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What is the Notes and Bibliography System?

Chicago Style's Notes and Bibliography System uses numbered footnotes and endnotes to cite sources. Additionally, sources are listed in a separate bibliography. The Notes and Bibliography system is flexible and can accommodate many different types of sources in different media. 

Generally, the Notes and Bibliography System is used by researchers in humanities disciplines.

Core Components of a Citation

The media of the source dictates what information is included in a citation. Generally, CMOS bibliographic entries include the following components.

Author surname, first name and middle initial. Title of Work. Publication and Access Information.

View sample citations at the bottom of this page, or in the Chicago Manual of Style (you must be logged in to the VPN to access CMOS full text online). 

Sample Citations - Footnotes & Endnotes

In the Notes and Bibliography System, "notes" refers to numbered footnotes or endnotes. The notes include the following information: author (names are written in standard order), title (capitalized in headline style), and publication information.

A Full Footnote/Endnote (used for first mentions of the source or for works in which a Bibliography is not required):

1. Mollie K. Galloway et al., "Culturally Responsive, Antiracist, or Anti-Oppressive? How Language Matters for School Change Efforts," Equity & Excellence in Education 52, no. 4 (November 2019): 492.

A Truncated Footnote/Endnote (used for subsequent mentions of an already-mentioned source and/or when a complete bibliographic listing already exists in a Bibliography):

1. Galloway, "Culturally Responsive, Antiracist, or Anti-Oppressive?," 496.

Sample Citations - Bibliography

Journal Article

Galloway, Mollie K., Petra Callin, Shay James, Harriette Vimegnon, and Lisa McCall. “Culturally Responsive, Antiracist, or Anti-Oppressive? How Language Matters for School Change Efforts.” Equity & Excellence in Education 52, no. 4 (November 2019): 485–501. doi:10.1080/10665684.2019.1691959.

Book

Kendi, Ibram X. How to be an Antiracist. New York: One World, 2019.

Podcast

Thomas, Traci. "The Short Stacks 22: Ibram X. Kendi//How to be an Antiracist," September 23, 2019, in The Stacks, podcast, https://thestackspodcast.com/2019/09/22/ss22.

Chicago Style Resources

The Chicago Manual of Style Online*

Read the entirety of CMOS online. You must be logged into the VPN to access this resource.

Excelsior College Online Writing Lab

Provides detailed information about citing using CMOS.