Book
The first time you cite a book, give the author's full name, the full title of the book as it appears on the title page, the place of publication, the publisher's name, the date of publication, and page from which your material has been drawn. Note that the publication data is enclosed in parentheses. For example:
- Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Robert Kennedy and His Times (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978), 231.
Multivolume Work
When all the volumes in a multivolume work have the same title, a reference to pages within a single volume is given in the following manner. (Note that the volume number is given in Arabic numerals and that the volume and page numbers are separated by a colon.) For example:
- James Schouler, History of the United States of America, under the Constitution (New York: Dodd, Mead, 1904), 4:121.
When each volume in a multivolume work has a different title, a reference to pages within a single volume is given as follows:
- Forrest C. Pogue, George C. Marshall, vol. 4, Statesman, 1945-1959 (New York: Viking, 1987), 31.
Article in a Scholarly Journal
For the first citation of an article, give the author's full name, the full title, and the name, volume number, month and year, and page number of the journal or quarterly. For example:
- Edwin S. Gaustad, “The Theological Effects of the Great Awakening in New England,” Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 40 (March 1954), 690.
Subsequent Citation
Subsequent citations of the same book or article should give only the author's last name and an abbreviated (short) title. For example:
- Schlesinger, Robert Kennedy, 295.
- Gaustad, “Theological Effects of the Great Awakening,” 693-695.
Use of the Abbreviation 'Ibid'
If a footnote refers to the same source that was cited in the immediately preceding footnote, the abbreviation ibid. (for ibidem, which means “in the same place") may take the place of the author’s name, title of the work, and as much of the succeeding material as is identical. For example:
Collected Works
In citing printed collected works such as diaries or letters, the author’s name may be omitted if it is included in the title. The name of the editor follows the title, preceded by a comma and the abbreviation “ed.,” which stands for “edited by.” For example:
- An Englishman in America, 1785, Being the Diary of Joseph Hudfield, ed. Douglas S. Robertson (Toronto: Hunter-Rose, 1933), 23.
Manuscript
In citing correspondence from manuscript collections, give the full names of the writer and recipient, the date the letter was written, and the manuscript collection in which it may be found. The first time a collection is cited, its name should be given in full and its location should be indicated. Subsequent citations should abbreviate the name of the collection and omit location of the collection. For example:
- James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, May 6, 1791, Andre De Coppet Collection, Firestone Library, Princeton University.
- James Madison to George Washington, Feb. 18, 1788, De Coppet Collection.
In the case of large collections, you should indicate the number of the box (or designation of the file) in which the cited material may be found. For example:
- Adlai E. Stevenson to John F. Kennedy, Jan. 12, 1961, Adlai E. Stevenson Papers, Box 310, Seeley G. Mudd Library, Princeton University.
Article in a Popular Magazine
It is not necessary to cite the volume or issue number of a magazine of general interest. Note, however, that the abbreviation “p” is required to distinguish clearly between the date of publication and page number. For example:
- Michael Rogers, “Software for War, or Peace: All the World’s a Game,” Newsweek, Dec. 9, 1985, p. 82.
Newspaper
For reference to a newspaper, the name of the paper and date usually are sufficient. However, for large newspapers, particularly those made up of sections, it is desirable to give the page number. For example:
- Washington Globe, Feb. 24, 1835; Richmond Enquirer, May 15, 1835.
- New York Times, Oct. 24, 1948, p. 17.
Website
Include as much of the following information as is available: author, title of the site, sponsor of the site, and the site’s URL. When no author is named, treat the sponsor as the author. For example:
The Chicago Manual of Style does not advise including the date that you accessed a Web source, but you may provide the date after the URL if the cited material is time sensitive.
Abbreviation
Should you cite certain sources repeatedly, you may wish to develop a system of abbreviations to simplify your footnotes. In this case, a page explaining the abbreviations should follow the table of contents. For example:
DOHC |
Dulles Oral History Collection |
FRUS |
Foreign Relations of the United States |
NYT |
New York Times |