Note: Recently we have been swamped with questions like the following.
Q. I am summarizing a book as part of a research paper. Am I required to cite ideas at the end of every paragraph or can one
citation serve for the whole book?
Q. I am writing a history paper using three articles. If I am talking about one and source it, and then in the next sentence
talk about it again, do I just keep re-sourcing it again and again?
Q. If I have multiple citations from the same author on the same page, how do I write the footnote? Do I list each separately?
Abbreviate them?
Q. I am a history minor, and in my paper I put citations at the end of paragraphs, unless otherwise needed. A professor wants
me to cite virtually every paragraph. He even wants me to cite information that is general knowledge, saying that not citing
these things would be plagiarism. What is generally accepted when citing in a scholarly paper?
A. So let’s review the basic ideas behind citing sources. You should cite a source (including a page number
or page range) for every idea or quotation you borrow. You don’t have to cite a source in full every
time—the author’s surname and a page number will do after the first time. You
can use a single citation (with all the relevant page numbers) at the end of a paragraph if two or more quotations or statements
from that source aren’t separated by information from another source. You can cite in a single note
all the sources you used in a single paragraph; cite them in the order you used them. If you want to be more precise, you
can use a separate note at the end of each relevant statement. Don’t ever put two note callouts side
by side; instead, use one note and put both sources in it. General knowledge is not cited in scholarly work—it
would be absurd and even at times dishonest to attribute it to a specific source—but since people may
disagree on what is general knowledge, err on the side of generosity in your documentation.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I recently wrote an essay and used some information that my adult son gave me, and when I told him I was using it, he said
I had to cite him. In my view, if you give birth to a source and he’s still living under your roof,
you don’t have to cite him. What’s your view?
A. I’m sorry, but I’m afraid you do owe him something for the material. If you don’t
want to credit him in a citation, you might try to cast this as a work-for-hire arrangement. Tell him you’ll
negotiate the payment the next time you’re negotiating his rent.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Is there a proper way to cite a classic such as Tacitus when I am using a web version without page or line numbers?
A. Tacitus’s texts are properly cited by book and section: Annales 13.32 or Historiae 5.24. If your web version doesn’t include those labels, it’s probably not a source
you want to be using. More generally, however, CMOS suggests that in citing unnumbered web pages it’s sometimes possible to reference a nearby subhead,
a chapter or paragraph number, or a descriptive phrase that can be searched.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I am currently copyediting a business-advice book that has a very casual, conversational tone. The book includes a bibliography,
but so far, none of the quoted works mentioned in the text are in the bibliography. There are many sound bites from famous
actors and writers. These one-liners are not necessarily well-known quotes, but considering that the people quoted are public
figures and the quotes themselves are (in most cases) only a short sentence, is a source really needed? And then a bibliographic
entry? It seems a bit excessive, but I don’t know how else to do this. Unfortunately, this book does
not have notes. Any ideas?
A. Quotations from famous people must be attributed (to newspaper or magazine articles, blogs, online news sites, television
or radio appearances, or whatever), but you needn’t include such sources in the bibliography.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. In the citation of the following newspaper showing various issues and page numbers, would it be written like this?
Southern Patriot, 20 January 1835, 3, 27 January 1835, 3, 30 January 1835, 3, 2 February 1835, 3, 3 February 1835, 3, 3 March 1835, 3, and 19 March 1835, 3.
A. No. I’m afraid my vision began to blur when I came to “1835, 3, 27.” This calls for the deployment of what Lynne Truss calls “a kind of Special Policeman in the event of comma fights,” that is, the semicolon (Eats, Shoots & Leaves [New York: Gotham Books, 2004], 125):
Southern Patriot, 20 January 1835, 3; 27 January 1835, 3; 30 January 1835, 3; 2 February 1835, 3; 3 February 1835, 3; 3 March 1835, 3; and 19 March 1835, 3.
An alternative is to omit the page numbers, as is often done in newspaper citations, since articles may migrate from one page to another in different editions of the same paper.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Should footnotes and bibliographic entries for foreign publications be written in the foreign language or in English?
A. Use the original language for the book title. You may transliterate languages that have non-Latin alphabets, and you may also provide an English translation of the title in brackets [Like this: Sentence-capped and roman], if you think it will be helpful to readers. The place of publication should be given in English, and if you are certain of the correct translation, you may render terms like vol. and ser. in English. Please see CMOS 14.99 and 14.202.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I am writing a qualitative thesis in which I quote several primary-source published documents that, if cited under the actual
names of the authors, would destroy subject anonymity. How do I create a reference list citation for a document I quote or
cite and protect the research subject’s rights to anonymity?
A. You can either use pseudonyms or use “Anonymous” in place of the person’s
name. Perhaps in your research you can find other reference lists that show solutions to this problem. It’s
usual for a university to have strict guidelines for protecting the subjects of research, so you might also consult your school’s
dissertation secretary or your thesis advisor.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. In a book I’m working on, the author tells stories that go on for several paragraphs and include quotations. When those quotations are all from one source, my author has put a single note callout at the end of the last quotation as a blanket reference for all the quotations in the story. The copy editor is suggesting that he instead put the note callout after the first quotation. I looked in CMOS but haven’t been able to find anything on this subject. What do you recommend?
A. Either method is fine, assuming that the single note at the end contains all the relevant page references. CMOS 13.67 suggests the following: “In a work containing notes, the full citation of a source may be given in a note at first mention, with subsequent citations made parenthetically in the text.” If no other source intervenes, a simple page reference will suffice (114). Otherwise, repeat the author’s name and a short title. Alternatively, CMOS 13.66 discusses the use of either the author’s name or “ibid.” in the notes: “If a second passage from the same source is quoted close to the first and there is no intervening quotation from a different source, the author’s name or ibid. (set in roman) may be used in the second parenthetical reference (e.g., ‘Hawking, 114’ or ‘ibid., 114’).” Chicago now prefers the author’s name or other short form over “ibid.”
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Should “ibid.” in citations be italicized? Are block quotes always a smaller
font size than the rest of the text? If a publisher specifies that only US and not British spelling should be used in a manuscript,
should quoted words be changed as well?
Q. If I have several unpublished sources in the same endnote and they are all housed at the same location, should I list that
location repeatedly throughout the endnote, or can I just place it at the end of the note?
A. You can do it either way. I prefer to economize. If every source in the note is at the same location, you can end with “All
at location X.” If other sources not at location X are scattered through the note, you will have to
clarify all locations with repeated references. If all the location X sources occur in a row, however, you can list them in
a single sentence with semicolons between the sources, concluding that sentence with “all at location
X.”
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]