How to Write a Chicago-Style Paper?

What Is an Assignment in Chicago Style?

When you are asked to compose a paper in Chicago style, the talk is about a set of academic writing rules. This special documentation style helps you compose and format research papers, publications, dissertations, and school compositions. When citing sources or writing a journal article for a research community, meeting Chicago or CMOS style is quite common. Since most assignments will not represent a five-page paper, always check your total page count with all the chapter headings and when you cite multiple sources in the same format.

General Formatting Guidelines

The main rule is that you should remember that the Chicago style format contains two different formats.

• One of them is Notes-Bibliography and uses a bibliography and/or footnotes or endnotes. It is also known as the use of footnote and endnote numbers. When studying humanities, history, literature, and arts, this format is chosen for the word notes.

• The second one is the Author-Date system. It uses a bibliography with parenthetical citations within your written text. If you are working in the science and social sciences, it is the right style guidelines format.

Chicago Style Other Section Rules

Title Page

The title of your Chicago-style paper must be centered in the middle of the page, about halfway down (two or more lines). Your name must be centered directly under the title. Then, a teacher’s name, course title, and department must follow. A date is written in three lines on a title page and centered at the page’s bottom. The recommended title page fonts include Times or Times New Roman, point 12, unless specified otherwise. A double space is used on the first page.

Main Body Structure for Chicago Manual

As you compose the body part of your Chicago paper, no specific rules must be followed that would not apply to the rest of your document. It is also true for font sizes or choices as long as it is readable. The margins must be at least 1 inch on all page sides. Your main written content, including the first page, must be double-spaced, with each new paragraph starting with a 1/2 inch indent. Most papers in Chicago style are aligned to the left (no justifying for the Chicago Manual of Style).

The page count numbers for the cover page and the rest are placed either in the top right corner or at the bottom center of the page.

Citations and Referencing

An author-date style in Chicago will look this way:

Anderson (2023) believes that every child is born without natural aggression. Other researchers claim that aggression is a natural point (Gregs et al. 2022; Lake 2018).

When using the Note and Bibliography styles, a note number will look this way at the bottom of the page:

¹ Anderson, “Child Psychology,”, 12/

² Gregs et al., “A Model of Human Aggression”; Lake, “Reflections on Child Psychology,” 24-25.

Notice the use of a note number and the presence of more than one line on each page.

Using Block Quotes

When you quote a prose of five lines or more than 100 words (also true for poetry!), these must be presented as block quotes. You do not have to use quotation marks. A blank line separates it from the other text on both sides with an additional 1/2 inch indent. Single spacing must be used, and the page count must not be on a separate page.

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Tables and Figures

Tables and figures in Chicago style must be simplified as much as possible. Readability is the key for everything, including your cover page and the final bibliography page! Tables should make sense and provide only accompanying text to explain things. Remember that a table supplements the text, not a total replacement.

Figures in Chicago style may include charts, graphs, photographs, line art, and AI-generated images that may start from a separate page. They should be only used if you plan to add substantive data. If a figure does not help your paper much, it must be avoided in a Chicago-style paper. A table may be a better choice in most cases with Times New Roman 12 pt font!

Appendices and Supplementary Material

Appendices are usually used when you have to include supplementary materials beyond the cover page. These may include raw statistical data or lengthy tables beyond your bibliography page. The data collection samples may also be related to additional materials. The paper appendix style format in Chicago style papers goes this way for a single note:

Appendix Title: Each appendix element you add must have a short descriptive title at the top of the page.

Page Numbering: you can number your additions continuously with the main text or start a new page numbering (not endnotes).

Table of Contents: if you have several elements or your reference occurs twice, adding a table of contents is recommended for readability. For example, if you write about a federal emergency relief administration, you may add statistical data. It uses the same formatting guidelines and the same font size. The Times New Roman 12-point font must also be used without a first-line indent.

Proofreading and Finalizing Your Paper

Proofreading is one of those aspects that should not be ignored when dealing with a Chicago-style format. First, start with the editing, where you correct repetitions, remove all the weak parts, and add more depth. It is where you bring your writing to perfection from the first line of your research paper.

Once done, continue with the basic proofreading, where you focus on grammar, style, readability, punctuation, and formatting. It is recommended to double-check your in-text citations and make sure that they correspond with your Chicago-style page bibliography. Only the papers that have been fully proofread get the highest grades and recognition. Check your page number straight and see the indent for all the subsequent lines of your research paper.

4 Common Mistakes to Avoid

One of the frequent pitfalls among researchers is the use of poor structure, odd fonts, and incomplete citations. These are the most common occurrences that must be avoided from the first line. Let’s sum them up below:

• The use of a wrong citation style per discipline. Depending on your academic department, one of two citation solutions is used in Chicago. Always check with your academic advisor to ensure your citation begins correctly.
• The use of page numbers on top and below. Only one style is recommended.
• Using odd and colorful fonts is not recommended for five or more lines. Use Arial or Times New Roman, 12 pt font.
• The use of incomplete sources must be avoided. If the source is not that good, simply omit it. Using multiple sources is also good and bad because when your cited material repeats the same thing, it is better to avoid it and choose only one for your bibliography style.

The rest of the mistakes are related to the lack of editing and proofreading. Proofreading is essential, especially when your paper involves quantitative research topics for medical students. The same is true for using automatically generated citation sources in different formatting without a hanging indent and mistakes in overall page layout. While it’s a golden rule, some students still add sources to the bibliography in different formats for primary and secondary sources.

Useful Additional Resources for the Chicago Manual of Style

Since you are already here, looking for some help and guidance with your Chicago-style assignment, you should look into the following resources:

• Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide. This is where you may read the basics and see several examples from the people behind this writing style. It tells about how to make a Word bibliography-centered template or what shortened form examples are.
• The University of Central Oklahoma. This website provides various helpful resources for the CMOS style and the proper formatting of the Turabian style. It is a simplified version of Chicago that you may have had to reference previously.
• Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition). It is the website of the famous Purdue OWL database. It contains all the templates and examples that you may find helpful. It also tells how to set the correct settings in MS Word for Chicago, MLA, APA, or other citation styles.
• How to Cite Your Sources in Chicago Style. Another good guide from Hillsborough Community College provides the basics for writing and formatting. It is simpler and more accessible than the other three bibliography-style sources.

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