Chicago Style: Reference Resources

With an Author

             ¹Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, 2nd ed. (Detroit: Macmillan Ref. USA, 2000), s.v. "Nineteenth Amendment," (by Deborah L. Rhode), http://gogalegroup.com/ps/ (accessed September 30, 2009).

Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Ref. USA, 2000.
           s.v. "Nineteenth Amendment." (by Deborah L. Rhode). http://gogalegroup.com/ps/
           (accessed September 30, 2009).

Without an Author

          ²West's Encyclopedia of American Law, 2nd ed. (Detroit: Gale, 2005), s.v. “Nineteenth Amendment.” http://gogalegroup.com (accessed November 8, 2008). 

 
 West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2nd ed. (Detroit: Gale, 2005). s.v. "Nineteenth
           Amendment." http://gogalegroup.com (accessed November 8, 2008).

Well-Known Encyclopedia With a Specific Edition

          ³Encyclopedia Britannica Online, s.v. “Catt, Carrie Chapman,” http://search.eb.com (accessed September 10, 2009).

Please note:  If an encyclopedia is well-known, you need not include it in your Bibliography at the end of your paper.  You also need not include the publishing information for a well-known encyclopedia in the footnote.

Follow the style guide – ALWAYS.  This is not time to be creative.  Don’t agonize about why the guide tells you to do something, just do it!

Be consistent.  If the style guide says to use italics for the title of the book or journal (and Chicago does) use italics ALWAYS.

Don’t mix style guides.  Chcago and MLA cannot be used simultaneously in a paper.  Choose one and stick to it.

If you don’t know how to cite a particular source, look it up.  The style guide has thought of nearly every type of source.

Print off the citation of the source you consulted, when you consult it. Don’t say, “I’ll do it later,” or “I am not sure I want to use this source, I’ll go back to it if I do.”  Going back later without the citation is often impossible.

With these style guides you can choose to use either footnotes or endnotes.  Always ask your instructor if s/he prefers one or the other. 

Place a raised number, called a superscript at the end of the last word of a quotation, paraphrase, or summary.  This number corresponds to the numbered note that provides citation information about your source. 

If you place the notes at the bottom of the page, they are called Footnotes.  Notes placed at the end of the paper are called Endnotes.  The notes are numbered consecutively.

Word processing programs have features that number and create footnote and endnotes within your paper.  You will still need to check the formatting of each individual citation to make sure it agrees with the style guide.

No matter which method you choose, you will also need to have a Bibliography at the end of your paper.