Chicago Citation Guide 17th Edition

Numbers in parentheses refer to specific pages in the Chicago 17th Edition manual.

Each entry in your Bibliography usually contains the following information, in this order: author(s) or editor(s), title of work, and facts of publication. There are specific rules around the formatting of each part of the citation. The general format for a book is given below; refer to The Chicago Manual of Style for more information.

In Chicago style, books "serve as a model for constructing documentary notes and bibliography entries for many other types of sources. (p. 693)." See the entire "books" section on pages 799-828 for more information and examples.

Author or Editor Information (pp. 784-791)

Author's names are given as they appear on the title page. In the Bibliography, invert the order of the first author's names (e.g. last name first) so that they will appear correctly in the alphabetical list.

If there is no author, begin the entry with the title, ignoring any introductory articles (e.g. The, A, An) (p. 787).

In a reference to an edited book, insert the editor's name in place of the author's name, followed by a comma and the abbreviation "ed." (without the quotation marks) (pp. 800-801).

Title of Work (pp. 791-799)

Capitalize first and last words in titles and subtitles, and capitalize all other major words. Chicago calls this"headline style" capitalization (pp. 526-527).

Titles and subtitles of books and periodicals are italicized (p. 528).

Arrange your Bibliography in one alphabetical sequence by the surname of the author, or by title or keyword if there is no author (pp. 777, 781-782).

For an edition other than the first, identify the edition of your source by number (e.g. 2nd ed.) or by name (e.g. Rev. ed. for "revised edition"). The edition statement comes after the name of the editor, translator, or compiler, if there is one, or, otherwise, after the title of the book (p. 806).

Facts of Publication (city, publisher, date, {medium/format}) (p. 813-821)

List the location, publisher’s name, and year of publication as they appear on the title page or copyright page (p. 813). If there is more than one city, list the first one only (p. 813).

If the city may be unknown to readers or may be confused, add the abbreviation of the state, province, or country (p. 813-814). For accepted abbreviations, see pages 583-584.

If no date is available, use the abbreviation n.d. (p. 820).

For electronic sources include a URL or DOI or an indication of the medium consulted (e.g. DVD, CD-ROM) (pp. 826-828).