Chicago Style Citation Examples (Notes-Bibliography, 17th Edition)
Updated November 6, 2026
Chicago notes-bibliography style uses numbered footnotes or endnotes in your paper and a bibliography at the end. A note reads like a sentence, with commas between the parts. A bibliography entry flips the author’s name and uses periods. The examples below follow the 17th edition.
Entries marked “(made-up example)” only show the format. The journal articles are real, and we checked their details against Crossref. The page numbers in the notes are only samples, so use the page you cite.
Check which edition your professor wants
The 18th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style came out in 2024. One big change is that book citations no longer need the city of publication. This guide covers the 17th edition, so ask your professor if you’re not sure which one to use.
How notes work
- Put a small raised number at the end of the sentence, after the punctuation.
- Add a note with the same number at the bottom of the page or the end of the paper.
- Give the full details the first time you cite a source.
- Use a short note after that. It has the author’s last name, a short title of up to four words, and the page.
- List each source in your bibliography.
Chicago 17 prefers short notes to “ibid.”
Books
Book with one author
- Full note: 1. Ana Rivera, The Quiet River (Boston: Lantern Hill Press, 2021), 45.
- Short note: 2. Rivera, Quiet River, 62.
- Bibliography: Rivera, Ana. The Quiet River. Boston: Lantern Hill Press, 2021.
(made-up example)
Book with two or three authors
- Full note: 1. Ana Rivera and Marcus Bell, Maps of the Old Coast (Boston: Lantern Hill Press, 2019), 110.
- Short note: 2. Rivera and Bell, Old Coast, 118.
- Bibliography: Rivera, Ana, and Marcus Bell. Maps of the Old Coast. Boston: Lantern Hill Press, 2019.
(made-up example)
Flip only the first author’s name in the bibliography.
Book with four or more authors
- Full note: 1. Marcus Bell et al., Learning to Read the Weather (Boston: Lantern Hill Press, 2020), 88.
- Short note: 2. Bell et al., Learning to Read, 92.
- Bibliography: Bell, Marcus, Ana Rivera, Claire Moreau, and Riya Patel. Learning to Read the Weather. Boston: Lantern Hill Press, 2020.
(made-up example)
The note uses “et al.” The bibliography lists up to ten authors. For more than ten, list the first seven, then “et al.”
Chapter in an edited book
- Full note: 1. Marcus Bell, “Letters Home,” in Stories from the Road, ed. Ana Rivera (Boston: Lantern Hill Press, 2018), 27.
- Short note: 2. Bell, “Letters Home,” 30.
- Bibliography: Bell, Marcus. “Letters Home.” In Stories from the Road, edited by Ana Rivera, 24–34. Boston: Lantern Hill Press, 2018.
(made-up example)
Journal articles
Notes point to the exact page you used. The bibliography gives the page range for the whole article. Chicago uses an en dash between page numbers, which is a little longer than a hyphen. If an article has a DOI, use it as a link at the end.
Article with one author
- Full note: 1. William Cronon, “The Trouble with Wilderness: Or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature,” Environmental History 1, no. 1 (1996): 12, https://doi.org/10.2307/3985059.
- Short note: 2. Cronon, “Trouble with Wilderness,” 15.
- Bibliography: Cronon, William. “The Trouble with Wilderness: Or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature.” Environmental History 1, no. 1 (1996): 7–28. https://doi.org/10.2307/3985059.
Article with two authors
- Full note: 1. Justin Kruger and David Dunning, “Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 77, no. 6 (1999): 1125, https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.77.6.1121.
- Short note: 2. Kruger and Dunning, “Unskilled and Unaware,” 1128.
- Bibliography: Kruger, Justin, and David Dunning. “Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 77, no. 6 (1999): 1121–34. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.77.6.1121.
Article with four authors
- Full note: 1. Alberto Martín-Martín et al., “Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus: A Systematic Comparison of Citations in 252 Subject Categories,” Journal of Informetrics 12, no. 4 (2018): 1165, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2018.09.002.
- Short note: 2. Martín-Martín et al., “Google Scholar,” 1170.
- Bibliography: Martín-Martín, Alberto, Enrique Orduna-Malea, Mike Thelwall, and Emilio Delgado López-Cózar. “Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus: A Systematic Comparison of Citations in 252 Subject Categories.” Journal of Informetrics 12, no. 4 (2018): 1160–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2018.09.002.
Websites and news
Web page with a date
- Full note: 1. Maya Chen, “How Campus Food Pantries Work,” Student Voices Online, March 12, 2024, https://www.example.org/food-pantries.
- Short note: 2. Chen, “Campus Food Pantries.”
- Bibliography: Chen, Maya. “How Campus Food Pantries Work.” Student Voices Online. March 12, 2024. https://www.example.org/food-pantries.
(made-up example)
Web page with no date or author
- Full note: 1. “Study Tips for Finals,” Student Voices Online, accessed November 6, 2026, https://www.example.org/study-tips.
- Bibliography: “Study Tips for Finals.” Student Voices Online. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://www.example.org/study-tips.
(made-up example)
Use an access date only when the page shows no publication or update date.
Newspaper article, online
- Full note: 1. Riya Patel, “City Adds Late-Night Bus Route for Students,” Lakeside Times, February 3, 2025, https://www.example.org/bus-route.
- Short note: 2. Patel, “Late-Night Bus Route.”
- Bibliography: Patel, Riya. “City Adds Late-Night Bus Route for Students.” Lakeside Times, February 3, 2025. https://www.example.org/bus-route.
(made-up example)
How to format the bibliography
Purdue OWL’s Chicago 17 guide covers these basics:
| Rule | What to do |
|---|---|
| Title | Label the page Bibliography |
| Order | List entries alphabetically by the first word in each entry |
| Spacing | Single-space each entry, with a blank line between entries |
| Indent | Use a hanging indent |
A free citation generator can give you a first draft. Compare it with the patterns above before you turn in your paper. If your assignment also needs notes on each source, read our guide to the annotated bibliography. Using a different style for another class? See our MLA 9 examples.
Common questions
Should I use footnotes or endnotes?
Either works in Chicago style, so follow your professor’s preference. Footnotes sit at the bottom of each page, and endnotes sit at the end of the paper.
Should I use ibid. in Chicago 17?
The 17th edition discourages it. Use a short note, even if you’re citing the same source twice in a row.
What’s the difference between notes-bibliography and author-date?
Notes-bibliography uses numbered notes. Author-date puts the author’s last name and the year in parentheses in your text, then lists sources in a reference list. Ask your professor which one to use.