Q. I edit and proofread exhibition catalogs that contain essays by different authors. Each author submits his/her essay, using
his/her preferred style of notes. Many times the styles don’t match from author to author—yet
all essays are published in the same catalog. Must the styles match throughout the catalog?
A. If your catalog essays share a single notes or bibliography section, you must standardize. If each essay has its own notes
and bibliography, however, the publisher or assigning editor can tell you whether or not to accept inconsistencies. If someone
thinks it’s worth the time and money for you to standardize the citations, it’s
a worthy goal. Otherwise, you should simply make sure that the individual contributions are consistent within themselves.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. How does Chicago treat Twitter handles? Do you lowercase (or capitalize) them consistently, or do you follow the user’s preference? For example, how would you style the following handles in a story: @roseannecash, @ElizabethHurley, @leannrimes.
A. It’s probably best to cap them the way they appear on Twitter, since that’s the way the owners styled them.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. How should I index the name Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo?
A. In the absence of other information or advice (such as from the author), index unfamiliar unhyphenated names in the usual way, under the last name listed—in this case, Mbasogo. CMOS 16.71–74 and 16.75–87 cover rules for indexing special types of personal names.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. The way sports writers and fans write the hortatory phrase “Go Giants!” (my home
team, and no reflection on them) drives me nuts. Shouldn’t it be “Go, Giants”?
It’s direct address, after all, and there is a vast difference between the two commands “Kill
Bill!” and “Kill, Bill!” The athletic directors whose columns
I’ve edited just scoff that it’s accepted “sports English”
to write “Go Bears/Giants/Frogs!” but I just “go bananas.”
A. Ah, sports English. Yes, that’s what it is, and there’s probably no fighting
it, although as an editor you are justified in inserting the comma.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. How do I cite CD liner notes in a bibliography?
Q. I am having a disagreement with an author regarding her quoting of newspaper articles in her paper. I think that all the
details of the article quoted should be provided, including the title. She thinks it’s enough to just
give the name of the publication and date. Which of us is right?
A. Although Chicago-style citations of newspaper articles include the titles, such titles are not always stable—they
can change from one edition to the next and can be different in print and online—so there might be reason
to omit them. Citations that back up quotations, however, should always serve to (1) verify the writer’s
assertions and (2) help the reader find the source of the quotation. If omitting the title gets in the way of either purpose,
it’s not a good idea.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. On so many levels it seems true journalism is dead, but what required reporters to take out the English language with them?
I refer to the constant phrasing similar to the following: “The defendant PLEADED not guilty at the
arraignment.” Have these people never seen or heard the word “pled,”
or did I miss a memo?
A. Sorry—you missed the memo. (You can also check usages like this in a good dictionary.)
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. If I use an author’s name or a book title in a sentence, does that change the amount of information
I must include in the footnote?
A. Yes. When notes are handy at the bottom of the page, there’s little value in repeating the information
already given in the text. When notes appear at the back of the book, however, publication data make little sense without
an author or title.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. In running text, is it necessary to include a website’s domain extension? “The
video on YouTube.com showed a cat,” for example, looks incredibly stilted. The publication I’m
working on is scholarly—but not intended specifically for grandmothers. Can I get rid of the “.com”
if it’s clear that a website is being referred to?
A. Hey, there are grandmas who could tell you that you should be careful about shortening your references, because not all sites
end in .com. If the exact site (like YouTube) can be located reliably in an online search, fine, but if you’re
referring to a more commonly used name like Best Foods, there could be any number of websites with the same name that end
in .net, .org, .biz, or other extension.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I am writing a research paper about a school. How do I cite written histories by individuals that are not published or dated?
Thank you.
A. Give the information that you have and indicate where information is not available. Model your citation on the usual form:
author, title, kind of document (manuscript, letter, etc.), place, date, and where you found it. “N.p.”
can stand in for “no place,” “no publisher,”
and “no page number”; “n.d.” for “no
date.” For example, Deborah Dorman, “Psychoanalyzing the Penguin,”
manuscript, Misc. Papers File, Chicago College Library, n.d.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]