reference list as if it were a book.

 

Notes-Bibliography Style (p. 271-272):

General Format

Note: 
Note Number. Reference Source Title, edition (if not the first). s.v. "Title of section."

 

or if necessary for lesser known reference items:
 
Note Number. Reference Source Title, edition. (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), s.v. "Title of section."
      
Bibliographic Entry (if necessary):
Author Last Name, First Name. Reference Source Title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.
  

Examples

Note:
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed., s.v. "Salvation."
  
or if necessary for lesser known reference items:
 
3.  The Times Guide to English Style and Usage, rev. ed. (London: Times Books, 1999), s.vv. "police ranks," "postal addresses."
     
Bibliographic Entry (if necessary):​
Aulestia, Gorka. Basque English Dictionary. Reno: University of Nevada Press. 1989.
 
 
 
 

Author-Date Style (p. 254-255):

General Format

Parenthetical Citation:
(Reference Source Title edition #., s.v. "Title of Section")
 
 
Reference List Entry:
Author's Last Name, First Name/Initial. Year. Title of Reference Source, edition. Place of Publication: Publisher.
 
 

Examples

Parenthetical Entry:

(Encyclopaedia Britannica 15th ed., s.v. "Salvation")

  
Reference List Entry:​ 

Aulestia, Gorka. 1989. Basque English Dictionary. Reno: University of Nevada Press.

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