Chicago Manual of Style Citation Guide

In the author-date system, sources are cited within parentheses. The publication details of the sources used are detailed in the reference list. This list is formatted slightly differently from the bibliography, its equivalent in the notes and bibliography system.

Please note, when citing sources consulted online,  the uniform resource locator, or URL, should generally be included as the final element in a citation. It may not be possible to cite specific page numbers. Further information can be found in Book Consulted in an Electronic Format..

In-text

Generally, an in-text citation consists of at least two elements, the author's last name and the date of publication. These are  placed in parenthesis at the appropriate point in the text.  A third element needs be included when a specific page, range of pages, paragraph, or other division of a work is being cited. That information should follow the date of publication, being separated from it by a comma. 

    (Richardson 2020, 75)

If the author's name appears in the text, it is not necessary to repeat it in the citation.

   '...as Richardson  says (2020, 75)....'

Reference list

The author's name should be inverted  (last name first) and the date of publication placed between it and the book's title.

  Richardson, Allissa V. 2020.  Bearing Witness While Black: African Americans, Smartphones, and the New Protest #journalism. Oxford University Press.

Note: the place of publication is no longer required for books published since 1900 (see 14.30: Place of Publication).

In-text

For works with two authors, include both names.

   (Walcott and Abdillahi 2019, 25)

For works with more than two authors, give only the name of the first author followed by "et al."

   (McGarry et al. 2020) or '...according to the argument made by McGarry et al. (2020)....'

Reference list

For works with two authors, list both authors' names, inverting the name of the first.

  Walcott, Rinaldo and Idil Abdillahi. 2019.  BlackLife: Post-BLM and the Struggle for Freedom. ARP Books, 2019.

For works with more than two authors, include all their names following the above, up to six authors. If there are more than six authors, list only the first three with "et al."

See 13.22: Book with Single Author or Editor and 13.23: Book with Multiple Authors or Editors.

Note: the place of publication is no longer required for books published since 1900 (see 14.30: Place of Publication).

In-text

(Smith 2022, 45)

Do NOT include "ed." in the text citation.

Reference list

Smith, John, ed. 2022. Children of the Rainbow. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers.

Note: the place of publication is no longer required for books published since 1900 (see 14.30: Place of Publication).

In-text

For edited collections (multiauthor books) give the chapter author, date of publication, and (where appropriate) the page number or other locator:

   (Arauz 2020, 238)

Reference list

Begin with  the name of the chapter author (last name first), followed by the date of publication, chapter title (in quotation marks), title of the book (preceded by the word "In"), editor(s), and publisher.

Arauz, Silvia Argentina. 2020. "Mothering in the Movement." In Until we are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada, edited by Rodney Diverlus, Sandy Hudson and Syrus Marcus Ware. University of Regina Press.

Note: the page range for the chapter is not required (see 14.8: Chapter in a Single-Author Book), and the place of publication is no longer required for books published since 1900 (see 14.30: Place of Publication).