Menlo School Library: Chicago style guide: Chicago style page formatting (2024)

FAQs

Menlo School Library: Chicago style guide: Chicago style page formatting? ›

General formatting

Use margins of at least 1 inch on all sides of the page. The main text should be double-spaced, and each new paragraph should begin with a ½ inch indent. Text should be left-aligned and not “justified” (meaning that the right margin should look ragged).

General formatting

Use margins of at least 1 inch on all sides of the page. The main text should be double-spaced, and each new paragraph should begin with a ½ inch indent. Text should be left-aligned and not “justified” (meaning that the right margin should look ragged).

A Chicago style bibliography lists the sources cited in your text. Each bibliography entry begins with the author's name and the title of the source, followed by relevant publication details. The bibliography is alphabetized by authors' last names.

Chicago Style Outline Format

An essay outline in Chicago style format follows a hierarchical structure. The highest level sections are in Roman numerals, followed by subsections in capital letters, and then subsections beneath that in regular numerals.

Until the 17th edition, Chicago style was to spell out the noun in running text, but abbreviate the adjective as US. Now, we allow US as a noun, but only if the meaning is clear from context—that is, the usage is subject to editorial discretion.

In a Chicago footnote citation, when the author of a source is unknown (as is often the case with websites), start the citation with the title in a full note. In short notes and bibliography entries, list the organization that published it as the author.

Author full name, Book Title: Subtitle, edition. (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), page numbers, URL. Author last name, Shortened Book Title, page number(s). When citing a chapter from a multi-authored book, start with details of the chapter, followed by details of the book.

The Chicago citation style requires the authors of research papers to include a title page. Alternatively, authors can include the title on the first page of the paper's text; however, most instructors using Chicago style will request a full title page.

Chicago format doesn't require you to use any specific font, as long as you choose something readable. A good standard choice is 12 pt Times New Roman.

Page numbers should be included in your Chicago in-text citations when: You're quoting from the text. You're paraphrasing a particular passage. You're referring to information from a specific section.

How should a Chicago style paper be formatted? ›

All notes should be typed in 12pt font using Times New Roman. Within the notes themselves, numbers are full-sized, and are followed by a period. Indent the first line of any footnote 1/2” from the margin. Other lines will be flushed left (this formatting is opposite of the bibliography).

The title and sub-title are centered, bold, and title case, 1/3 the way down the page (or 8 double-spaced carriage returns). The word Bibliography is centered, bold, and in title case. There are two blank carriage returns between the title Bibliography and the first citation.

Chicago Style Bibliographies

For published, print sources, instructions for listing sources in a Chicago Bibliography are the same as for an MLA Works Cited page. For unpublished or electronic sources, listings in a Chicago Bibliography are slightly different than for an MLA Works Cited.

For example: APA (American Psychological Association) is used by Education, Psychology, and Sciences. MLA (Modern Language Association) style is used by the Humanities. Chicago/Turabian style is generally used by Business, History, and the Fine Arts.

Chicago is a documentation syle that has been published by the Chicago University Press since 1906. This citation style incorporates rules of grammar and punctuation common in American English. Typically, Chicago style presents two basic documentation systems: (1) notes and bibliography and (2) author-date.