Chicago Style (18th Edition) Citation Guide: Books & Ebooks

Book In Print

eBook

Book with Editor(s) but no Author

Translated Book

Chapters, Short Stories, Essays, or Articles From a Book (Anthology or Collection)

An Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword

Article in a Reference Book (e.g. Encyclopedias, Dictionaries)

Bibliography:

All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

Footnotes:

All citations should use first line indent, where the first line of the footnote should be indented by 0.5 inches; all subsequent lines are not indented.

Footnotes should be the same font size and style as the rest of your paper.

See instructions for how to insert footnotes in Microsoft Word.

Authors/Editors

An author can be a person but can also be an organization, or company. These are called group or corporate authors.

If you are citing a chapter from a book that has an editor, the author of the chapter is listed first, and is the name listed in the in-text citation.

Titles

Capitalize the first letter of every important word in the title. You do not need to capitalize words such as in, of, or an.

If there is a colon (:) in the title, include what comes after the colon (also known as the subtitle).Capitalize the first word after the colon, even if it is a word such as in, of, or an.

Dates

The format of all dates is: Month Date, Year. e.g. September 5, 2012.

Whether to give the year alone or include a month and day depends on your source: write the full date as you find it there.

If no date is listed, use the abbreviation n.d. for "no date." 

Editions

When an edition other than the first is used or cited, the number or description of the edition follows the title in the listing. If you are using the first edition, you do not have to include that information in the citation.

Publisher Names

If the publisher's name starts with The, omit it. Also omit abbreviations such as Inc., Ltd., and Co., as well as Company. 

Access Date

Chicago style does not recommend including access dates in the citation, unless no date of publication for the source may be located.

One or Two Authors

Include both authors names in the bibliography entry and footnote.

Bibliography:

Kling, David William. The Bible in History: How the Texts Have Shaped the Times. Oxford University Press, 2004.

Jacobson, Diane L., and Robert Kysar. A Beginner's Guide to the Books of the Bible. Augsburg, 1991.

Footnote:

1. David William Kling, The Bible in History: How the Texts Have Shaped the Times (Oxford University Press, 2004), 301.

2. Diane L. Jacobson and Robert Kysar, A Beginner's Guide to the Books of the Bible (Augsburg, 1991), 151.

Three or More Authors

In the bibliography entry, list up to six authors; if there are more than six, list only the first three, followed by "et al." (Latin for “and others”). For the footnote, list only the first author followed by "et al." 

Bibliography:

 Evans, Julie, Patricia Grimshaw, David Philips, and Shurlee Swain. Equal Subjects, Unequal Rights:
             Indigenous Peoples in British Settler Societies. Manchester University Press, 2003.

Footnote:

1. Julie Evans et al., Equal Subjects, Unequal Rights: Indigenous Peoples in British Settler Societies (Manchester University Press, 2003), 52.

Bibliography:

Holder, Arthur G. Christian Spirituality: The Classics. Routledge, 2009. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/up/detail.action?docID=446822.

Footnote:

1. Arthur G. Holder, Christian Spirituality: The Classics (Routledge, 2009), 30, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/up/detail.action?docID=446822.

Print Book:

Bibliography:

Boitani, Piero. The Bible and Its Rewritings. Translated by Anita Weston. Oxford University Press, 1999.

Footnote:

1. Piero Boitani, The Bible and Its Rewritings, trans. Anita Weston (Oxford University Press, 1999), 89.

Online Book:

Bibliography:

Augustine. The Confessions of St. Augustine. Translated by Edward Bouverie Pusey. Floating Press, 1921. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/up/detail.action?docID=349865.

Footnote:

1. Augustine, The Confessions of St. Augustine, trans. by Edward Bouverie Pusey (Floating Press, 1921), 65, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/up/detail.action?docID=349865.

Bibliography:

Deffenbaugh, Daniel G. and David L. Dungan. “The Bible and Ecology.” In The International Bible Commentary, edited by William R. Farmer. Liturgical Press, 1998.

Footnote:

1. Daniel G. Deffenbaugh and David L. Dungan, “The Bible and Ecology,” in The International Bible Commentary, ed. William R. Farmer (Liturgical Press, 1998), 315.

When citing an introduction, a preface, a foreword, or an afterword, write the name of the author(s) of the piece you are citing. Then give the name of the part being cited, which should not be italicized or enclosed in quotation marks; in italics, provide the name of the work and the page range. Finish the citation with the details of publication.

Bibliography:

Shepard, Paul. Introduction to Nature and Madness. University of Georgia Press, 1998.

Footnote:

1. Paul Shepard, introduction to Nature and Madness (University of Georgia Press, 1998), 35.

If the writer of the piece is different from the author of the complete work, then start the citation with the author of the introduction or foreword, and write the full name of the principal work's author after the title of the work. 

Bibliography:

Sacks, Oliver. Foreword to A Man without Words, by Susan Schaller. 2nd ed. University of California Press, 2012.

Footnote:

1. Oliver Sacks, foreword to A Man Without Words, by Susan Schaller, 2nd ed. (University of California Press, 2012), 10.

For bible dictionaries (or other reference books that provide content in alphabetical order), an abbreviated footnote is used which includes the book title, the entry title, and (for online resources) the last updated/accessed date and URL.

Print Reference Book:

Bibliography:

Camelot, P. T. "Ephesus." In The New Catholic Encyclopedia, edited by William J. McDonald, vol. 5. McGraw Hill, 1967.

Footnote:

1. The New Catholic Encyclopedia, under “Ephesus.”

Online Reference Book:

Include a publication date or last updated date if available; otherwise, include an access date.

Bibliography:

Hunt, M. J. "Red Sea." In The New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2nd ed., vol. 11. Gale, 2003. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3407709364/GVRL?u=port18814&sid=GVRL&xid=c11723f0.

Footnote:

1. The New Catholic Encyclopedia, under “Red Sea,” accessed March 15, 2023, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3407709364/GVRL?u=port18814&sid=GVRL&xid=c11723f0.