Documentation
Q. Dear Chicago, what verb tense do you recommend for the literature review section of a scholarly article? APA insists on the past tense, arguing that any work included in a literature review was obviously published in the past. People writing about English literature, on the other hand, discuss works in the present tense because readers always experience the book in the present. I’m editing a Canadian public policy journal, and the author uses the present tense to discuss works published ten or fifteen years ago. Should I change these tenses to the present perfect? The journal has no in-house rule on this. Answer »
Q. I often have difficulty deciding how to cite translations with critical commentaries of ancient texts. What if I’m citing a critical comment or note made by the translator/Loeb editor? The bibliography entry is Answer »
Q. How do you cite T-shirts? Answer »
Q. Per CMOS, in author-date documentation style, the citation can be placed immediately after the name in the text. If you have multiple such references in a single paragraph, does it become awkward? E.g., Chuck (1990, 3n8) indicates his disagreement with the theory outlined by Gregg and Harris (1990, 383, 387). However, Sherry and Lang (1991, 77–81) criticize both arguments, as do Brown and Brown (1992, 93–98). Answer »
Q. In citations and references, what is the preferred format for codes and standards issued by scientific organizations? As an example, “RASB Standard 531: Antigravity and what to do when it fails” (one of many standards published by the Rebel Alliance Scientific Branch, each on a different topic and with a different number) would be set differently by each of our several editing groups here, and we are trying to find common ground. Would you suggest we treat it along the lines of (1) a book title, (2) a multivolume work, (3) an article in a periodical, or (4) something else entirely? Answer »
Q. I’m struggling with the correct format for websites. It’s when the author is unknown that I run into trouble. For a print source, we’d begin with the article title, but CMOS says that the website’s owner “may” be used as the author. Does “may” mean “should”? How do we distinguish between the website’s name and owner? For example, if I’m citing an authorless article from CNN.com, do I begin with CNN.com as the author, and then also include CNN.com as the website? Can you sort this out? Answer »
Q. When one is citing an ancient source whose author is unknown or disputed and which is published in the original language, is the editor’s name put before the title in footnotes and bibliography? Does the modern translator’s name go first? Answer »
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. If a number of references are given in the same endnote, should they be given in any particular order (e.g., alphabetically)? 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. 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. I need help on how it would be easier to make a bibliography easier. Answer »
Q. The first time an author is cited in text it would appear thus: (Brown 1999, 34). The way I have been citing this author thereafter is (Brown, 56). Is that okay, or must I always put the year in the citation? If there is an author who has two works, I assume the year must always be reproduced. And if an author is cited with others, e.g., (Brown 1999; Harris 2002), should the year be put in the next time I cite only Brown? Answer »
Q. I am preparing an author-date-style reference list for a forthcoming book by my professor. She would like to include a paper that I wrote for her class in the fall. How do I do this? I have no intention of publishing the paper in the near future. Answer »
Q. I have a question about citing journal articles that are in print but have only been accessed online, where the online version is a PDF identical to the print version. CMOS states that you need to cite the DOI or URL. What is wrong with citing the page number of the print version as it appears on the PDF, if all things are identical? Answer »
Q. Is there text in CMOS that explains that placing a footnote number or symbol at the nearest point of punctuation—rather than at the precise point of reference—will not mislead the reader? I know I have seen such an explanation, but I cannot find it in CMOS 16th ed. If it no longer appears in CMOS, can you point me to a source? Answer »
Q. Please, please settle this question about questions for me! A colleague insists that the following construction does not require a question mark: “I had to consult an authority. What would The Chicago Manual of Style say.” Another example: “I got a new bike. How cool is that.” CMOS indicates that a question mark is not required for indirect or courtesy questions, but a question, even if it is not being asked of someone in dialogue, is still a question. Who’s right? Answer »