Chicago Referencing Guide (17th Edition)
Chicago Referencing Guide (17th Edition)
Chicago referencing mainly uses footnotes and a bibliography instead of in-text author–date citations. Every time you use someone else’s ideas, you place a superscript number in your text that links to a footnote containing the source details. At the end of your assignment, you include a bibliography listing every source you cited.
What Is Chicago Referencing and Who Uses It?
Chicago style was developed by the University of Chicago Press and is widely used in History, Archaeology, Literature, Philosophy, Fine Arts and other Humanities subjects.
Unlike APA or Harvard, Chicago allows readers to see the full citation in a footnote without interrupting the flow of the writing.
The current version is the 17th Edition, which is the standard used by most universities today.
How Chicago Footnotes Work
Place a superscript number immediately after the sentence or quotation.
Example:
The Industrial Revolution transformed modern Europe.¹
The corresponding footnote would read:
- Peter Burke, History and Social Theory, 3rd ed. (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2018), 45.
Bibliography Format
Source | Bibliography Format | First Footnote |
Book | Surname, First Name. Title. Place: Publisher, Year. | First Name Surname, Title (Place: Publisher, Year), page. |
Journal Article | Surname, First Name. “Article Title.” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Year): pages. | First Name Surname, “Article Title,” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Year): page. |
Website | Author. “Page Title.” Website Name. Published/Updated Date. URL. | Author, “Page Title,” Website Name, date, URL. |
Dissertation | Surname, First Name. Title. PhD diss., University, Year. | First Name Surname, Title (PhD diss., University, Year), page. |
Coursework | Author. Assignment Title. Unpublished coursework, University, Year. | Author, Assignment Title (unpublished coursework, University, Year), page. |
Shortened Footnotes
After the first citation, Chicago lets you shorten later footnotes.
First citation
Peter Burke, History and Social Theory (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2018), 45.
Later citation
Burke, History and Social Theory, 61.
Common Chicago Problems
- Missing page numbers in footnotes after direct quotations.
- Forgetting to include every footnote source in the bibliography.
- Using Harvard-style in-text citations instead of footnotes.
- Mixing Notes & Bibliography with Chicago Author-Date.
- Incorrect punctuation between publication details.
When these formatting and citation issues start affecting clarity and grades, some students look for expert support services where they ask professionals to write my assignment for me, especially in content-heavy humanities subjects.
A Quick Checklist
- Every borrowed idea has a superscript number.
- The first footnote contains complete publication details.
- Later citations use shortened notes.
- Every footnote source appears in the bibliography.
- Book and journal titles are italicised.
- Bibliography entries are arranged alphabetically by author surname.
Chicago Compared with Other Styles
Style | Citation Logic | Example |
Chicago | Footnote | Superscript¹ |
OSCOLA | Footnote | Superscript¹ |
Harvard | Author–Year | (Brown, 2021) |
APA 7 | Author–Year | (Taylor, 2021) |
MLA | Author–Page | (Taylor 84) |
Common Questions
Q1. Is Chicago the same as OSCOLA?
No. Both use footnotes, but OSCOLA is designed specifically for legal writing, while Chicago is intended for History, Humanities and related subjects.
Q2. Do I always need a bibliography?
Yes. Most assignments using Chicago Notes & Bibliography require both footnotes and a bibliography.
Q3. When can I shorten footnotes?
Only after you’ve given the full citation the first time.
Q4. Does Chicago have an author–date version?
Yes. Chicago also offers an Author-Date system, but UK and US humanities courses almost always use Notes & Bibliography unless instructed otherwise.