Chicago Manual of Style Guidelines

The Chicago Manual of Style is used in many disciplines, such as history, art, and literature. It began in 1891 when the University of Chicago Press began. CMoS started as a pamphlet that was distributed amongst the proofreaders and writers, but over time has grown to be over 1,000 pages of instructions and guidelines. It is currently in its 18th edition, as of 2024

Here’s a bulleted list of key attributes for The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS):

General Formatting:

• • Font and spacing:
    • Use a readable font like Times New Roman (12 pt).
    • Double-space the main text, with single spacing for block quotes, footnotes, and bibliographies.
  • Margins:
    • 1-inch margins on all sides.
  • Title page:
    • The title is centered, several lines down from the top of the page.
    • Name, class, date, and other details are below the title.
  • Page numbers:
    • Page numbers are placed in the top right corner of each page, starting with the first page of text (after the title page).

• Oxford comma:

• • CMoS uses the Oxford comma.

Citation Styles:

The Chicago Manual offers two citation systems:

1. Notes and Bibliography (Humanities):
   • It is commonly used in literature, history, and the arts.
   • Includes footnotes or endnotes and a bibliography.
2. Author-Date (Sciences):
   • Standard in the sciences and social sciences.
   • In-text citations include the author’s last name and year of publication, and a reference list is included at the end.

Notes and Bibliography System:

• Footnotes/Endnotes:
  • Use superscript numbers in the text to refer to footnotes or endnotes.
  • Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page, while endnotes appear at the end of the document.
  • Example: In the text: “As Smith explains…¹”
    In the footnote: ¹John Smith, History of the Modern World (New York: Penguin, 2010), 45.
• Bibliography:
  • Appears on a separate page titled “Bibliography” at the end of the document.
  • Entries are alphabetized by the author’s last name.
  • The first line is flush left, and subsequent lines are indented (hanging indent).
• Book citation format (footnote/endnote):
  • John Smith, Title of the Book (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), page.
  • Bibliography format: Smith, John. Title of the Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.
• Journal article citation format (footnote/endnote):
  • Author(s), “Title of Article,” Journal Name volume, no. issue (Year): pages.
  • Bibliography format: Author(s). “Title of Article.” Journal Name volume, no. issue (Year): pages.
• Website citation format (footnote/endnote):
  • Author(s), “Title of Web Page,” Website Name, URL.
  • Bibliography format: Author(s). “Title of Web Page.” Website Name. Accessed Date. URL.

Author-Date System:

• In-text citations:
  • In-text citations are in parentheses, including the author’s last name and the publication year.
  • Example: (Smith 2010, 45)
• Reference list:
  • Appears at the end of the document, titled “References.”
  • Entries are listed alphabetically by author’s last name.
  • Similar to the Notes and Bibliography format but with slight differences in punctuation.
• Book citation format:
  • Author(s). Year. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher.
  • Example: Smith, John. 2010. History of the Modern World. New York: Penguin.
• Journal article citation format:
  • Author(s). Year. “Title of Article.” Journal Name volume, no. issue: pages.
• Website citation format:
  • Author(s). Year. “Title of Web Page.” Website Name. Accessed Date. URL.

Additional Key Features:

• Block quotes:
  • Quotes over five lines should be formatted as block quotes (indented, without quotation marks).
• Oxford comma:
  • The Chicago style uses the Oxford comma (a comma before the final conjunction in a list).

How Good Is Your Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS) Knowledge?

1. What is CMoS known as within editing circles? (Correct answer: “the editor’s bible”)
2. What are the two methods CMoS allows for citing sources? (Correct answer: author-date and Notes-Bibliography (NB))
3. When is text not double spaced in CMoS? (Correct answer: block quotations, notes, bibliography entries, table titles, and figure captions.
4. What is the ideal font size for CMoS? (Correct answer: 12pt)
5. How are headlines capitalized in CMoS? (Correct answer: “headline style,” aka title case)
6. How are note numbers formatted? (Correct answer: superscript)
7. How are headings formatted? (Correct answer: No specific guidelines, but should be consistent and distinguished by size)