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How to Cite Sources

CMS Formatting & Citations

Chicago Style citations include certain information to direct the reader to the original source. The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition describes two citation styles used for source citations. The first style uses notes, either footnotes or endnotes, within the text as well as a bibliography at the end of the paper. The second style uses parenthetical author date citations within the text as well as a bibliography at the end of the paper (The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. 2017, 743).

  1. Notes-Bibliography system - most commonly used in literature, history, and the arts. 
  2. Author-Date system - most often used in the sciences.

Always consult with your professor if you are unsure which citation style to use for your research paper. 

CMS Examples

  • In-text (parenthetical citations) using the author-date style usually contain the author's name and publication year of the reference and page number.
  • If authorship is uncertain use the title of the source followed by the date (The Chicago Manual of Style 2017, 908).
  • Each in-text citation should correspond to a citation in the list of references at the end of the paper.

In the author-date style, in-text references contain the name of the author(s), the year of publication of the document, and page number if applicable. Enclose the name and year in parenthesis. Leave a space between name and year. No punctuation is necessary.

1 Author:

In the most recent report, Brown (2006) states the use of . . . 

(Brown 2006, 9)

2 Authors:

(Grazer and Fishman 2015, 188)

In their article, Grazer and Fishman (2015, 188) discuss . . .

3 Authors:

(Berman, Bauer, and Nold 2011, 7-10)

4+ Authors:

(Williams et al. 2018, 2)

Formatting

Typography

  • The Chicago Manual of Style does not specify a specific font type and size. 
  • A Manual for Writers by Kate Turabian suggests using either 12-point Times New Roman font or 10-point Arial font.

Line Spacing & Margins

  • Use double-spacing throughout the body of the paper.
  • Single space after periods between sentences. 
  • Indent the first line of each paragraph. 
  • Leave 1 in. margins on the top, bottom, and sides. 

While the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Ed. does not specify font size or style the McQuade librarians recommend Times New Roman size 12 font. 

Title page

  • Include your paper title (centered) about a third of the way down the page
  • About three-quarters of the way down the page include your name, your professor's name, date, and the name of your class (Check with your professor to see what specific information they want on the title page)
  • Omit a header and page number on the cover page (use the Different First Page header option found on the Design menu)

Body of the paper:

  • Add a header after the cover page. The header should contain the page number (starting with 2)
  • Double-space the entire paper and use 1-inch margins
  • Insert a footnote each time you use information from a source in your paper (found on the References menu)
  • If you use sections like "Abstract, Introduction, Discussions", center the section title on the page

Bibliography:

  • Type the world Bibliography in the center of the page
  • The bibliography will be on a separate page from the body of the paper
  • The citations on the bibliography page are single spaced
  • There will be an extra space between each citation 

 

For questions or feedback contact the McQuade Library
Call us: 978-837-5177 | Text us:  978-228-2275 | Email us: mcquade@merrimack.edu