How To Change A Paper From Mla To Chicago

Chicago Style Format for Papers | Requirements & Examples

Published on September 25, 2019 by Jack Caulfield. Revised on December 8, 2021.

The data in this commodity is largely drawn from Turabian style—a version of Chicago way aimed at students and researchers. When writing a paper in Chicago manner, these are the guidelines to follow; for the sake of simplicity, the term "Chicago" is used here.

To utilise Chicago format:

Use a standard font like 12 pt. Times New Roman.
Double-space the text.
Employ 1 inch margins or larger.
Indent new paragraphs by ½ inch.
Place folio numbers in the meridian right or lesser center.

Notation that any specific formatting advice from your instructor or kinesthesia overrules these guidelines. Template documents set up in Chicago style are available to download below. Merely select the one with the citation style you lot're following.

Author-dateNotes and bibliography

General formatting

Chicago doesn't require a specific font or font size, merely recommends using something simple and readable (e.g. 12 pt. Times New Roman). Utilize margins of at least one inch on all sides of the page.

The primary 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 await ragged).

Folio numbers can be placed either in the elevation right or the bottom center of the page – ane or the other, non both.

Chicago formatting

Title page

A title page isn't required in Chicago style—oftentimes information technology's sufficient to just include your title at the top of the first page—only if you're asked to include one, Turabian provides guidelines for how to present it.

All text on the championship page should be center-aligned and double-spaced, and written in the aforementioned font as the residual of your text. The championship should appear nigh ⅓ of the style down the page, in headline capitalization and in bold.

If you accept a subtitle, the chief title ends with a colon and the subtitle appears on the following line, also in bold and the same size equally the chief title.

Nigh ⅔ of the way downwards the page, add any information your instructor requests you to include – your name, student lawmaking, the course name and code, the appointment, etc. Each new piece of information appears on a new line.

The title page should non take a page number, merely should be included in the page count – in other words, the page numbering starts on page 2.

Chicago title page

What can proofreading do for your newspaper?

Scribbr editors not only correct grammer and spelling mistakes, but as well strengthen your writing by making certain your paper is free of vague language, redundant words and awkward phrasing.

See editing example

Headings

Headings should use headline capitalization:

Summary of results
Summary of Results

If you use different levels of heading (due east.1000. chapters, sections, subheadings), make certain your presentation makes clear which type of heading each one is.

All headings of one level should be presented the same way, and higher-level headings should stand out more from the text. For instance, you lot might employ a larger font for chapter headings, bold for department headings, and italics for subheadings:

Chicago headings

Cake quotes

Prose quotations of five or more lines (or more than than 100 words), besides as poetry quotations of 2 or more lines, are presented equally block quotes.

Block quotes exercise not utilize quotation marks. Instead, a bare line separates them from the surrounding text on both sides and they are indented by an additional ½ inch. Unlike the remainder of the text, they are not double-spaced.

Chicago block quotes

Numbers and acronyms

Chicago recommends using words, not numerals, for numbers lower than 100. For instance, you would write "ninety-five," non "95." But numerals should yet be used when y'all're referring to a specific measurement (e.g. "15 cm") and when using decimals (e.grand. "1.v").

Acronyms should be introduced the offset time you refer to the thing they represent:

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) advocates for…

After this point, you tin use the acronym alone.

Neither numerals nor acronyms should be used at the starting time of a sentence. Either rewrite the judgement and then that the numeral or acronym appears elsewhere, or write out the full phrase or number:

100 people responded to the survey.
One hundred people responded to the survey.
The survey received 100 responses.

In-text citations and notes

Chicago provides guidelines for not one simply two commendation styles: author-appointment and notes and bibliography.

In author-date way, citations are placed direct in the text in parentheses. In this mode, you take some flexibility about how exactly to integrate the citation:

Davis (2016) argues that the theory is "audio." Other researchers, still, have contradicted this assessment (Lee et al. 2017; Johnson 2018).

In notes and bibliography fashion, citations announced in footnotes or endnotes (the format is identical either way), and the reader is referred to them by superscript numbers in the text.

Footnote and endnote numbers appear at the finish of the relevant clause or sentence, after any punctuation except a nuance.

Endnotes appear on their own page just before the bibliography; footnotes appear at the bottom of each folio. Footnotes should be separated from the text past a brusk dominion and be presented in the same font size as the primary text, or smaller. Word's footnote function automatically creates footnotes like this:

Footnote format

Bibliography or reference listing

At the end of your newspaper, you'll probable include a bibliography (for notes and bibliography style) or a reference listing (for author-date).

Bibliographies and reference lists are not double-spaced, but leave a blank line between entries.

If an entry extends onto a second line, a ½ inch indent should exist applied to all merely the first line of the entry.

Bibliography

If you accept to create a Chicago style annotated bibliography, follow the same format as a normal bibliography, but indent and double-space the annotations under each source reference.

Ofttimes asked questions about Chicago format

What is the deviation betwixt footnotes and endnotes?: Footnotes appear at the lesser of the relevant page.Endnotes appear in a list at the cease of the text, simply earlier the reference listing or bibliography. Don't mix footnotes and endnotes in the same document: cull ane or the other and use them consistently.

In Chicago notes and bibliography fashion, you lot can use either footnotes or endnotes, and citations follow the aforementioned format in either case.

In APA and MLA style, footnotes or endnotes are not used for citations, but they can be used to provide additional information.