VCSU Library Citation Guide

Chicago (Author/Date) Basics

• All citations should be single spaced
• Indent after the first line of each entry
• Entries are not numbered
• If an element is not present, omit it
• Alphabetize by the first word of the entry
• Enter author's last name followed by full first name for first author - additional authors will be ordered normally (FirstName LastName). 
• Capitalize all words of the title (aside from transitional words like a, and, or, etc.). 

Elements of a Citation

Chicago Author-Date Style requires a few main elements for all reference list citations. While the specific

Author: Who created the work you’re citing? Usually, the author will be a person or multiple people, but some sources may have organizations as authors or even unknown authors.

Date of Publication: When was the work you’re citing published? Chicago Author-Date only requires the year a source was published as part of the citation.

Title: What is the work you’re citing called? The title of a work is usually easy to locate, though web pages may make this more challenging.

Other Facts of Publication: What else do people need to know to find the work? There are several subsections of this element depending on what type of work is being cited, including publisher information, journal information, or page numbers, among others.

Formatting Author Names in Reference List Entries

If you have multiple sources by the same author in the same year, use lower-case letters (a, b, c) with the year to order the entries in the reference list.

Single Author: Author’s Last Name, Author’s First Name.

Two Authors: Author 1 Last Name, Author 1 First Name and Author 2 First Name Author 2 First Name.

Three or More Authors: List all names in the citation. Write the first author’s last name first, then the rest of the authors’ as first name, last name. Put commas between each author and the word “and” before the last author’s name. Author 1 Last Name, Author 1 First Name, Author 2 First and Last Names, Author 3 First and Last Name, Author 4 First and Last Name, and Author 5 First and Last Name.

Basic Format

Last Name, First Name. Date of Publication. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher. 

Chapter in an Edited Book                                                                                             

Last Name, First Name. Date of Publication. “Title of Chapter” In Title of Book, edited by First Name Last Name, ##–##. Place of Publication: Publisher.

eBook 

Last Name, First Name. Date of Publication. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher. Database. 

Translated Book                                                                                                          

Last Name, First Name. Date of Publication. Title of Book. Translated by First Name Last Name. Place of Publication: Publisher. 

Basic Format                                                                                                               

Last Name, First Name. Date of Publication. “Title of Article.” Name of Journal volume (issue): page range. URL/Database/DOI

General Format

Name of Government. Date of Publication. Title of Document. Report number. Page numbers. URL. 

US Congress, House of Representatives, Select Committee on Homeland Security. 2002. Homeland Security Act of 2002. 107th Cong., 2nd sess. HR Rep. 107-609, pt. 1. 

For more information and specifics consult the Turabian guide (pages 281-289)

General Format

Creator Name. Date of Release/Publication. “Title of Source.” Other creators. Specific Date. Type of Source, time stamp. URL.

Beyoncé. 2016. “Sorry.” Directed by Kahlil Joseph and Beyoncé Knowles. June 22, 2016. Music video, 4:25. https://youtu.be/QxsmWxxouIM.

Stamper, Kory. 2017. “From ‘F-Bomb’ to ‘Photobomb,’ How the Dictionary Keeps Up with English.” Interview by Terry Gross. Fresh Air, NPR, April 19, 2017. Audio, 35:25. http://www.npr.org/2017/04/19/524618639/from-f-bomb-to-photobomb-how-the-dictionary-keeps-up-with-english.

Basic Format

Last Name, First Name. Date of Publication. “Title of Source.” Type of Source, Institution Name, Place of Publication. Database Name. 

General Format

Last Name, First Name (@username). Date. “In place of a title, quote up to the first 160 characters of the post.” Source Type, Post Date. URL.

Chicago Manual of Style. 2015. “Is the world ready for singular they? We thought so back in 1993.” Facebook, April 17, 2015. https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoManual/posts/10152906193679151.

Souza, Pete (@petesouza). 2016. “President Obama bids farewell to President Xi of China at the conclusion of the Nuclear Security Summit.” Instagram photo, April 1, 2016. https://www.instagram.com/p/BDrmfXTtNCt/.

Website (with author)

Author/Organization. Date of Publication. “Title of Page/Article.” Website Name. Last modified [date]. URL.

Web pages and other website content can be cited as shown here. For a source that does not list a date of publication, posting, or revision, use n.d. (for “no date”) in place of the year and include an access date.

Basic Format

Last Name, First Name. Date of Publication. “Title of Article.” Name of Magazine/Newspaper, Specific Date/Volume Issue. URL (if available).

Personal interviews, correspondence, and other types of personal communications—including email and text messages and direct messages sent through social media—are usually cited in the text only; they are rarely included in a reference list.

In Text: 

(Sam Gomez, Facebook message to author, August 1, 2017)

(Interview with home health aide, July 31, 2017)