Religion

Chicago citation style is used primarily in the humanities, including art history, history, literature, and politics. It may also be used in the sciences and social sciences. Chicago style has two formats:

• Notes and Bibliography style is preferred by the humanities. Citations are provided in footnotes or endnotes, and a bibliography
• Author-Date style is preferred by the sciences and social sciences. Sources are briefly cited within the text using parentheses, and the full details are provided in a works cited list.

In Chicago (Notes and Bibliography) style a note should be made anytime another work is directly quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.  A corresponding note is used at the end of the sentence or clause in which the reference is used. It should include the following elements:

• Author’s name as listed in the source
• Title of the work (book)
  • Article title, Journal title, and Issue information (Journal)
• Date of Publication
• Page number
• Use commas and parentheses to separate the elements

The first entry of the source should include full publication information; subsequent listings of the same source may be shortened to author’s last name, a shortened form of the title, and the page number of the cited passage.

Journal Article

1. Susanna W. Gold, "The Death of Cleopatra /the Birth of Freedom: Edmonia Lewis at the New World's Fair," Biography 35, no. 2 (2012): 318.

Book

2. J. B Morris, Oberlin, Hotbed of Abolitionism: College, Community, and the Fight for Freedom and Equality in Antebellum America (The University of North Carolina Press, 2014), 318.

In Chicago style the sources are listed alphabetically and include the following elements:

• Author’s name (Last name, first name)
• Title of the work (book)
  • Article title, journal title and issue information (Journal)
  • Page numbers of the article (Journal)
• Date of publication
• Use periods to separate the elements

Journal Article

Gold, Susanna W. "The Death of Cleopatra /the Birth of Freedom: Edmonia Lewis at the New World's Fair." Biography 35, no. 2 (2012) 318-341.

Book

Morris, J. B. Oberlin, Hotbed of Abolitionism: College, Community, and the Fight for Freedom and Equality in Antebellum America. The University of North Carolina Press, 2014.

We are happy to help you with your citation and paraphrasing questions at the Research Help Desk or during individual consultations.

• Our full citation guide provides online resources and citation examples.
• We have copies of the major citation styles manuals at the Research Help Desks in the Libraries.
• We support two citation management software, RefWorks and Zotero, which can help you to organize your references and create your citations.

The Oberlin College Writing and Speaking Center can also assist with writing your research paper and citations. They provide assistance with writing mechanics, including citation, developing a research question or thesis, developing an argument to support your thesis, reviewing your paper for sentence-level corrections, and editing for flow and clarity.

Ways to Get Help