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Chicago Style: Basics

This guide is intended to help you learn what Chicago Style is and includes. This guide will help you cite sources and avoid plagiarism. The guide also includes examples of Chicago style and lead you to resources that can help you cite sources.

Hanging Indent

The bibliography entry text should be left-justified; if an entry is more than one line, indent the subsequent line(s) half an inch from the left margin. For more information, please see the CMOS 2.24: Format for bibliographies and reference lists.

NOTE: The library's webpage doesn't show the hanging indent in our examples. 

Personal Communication 

In-Text Citation Format:

(AuthorFirstName AuthorLastName, Platform message to author, Date)

For Example:

(Michaela Smith, Facebook message to author, January 18, 2018)

(Shane Wolter, text message to author, March 29, 2017)

 

¹ Personal communication includes email, text messages, and other messaging (e.g. Facebook messages). These are cited in text and are only rarely included in the bibliography. See 15.53: Unpublished interviews and personal communications for more information.