Documentation
Q. When using the same five sources throughout the same paper, do I create a new endnote (using a new number) throughout the paper (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.)? For example, if my paper has twenty-two citations, will I use endnotes 1–22? Or do I just refer to the same five numbers throughout the paper? Answer »
Q. I normally have cited at the beginning of a paraphrase. For instance, if I am using three sentences to express a scholar’s point, I would reference after the first sentence. I recently was advised that this is not correct and that the last sentence of the three is the sentence that needs the reference. Can you enlighten me on which is correct? Answer »
Q. Hello—I need to correctly format an Australian law for a nonlegal publication. May I use the format suggested in CMOS for British historical records? I realize that this is specific to UK publications, but it seems like the best approximation. Answer »
Q. I’m copyediting a book that’s using endnotes with no bibliography. For multiple authors, should I use the rule in CMOS and list up to ten authors in the first endnote? What if each chapter in the book I'm copyediting is written by a different author, and these authors differ in the number of authors they list in the endnotes? Does the copyeditor then have a role in imposing consistency? Answer »
Q. Hi, there! In a bibliography or reference list, Chicago recommends inverting only the first author’s name and not subsequent author names. What’s the reason for this? Why not invert all author names? I trust in Chicago’s expertise, but I would like to know why, because I often have to defend my copyediting decisions. Answer »
Q. Perhaps the most important quote for the paper I am writing comes from the footnote of something someone wrote in a scholarly journal. Is there a particular way I should have to endnote this since the quote comes from a footnote? Answer »
Q. I am editing a nonfiction trade book for an author who wants to use endnotes that begin with specific words in the text but that have no note numbers in the text. We are in rather strong disagreement about this. First, what do you call this style? Second, is this the new standard in trade publishing? Answer »
Q. What do you do about reproducing a table found in a work you are citing? Can it be used and cited the same way text can be? Answer »
Q. When I am citing a periodical that does not provide the page number, but does provide the volume and issue, is it necessary to cite the issue number (e.g., Hameed 2009, 3:1)? Or how should this be cited? Answer »
Q. Our (I believe overzealous) rights manager has decreed that when trademarked terms are used in running text in our fiction and nonfiction books, they must be written in all caps, since this is what the International Trademark Association recommends. I argue that Chicago allows trademarks (used only when a generic term cannot be substituted) to be initial-capped only. Answer »
Q. How do you cite speeches? I am using a quote from FDR’s Fireside Chat on May 27, 1941, and I’m not sure how to cite it. Thank you! Answer »
Q. I cite a number of works that were written long ago, such as Locke’s Second Treatise on Government. The straightforward way to cite such a work is by the date of the edition employed (Locke, 1987: 201). I find this ugly and uninformative, however. Is there a permissible way to indicate the date of original publication, such as (Locke, 1689 [1987]: 201)? Thank you for your assistance. Answer »
Q. Hello. When the author uses the same source for five consecutive notations, should I give each a number and list it five times consecutively in the notes, or should I put only one number at the beginning (or end) of the paragraph, thereby listing it only once in the notes? Also, if the notations are apart from one another, I would have to give the source multiple numbers, I’m sure, but then do I re-reference the source, or can I say, for example, “113. See note 72,” or some such? Thanks! Answer »
Q. I’m an editor in an academic publishing house. I’ve been advised by our best-selling author to use “eadem” (fem.) in place of “idem,” where appropriate. Recently I had an instance in which I needed to use “idem” (within the same note) in reference to two male authors. The masculine plural is “eidem.” Then I realized we might potentially need the feminine plural form some day! Yikes! Do we really want to go down this road? Answer »
Q. CMOS 17.99 says to use the city listed for the publisher on the title page or copyright page of the book. If more than one city is listed, use the first one. Our magazine publishes a list of science books in each issue. One of the major publishers is Springer. Most of the Springer books we list have “Berlin Heidelberg New York” on the copyright page—the only place I can find a location listed. We traditionally have listed New York, as we are an American publication. However, some Springer books we list say only “Dordrecht, The Netherlands” on the copyright page. Should we cite different cities depending on what is listed on the copyright page? This looks inconsistent to me—to list different cities for the same publisher. Answer »
Q. I was recently penalized by my history professor for conforming to the CMOS even though we are required to do so. His comment: “Footnotes require a full reference for the first citation of a source—then subsequent footnotes/endnotes utilize the form you employed.” I appealed, citing CMOS 15, section 16.3. In reply, my appeal was summarily denied: “Sorry, but there is no history prof I know who would accept footnotes in that form at the undergraduate or graduate level . . . just the Americans being their usual sloppy selves, I guess. . . . If I teach the course again I will have to present a more rigorous set of rules, of the sort employed in actual practice.” Your comment would be appreciated. Answer »
Q. I am copyediting a scholarly journal in the humanities and have a question about footnotes referencing a Web site. I always check the URL to ensure that it is still accessible and still goes to the appropriate information. Typically the author provides an access date as part of the footnote. My question is: When the URL is still accurate, should I revise the access date to the date that I checked the URL, or leave the author’s original date in place? Answer »
Q. I am doing a research paper for my history class in college and I am supposed to put in the Chicago form of bibliography and citations. I am trying to find the way that I am supposed to put this in but it is proving very difficult at the moment. Can you help on this? Answer »
Q. I am working on a manuscript for a book where the author is quoting a poem he has written, but has not yet published. I believe there should be a citation so as to verify he has not used someone else’s poem without permission and also to give him the credit of being the author. What would a proper citation look like? Answer »
Q. I would like to document, in a bibliography, information received in an academic class. Please send me the format for this application. Thank you for this service. Answer »
Q. I am doing some developmental editing on a book about Elvis and East Tupelo, Mississippi. The author has gathered her information from a variety of sources, including firsthand interviews. Footnotes and a bibliography will not work with the format. How do we acknowledge sources such as websites or newspapers? Answer »
Q. How do you cite a resource in a Chicago-styled bibliography that happens to be a B.A. student’s thesis submission for her master’s degree? Answer »
Q. I am including several books by the same author in a bibliography. Two of them were written when his last name was Smith. The last was written after he had changed his name to Jones. He is generally referred to as Jones nowadays. Should I put them all under Jones, even though the name on the title page is otherwise? Answer »
Q. Dear Sir/Madam, all of my resources are from German books, but now I have to write a thesis in English. My question is, if I translated the German book by my own or with a help of software and write it down in English version in my thesis, how can I explain it in the footnote (using Author-Date System for documentation) and in my bibliography? Do I need to mention that the source is translated to English? How can I make a footnote and a bibliography regarding the translation? Could you please give me an example of it? I hope you could help me. Answer »
Q. How do I document a direct quote correctly if I don’t have all the information? Here’s all I have: Catherine Bertini, U.N. World Food Programme. There is no actual book, magazine, journal, or other source named; no date or page number. I’ve combed the Chicago TOC for a clue. Sorry if I’ve missed the obvious. Answer »
Previous Page | Next Page
