chicago style essay format google docs

james daniel hansen, editor

How to Create a Chicago/Turabian Style Template in Google Docs

Note: Click here for a free download of a Microsoft Word file for a Chicago or Turabian style paper, which you can save as a template to use for all your Chicago/Turabian style papers. You can upload the file to Google Docs if that is your preferred word processor. If you find it helpful, please consider donating via PayPal so I can keep this webpage up!

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Chicago style guide: Chicago style page formatting

• Chicago style page formatting
• Sample pages
• Artificial Intelligence
• Image/chart
• Indirect source
• Legal/Government
• Letter/memo
• Reference source
• Social Media (Microblogs)
• Speech/lecture
• Research center
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How to format a Chicago-style paper

Your teachers expect to receive papers that are properly formatted and laid out. Use the following guidelines when setting up your paper. It is easiest if you use the correct settings from the beginning; otherwise you will have to go back and reformat your paper.

Overall page layout

• One inch margins on sides, top and bottom.
• Use Times or Times New Roman 12 pt font.
• Double-space the text of the paper.
• Use left-justified text, which will have a ragged right edge. Do not use fully (newspaper-style) justified text.
• Use a 1/2" indent for paragraph beginnings, block quotes and hanging (bibliography) indents.
• Number the pages in the top right corner of the paper, beginning with the first page of text. It's a good idea to include your last name as well, in case pages become separated. Number straight through from the first text page to the final bibliography page but do not count any pages after the end of the text as part of your page count. (A five-page paper may also have a cover page, two pages of notes and one page of bibliography which is nine pieces of paper.)
• Ask your teacher if it is ok to print two-sided.
• Center the title of your paper in the middle of the page, halfway down.
• Center your name directly under the title.
• Your teacher's name, course title and block, and date should be written in three lines and centered at the bottom of the page.
• Use Times or Times New Roman 12 pt font for the title page. Do not try to make your cover page decorative by using bold , underline , or creative fonts.
• Do not put a page number on the cover page, and do not count it as part of the total page count.

Assemble your paper in the following order

• Cover/title page
• Body of the paper
• Appendix (if needed)

Bibliography

Names and numbers

• Use full names of people and agencies/legislation the first time you use them. For agencies, include the acronym in parentheses after the full name when first used, e.g. Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA).
• After the first time you can refer to people by their last name or agencies/bills by their acronyms for the rest of the paper.
• Write out numbers lower than 100. (“All nine members of the Supreme Court...”)

Footnotes and endnotes

Caution: If you are writing your paper in Google Docs, you MUST use footnotes. Google Docs does not have a way to make Endnotes, and if you use the Endnote Generator add-on it will make a mess of your paper!

• Footnotes go at the bottom of the page where the reference occurs; endnotes go on a separate page after the body of the paper. Both use the same formatting guidelines.
• Within the essay text: put the note number at the end of the sentence where the reference occurs, even if the cited material is mentioned at the beginning of the sentence.
• The note number goes after all other punctuation.
• Be sure to use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) nor Roman (i, ii, iii).
• Put the word Notes (not Endnotes) at the top of the page with your endnotes. Use Times/Times New Roman 10 pt font.
• Single space each entry; double space between entries.
• Indent the first line of each note.
• Never reuse a number - use a new number for each reference, even if you have used that reference previously.
• Be sure to look at shortened form examples for sources you refer to more than once.
• To cite multiple sources in a single note, separate the two citations with a semicolon. Never use two note numbers at the end of a sentence.
• Your bibliography should go on a separate page, with the word Bibliography centered at the top of the page in Times/Times New Roman 12 pt font. Do not use bold or large size font for the heading.
• Be sure to use proper formatting - note and bibliography styles are different.
• Use a "hanging indent" - the first line of the citation begins at the margin, subsequent lines are indented.
• If your source has no author, alphabetize by title within the authors - don't make a separate list.
• Don't separate primary and secondary sources unless your teacher requests it.

Watch out for these common errors:

• Note format uses first name last name, bibliography uses last name, first name.
• In your notes, do not reuse numbers! Each citation gets a new number.
• Pay attention to indents. Notes use a first line indent, a bibliography uses a hanging indent.
• A bibliography goes in alphabetical order by author (or title if there is no author). Notes are numbered and are listed in the order the sources are used.
• Don't put Works Cited at the top of your bibliography - that is MLA style.

General citation components

Overall, all citations should include information that will allow the reader to identify and locate a source. this generally includes the following:  author, title, and publication information (publisher, date, url, etc.)  you should be looking for and providing all the above information that is available to you to allow your reader to track your sources. use the tabs above to see specific source citation formats and examples. , citing your sources.

The library subscribes to NoodleTools, a citation management tool. You can get to it in one of two ways:

1. Go to your Menlo gmail and click on the 9-box "waffle" menu. Scroll down to NoodleTools. 

2. Go to the NoodleTools home page  and log in with Google using your Menlo Gmail username and password.

Can't decide whether your source needs a citation?  Click here to hear Dr. Hanson explain when citations are needed.  Click here to view a flowsheet that will guide your choices.

Google Docs formatting tips

Formatting page breaks and page numbers in Google Docs

Inserting Chicago style footnotes in Google Docs

Citation checklist

Do you want to be sure you've formatted your research paper correctly? Click the link below to download a Chicago style citation and formatting checklist. 

• Citation formatting checklist
• Middle school citation checklist
• Next: Sample pages >>
• Last Updated: May 8, 2024 12:51 PM
• URL: https://library.menloschool.org/chicago

Chicago Style Guide - 17th Edition

• Chicago Style
• Title Page and Pagination
• Quotations and Signal Phrases
• Bibliography
• Chicago's Citation Parts
• Articles - Online
• Articles - Print
• Blogs and Social Media
• Government Publications
• Elders & Knowledge Keepers
• Other Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Generative AI Tools (e.g., ChatGPT, DALL·E 2)
• Author/Date (Scientific) System
• Need More Help?

Useful Links

• Chicago Manual of Style Online - Quick Guide
• Douglas College Library - Chicago Style Guide (PDF)
• Purdue OWL - Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.)
• SFU Library - Chicago/Turabian (17th ed.) Citation Guide

Avoid Plagiarism

• Camosun Academic Integrity Guide
• Camosun Plagiarism Guide
• Douglas College Learning Centre - Paraphrasing Without Plagiarizing
• Purdue OWL - Avoiding Plagiarism
• SFU Library - Plagiarism Tutorial

Chicago Style Sample Research Paper

Formatting and Sample Paper

The formatting guidelines listed on this page, provide general best practices for formatting your work using the Chicago style. Detailed information about formatting your title page , using quotes and signal phrases , and creating a bibliography , can be found by navigating to various sub-pages of this "Formatting Your Paper" page.

Learning how to correctly format your research paper into Chicago style can seem overwhelming, especially if the style is new to you. One of the best ways to help visualize what your paper needs to look like is by checking out an example of a paper that has already been formatted correctly.

View this  sample Chicago style research paper   ( notes and bibliography/humanities system ) from Purdue OWL for examples on how to format:

• A title page
• Headers and page numbers
• A bibliography

For a sample paper in the Chicago author/date style , visit the "Author/Date (Scientific) System" page in this guide.

Paragraphs and Spacing

The first line of all new paragraphs should begin with an indent . You can use either the tab key or your word processor's indentation tool to make your indentations–just be sure to be consistent and use the same process throughout your paper.

Your paper should be double spaced throughout its main body , with the following exceptions: 

• Block quotations , table titles , and figure captions should be single-spaced . 
• ​An extra line of space should be inserted both before and after a block quotation. 

Entries in the bibliography and footnotes/ endnotes are single spaced within entries , but double-spaced between entries (unless your instructor prefers double-spacing throughout).​

Footnotes and Endnotes

• Notes can be either  footnotes   (placed at the  foot   (bottom) of the same page  as the referenced text) or  endnotes   (listed on a  separate sheet at the end  of the essay, before the bibliography).
• Other than placement in your document, footnotes and endnotes are  structured in exactly the same way .
• Notes are  numbered consecutively  throughout the paper. Most word processing programs (such as MS Word) handle footnotes automatically.
• Follow your instructors’ directions when deciding whether to use footnotes or endnotes.

To insert a footnote in a Microsoft Word document:

• Place the cursor after the text you want to cite.
• Click on the " References "   tab.
• In the " Footnotes " section , click on the " In sert Footnote " button.
• A superscript number 1 will appear after the text you want to cite.
• A superscript number 1 will also appear at the bottom of page.
• At the bottom of the page next to the superscript number, enter the citation information for your resource (see the citation examples in this guide for how to create footnotes).
• Repeat these steps to insert and consecutively number your footnotes.

Some instructors may ask you to use endnotes, instead of footnotes. For information on inserting endnotes, see the  Microsoft Office Tutorial .

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• Last Updated: Jun 11, 2024 10:55 AM
• URL: https://camosun.libguides.com/Chicago-17thEd

How to Format Your Research Paper

• APA 7 Paper Format
• MLA Paper Format

Writing Your Paper: Chicago

Chicago style papers.

• Hanging Indents
• Ask a Librarian

Chicago Style Resources

• How Do I Format My Class Paper in Chicago Style? If your instructor has specific requirements for the format of your research paper, check with them before preparing your final draft. The most common formatting is presented here.

Things to know before you begin:

• Font:  Times New Roman  
• Font Size:  12 point
• Margins:  1 inch
• Paragraphs: All paragraphs should be indented.
• Spacing: All of the text in the body of your paper should be double-spaced.

Typical Chicago style papers have three sections:

• Bibliography

See the tabs below for a breakdown of how each portion should be formatted.

• Sample Papers

Below you will find an example of an accurately formatted CMOS paper. 

• Sample Paper Chicago Style - PDF Click here to see a sample of an accurately formatted CMOS paper.
• Sample Paper Chicago Style - Word Click here to see a sample of an accurately formatted CMOS paper.

• Your title should be centered and place a third of the way down the page. Use Times New Roman 12-point font.
• Capitalize all the words in your title. If there is a subtitle, place it on the second line.
• Place your course name first, then your name, then the due date of the paper. This should be double-spaced and placed in the bottom third of your paper. 

• Start the body of your paper on the first line of a new page.
• Insert the page number in the top right corner of the page using the header function.
• CMS uses footnotes. Place the footnote after any punctuation. Each number must have an entry at the bottom of the page.

• Center the word "Bibliography" on the first line of a new page.
• Your citations should be alphabetical.
• Each entry is single-spaced with one blank line separating entries.
• Be sure to use a hanging indent for any citations that require more than one line.

Need help formatting your Chicago/Turabian style citations using the 17th edition of the  Chicago Manual of Style ? Click the image or link below to go to the citation guide.

• Chicago Style Citations

Need help learning what hanging indents are and how to create them using Google Docs or Microsoft Word? 

• Hanging Indents This page gives a brief description of what they are, where to find information on when and how to properly use them, and also video tutorials on how to create them.

Need help learning what footnotes are and  how to create them  using Google Docs or Microsoft Word? 

• Footnotes This page gives a brief description of what they are, where to find information on when and how to properly use them, and also video tutorials on how to create them.
• << Previous: MLA Paper Format
• Next: Footnotes >>
• Last Updated: Jul 19, 2024 3:41 PM
• URL: https://necc.mass.libguides.com/formatting

To cite this LibGuide use the following templates:

APA : Northern Essex Community College Library. (Date updated). Title of page . Title of LibGuide. URL

MLA : Northern Essex Community College Library. "Title of Page." Title of LibGuide, Date updated, URL.

Chicago Research Paper Formatting

Chicago manual of style (cmos - 17th edition).

• Finding Sources for Your Paper
• Additional Resources
• Sample Papers

You are going to love this! Save this template somewhere safe or e-mail it to yourself. Then resave it immediately with the name of your new document. This will keep your template safe and ready to reuse again for future assignments.

The templates provided will be sufficient for most student Chicago Style papers. For more information on formatting, please check out The Chicago Manual of Style Online Resources for Students page at  https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/help-tools/Resources-for-Students.html . 

• Purdue Owl Author Date Sample Paper Sample paper is downloadable.
• Purdue Owl Notes Bibliography Sample Paper Sample paper is downloadable.
• Turabian: Student Paper-Writing Tip Sheets Official Chicago style, in easy-to-use, printable PDF paper-writing tip sheets for students, teachers, and librarians. Guidelines are per Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (9th ed.) and are fully compatible with The Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.).
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• Last Updated: Apr 17, 2024 11:25 AM
• URL: https://libguides.polk.edu/chicago

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CMOS NB Sample Paper

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Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This resource contains the Notes and Bibliography (NB) sample paper for the Chicago Manual of Style 17 th edition. To download the sample paper, click this link .

Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide

Chicago-style source citations come in two varieties: (1) notes and bibliography and (2) author-date. If you already know which system to use, follow one of the links above to see sample citations for a variety of common sources. If you are unsure about which system to use, or how the two systems are related, read on.

Notes and Bibliography or Author-Date?

In the notes and bibliography system, sources are cited in numbered footnotes or endnotes. Each note corresponds to a raised (superscript) number in the text. Sources are also usually listed in a separate bibliography. The notes and bibliography system, Chicago’s oldest and most flexible, can accommodate a wide variety of sources, including unusual ones that don’t fit neatly into the author-date system. For this reason, it is preferred by many working in the humanities, including literature, history, and the arts.

In the author-date system, sources are briefly cited in the text, usually in parentheses, by author’s last name and year of publication. Each in-text citation matches up with an entry in a reference list, where full bibliographic information is provided. Because it credits researchers by name directly in the text while at the same time emphasizing the date of each source, the author-date system is preferred by many in the sciences and social sciences.

Aside from the use of numbered notes versus parenthetical references in the text, the two systems share the same style for authors’ names, titles of works, and other cited components. Follow the links at the top of this page to see examples of some of the more common source types cited in both systems.

Most authors choose the system used by others in their field or required by their publisher. Students should check with their instructor before deciding which system to use.

For a more comprehensive overview of Chicago’s two systems of source citation, see chapter 13 of The Chicago Manual of Style . For many more examples organized by type of source, consult chapter 14 .

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Chicago Essay Template

Because the template is formatted to Chicago standards, students should feel confident simply deleting our text and replacing it with their own writing.

To download the template, click here: Chicago 17th Edition Essay Template

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Citations: Chicago Style (17th ed.)

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Other Styles

• There is no particular required font, but stick with Times New Roman size 12, as you would for other essays.
• Footnote numbers are consecutive throughout the whole paper. If you re-use a source, it will get a new footnote number each time. 
• Most of your paper will be double-spaced .
• Footnote entries & bibliography entries will be single-spaced . Footnotes will also use a "first line indent," making them look like a regular paragraph. Bibliography entries at the end of the paper will use a hanging indent like you've probably used in MLA and APA.

Basic Citation Anatomy:

• Next: Paper Components >>
• Last Updated: Feb 23, 2024 4:36 PM
• URL: https://upresearch.lonestar.edu/chicago

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• Creating a Chicago Style Bibliography | Format & Examples

Creating a Chicago Style Bibliography | Format & Examples

Published on September 23, 2019 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on April 9, 2024.

A Chicago style bibliography lists the sources cited in your text. Each bibliography entry begins with the author’s name and the title of the source, followed by relevant publication details. The bibliography is alphabetized by authors’ last names.

A bibliography is not mandatory, but is strongly recommended for all but very short papers. It gives your reader an overview of all your sources in one place. Check with your instructor if you’re not sure whether you need a bibliography.

Always make sure to pay attention to punctuation (e.g., commas , quotation marks , parentheses ) in your citations.

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Table of contents

Chicago style bibliography examples, formatting the bibliography page, author names in the bibliography, bibliography vs reference list, frequently asked questions about the chicago bibliography.

Bibliography entries vary in format depending on the type of source . Templates and examples for the most common source types are shown below.

• Book chapter
• Journal article

• The edition is always abbreviated (e.g. 2nd ed. or rev. ed.).
• Only include the URL for books you consulted online.

• Use this format to cite a chapter in a multi-authored book. If all the chapters in a book were written by the same person, reference the whole book.
• Begin the citation with the author of the chapter. The editor who compiled the book is listed later.

• The page range identifies the location of the article within the journal issue.
• For articles accessed online, include a DOI (digital object identifier) where available, and a URL if not.

• If the author is unknown, list the organization or website name as author, and don’t repeat it later in the citation.
• If no publication date is listed, include an access date instead.
• The website name is not italicized, unless it is an online version of a newspaper or magazine .

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The bibliography appears at the end of your text. The heading Bibliography is bolded and centred at the top of the page.

Unlike the rest of a Chicago format paper, the bibliography is not double-spaced. However, add a single line space between entries.

If a bibliography entry extends onto more than one line, subsequent lines should be indented ( hanging indent ), as seen in the example below. This helps the reader to see at a glance where each new entry begins.

There are further guidelines for formatting a Chicago style annotated bibliography , in which you write a paragraph of summary and source evaluation under each source.

Author names in the bibliography are inverted: The last name comes first, then the first name(s). Sources are alphabetized by author last name.

If a source has no named author, alphabetize by the first word of the title or organization name that starts the entry. Ignore articles (“the,” “a,” and “an”) for the purposes of alphabetization.

Sources with multiple authors

For sources with more than one author, only the first author’s name is inverted; subsequent names are written in the normal order.

For texts with up to 10 authors, all the authors’ names should be listed in the order they appear in the source, separated by commas .

If there are more than 10 authors, list the first seven, followed by “ et al. ”

Multiple sources by the same author

If you include multiple works from the same author, only include the author name in the first entry. In subsequent entries, replace the name with three em dashes , followed by the rest of the citation formatted as normal. List the entries in alphabetical order by title.

A reference list is mandatory in Chicago author-date style , where you cite sources in parentheses in the text. The only differences between a Chicago bibliography and a reference list are the heading and the placement of the date.

The reference list is headed “References.” In reference list entries, the publication date is placed immediately after the author’s name. This allows the reader to easily find a reference on the basis of the corresponding in-text citation.

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In a Chicago style footnote , list up to three authors. If there are more than three, name only the first author, followed by “ et al. “

In the bibliography , list up to 10 authors. If there are more than 10, list the first seven followed by “et al.”

The same rules apply in Chicago author-date style .

To automatically generate accurate Chicago references, you can use Scribbr’s free Chicago reference generator .

In a Chicago footnote citation , when the author of a source is unknown (as is often the case with websites ), start the citation with the title in a full note. In short notes and bibliography entries, list the organization that published it as the author.

In Chicago author-date style , treat the organization as author in your in-text citations and reference list.

When an online source does not list a publication date, replace it with an access date in your Chicago footnotes and your bibliography :

If you are using author-date in-text citations , or if the source was not accessed online, replace the date with “n.d.”

• A reference list is used with Chicago author-date citations .
• A bibliography is used with Chicago footnote citations .

Both present the exact same information; the only difference is the placement of the year in source citations:

• In a reference list entry, the publication year appears directly after the author’s name.
• In a bibliography entry, the year appears near the end of the entry (the exact placement depends on the source type).

There are also other types of bibliography that work as stand-alone texts, such as a Chicago annotated bibliography .

In Chicago author-date style , your text must include a reference list . It appears at the end of your paper and gives full details of every source you cited.

In notes and bibliography style, you use Chicago style footnotes to cite sources; a bibliography is optional but recommended. If you don’t include one, be sure to use a full note for the first citation of each source.

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Caulfield, J. (2024, April 09). Creating a Chicago Style Bibliography | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 29, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/chicago-style/bibliography/

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