Q. For citations, a quoted sentence A is marked with a footnote of no. 8 with a particular author, book, and page number. Sentence B in another paragraph is also quoted from the same author, book, and page number. Can we label it with footnote no. 8 or do we have to cite it with another number?
A. There is a system by which superscript (or parenthetical) numbers refer to a numbered list of references, and under that system you could use the number 8 for all citations of a given author and book (please see CMOS 14.3). This is not Chicago style, however. In Chicago style every note number is unique, so you would go to note 9 in the case of a subsequent reference to the same book (if there are no other notes in between).
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. From a Spanish-speaking company I have many financial documents containing large numbers (billions, trillions). As I understand it, the best practice is either to leave the complete number as is or to round it (1,256,128,023 or 1.3 billion). Is there a rule regarding how many places after the decimal point should be shown? My client wants as much information as possible to be communicated, but it seems to me that, in English, we rarely see anything beyond one place behind the decimal point.
A. It’s a matter of judgment, although as you say, one decimal place is conventional. If your client wants as much information as possible, it would be best not to round the numbers. If you can, ask the client to state a preference. Take care, too, when translating terms like billion that may look the same in both languages but actually express different numbers (see CMOS 5.250, s.v. billion; trillion).
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. CMOS says that in a short-form title (in an endnote or footnote) the order of words should not be changed. But is it acceptable to change the words in any way while maintaining the basic order? Specifically, for the complete title Address Delivered before the Members of the Suffolk Bar, at Their Anniversary, on the 4th September, 1821, at Boston, could the short form be Address to the Suffolk Bar?
A. It would be safer to elide the title: Address . . . Suffolk Bar.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. The bibliography I am editing has a few entries where multiple editions of the same book were used as sources. Do I need to create separate citations for each edition, or is there a way to combine them into one? The author currently has written out the citation for the first edition, then listed other editions at the end of the citation.
A. The author’s method sounds good. You can see examples of ways to do this at CMOS 14.114. In the notes, citations of page numbers should refer to the specific edition, however, since the pagination might not be the same in all editions.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I am editing an e-book that uses footnotes and endnotes. The author would like to use the footnotes to provide additional
information that may be of interest to the reader. As a result, the footnotes are often long and require multiple citations.
I’m not sure how to cite multiple sources in a footnote. Should the paraphrased statements be followed
by the full citation in parentheses? Should the citations stand alone? The best option, I believe, is to include the material
in the text of the book, but the author is greatly opposed to this.
A. It’s usual to have multiple citations in substantive notes. Their order should follow the writer’s
order of argument. There’s no need to put the citations in parentheses or group them at the end of the
note. Citations can be worked into the syntax of a sentence or stand alone as if they were sentences themselves (separated
by semicolons or periods). Sometimes one or more citations begin a note and are followed by explication.
As for moving the discursive note content into the text, your author might feel that the content is peripheral, in which
case it’s best to leave it in the notes.
You would benefit from looking at the notes in a variety of scholarly books at a library or bookstore. The figures in chapter
14 of CMOS might also be helpful.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Concerning in-text citations (e.g., Jacobs 1990, 32), CMOS says that when an author’s name appears in the text, it may be omitted in the parenthetical citation (1990, 32), and that when one cites the same item more than once in a paragraph, the author and year of citations after the first may be omitted (32). Suppose a paper makes continued reference to one work throughout an entire section, spanning several pages. May the author and year be omitted throughout after the first citation? Or should they be cited once per page, or once per paragraph, or once per sentence? Or perhaps anytime there is an intervening alternative citation?
A. Certainly repeat the author and date after an intervening alternative citation. Repeat them every time they are needed, either as a reminder or when it isn’t clear otherwise who is being cited.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I have a question about citing archival documents for an organization whose name has changed. The records in the archive
are under one name, but the name during the period discussed in the paper was another name. We want to ensure that readers
can get back to the actual documents. One option we discussed is including text in the first note that explains this difference
in names.
A. Exactly. Explain in a note or as an annotation to the citation itself. Withhold the information only if you wish to cause
confusion and wild goose chases.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I am editing a thesis, and for the bibliography I have arranged titles by the same author in alphabetical order. Librarians at the university have told me that these titles should be in chronological order. Is there an error in the Chicago Manual of Style Online?
A. Chicago style for ordering titles in bibliographies is alphabetical. However, if you are in fact editing a reference list instead of a bibliography, the order would be chronological. (See CMOS 14.2 or our Quick Guide to determine which you are editing.) Please note too that most universities have rules and guidelines for formatting citations, and not all follow CMOS.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I’m using Shelley Jackson’s short story “Skin”
as a primary source in an article I’m writing, but the story is published only as tattoos on the bodies
of volunteers (one word per volunteer). How do I cite this work?
A. Cite it the same way you would “cite” your sandwich or your miniblinds or the
fluff under your bathroom rug—not by trying to pretend it is a bibliographic source, but simply by telling
what it is. In the text or in a note, write something like “Shelley Jackson’s
‘Skin’ is a story published only as tattoos on the bodies of volunteers (one word
per volunteer).”
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Hi—I’m editing a MS where the author has included the page reference for a quotation
as follows:
. . . a performative intervention that would “challenge the conceptual categories that frame”
such historical encounters (Merrill 2006, 65).
Is the citation placement correct? In APA the citation immediately follows the quotation, e.g.,
. . . that frame” (Merrill 2006, p. 65) such historical encounters.
But as the author has adopted this generally as a style, I’m thinking it might be right according to
Chicago (with which I am less familiar). Can you help, please?
A. CMOS does not dictate a single approach to placing citations, but if you move a citation, you must be careful not to change the
nature of the attribution. Presumably your writer wants to attribute the entire thought to Merrill 2006, but APA style obscures
that point (in addition to separating the verb from the direct object). If you move citations in this MS, be prepared to explain
why, and ask the author to check that you haven’t introduced any problems.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]