How to Do Chicago Author Date Citation
Citation is an essential part of academic writing, ensuring that the reader can locate the original sources of information. The Chicago citation style is one of the most widely used formats, especially in the humanities and social sciences. It involves two types of citation: the author-date system and the notes-bibliography system. In this article, we will focus on how to do Chicago author-date citation, which is suitable for papers that use the author-date system.
Understanding the Author-Date System
The author-date system is a straightforward method of citing sources. It includes the author’s last name, the publication year, and a shortened version of the title in parentheses after the quote or paraphrase. This system is particularly useful for papers that contain a lot of paraphrasing and summarizing.
Formatting the Citation
To format a Chicago author-date citation, follow these steps:
1. Start with the author’s last name followed by a comma and the first name.
2. Include the publication year in parentheses, followed by a period.
3. Add a shortened version of the title, using only the first word and any subsequent words that are not articles (a, an, the), prepositions, or conjunctions. Separate the words with periods, and end with a period.
For example, a citation for a book might look like this: (Smith 2020). If the source is an article, the citation would be: (Johnson 2019).
Incorporating Citations into Your Text
When incorporating citations into your text, it’s important to follow the guidelines for in-text citations. Here’s how to do it:
1. For direct quotes, include the author’s last name and the publication year in parentheses after the quote.
2. For paraphrased information, include the author’s last name and the publication year in parentheses after the paraphrase.
For example:
– Direct quote: “The data indicate a significant correlation between the two variables (Smith 2020).”
– Paraphrase: According to Smith (2020), the data show a significant correlation between the two variables.
Handling Multiple Authors
When a source has multiple authors, include all their names in the citation. If there are three or more authors, list only the first author followed by “et al.” (meaning “and others”) and the publication year.
For example: (Smith, Jones, & Brown 2018).
Formatting the Bibliography
After incorporating citations into your text, create a bibliography at the end of your paper. The bibliography should list all the sources you cited in alphabetical order by the author’s last name.
Each entry in the bibliography should include the following information:
– Author’s last name, first name
– Title of the source
– Publication year
– Title of the book or journal
– Publisher or journal name
– Page numbers (if applicable)
For example:
Smith, John, and Jane Brown. 2018. “The Impact of Climate Change on Coastal Cities.” Journal of Environmental Studies, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 45-58.
By following these guidelines, you can effectively incorporate Chicago author-date citations into your academic writing. Remember to always double-check the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style for any updates or changes to the citation format.
