Chicago Formatting Guidelines | 16th Edition

The title page contains: the full title of your paper, your name, the course title, the instructor’s name, and the date.

The title page does not receive a number, but it does count toward the overall number of manuscript pages. Therefore, the first page of the text is numbered 2.

Using Arabic numerals (2, 3, 4, etc.), number all pages except the title page in the upper right corner. Unless your instructor prefers otherwise, it is a good idea to include your last name or an abbreviated title before each page number to help identify pages if they were to get separated from your manuscript.

Use one-inch margins at the top, bottom, and sides of the page. (One-inch margins are the minimum; slightly wider margins are permissible.) Use double-spacing for the entire manuscript, including long quotations that have been indented from the standard one-inch margin. Format your text so that it is left justified.

When a quotation is fairly long (a good rule of thumb is five lines or more), it is set apart from the regular body of text by indenting the entire quote an additional half inch (five spaces) from the left margin. Do not use quotation marks.

Visuals are classified by the Chicago Manual of Style as tables and illustrations, such as: charts, figures, graphs, drawings, maps, photographs, etc. Do not let visuals create a “cluttered” feel to your paper; keep them simple.

• Label each table with an Arabic numeral and a concise title that clearly identifies the subject. The label and title should appear on separate lines above the table, justified left.
• Label each illustration with an Arabic numeral and a concise title that clearly identifies the subject. The label and title can appear on the same line below the illustration, justified left. The labeled “Figure” may be abbreviated to “Fig.”

Below the table, reference its source in this manner:

Source: Bruce Frazer, Up in Arms over Arms (Newport, OR: United Peace Press, 1991), 52.

In the text of your paper, help your readers make the connection between the graphics and your text.  Arrange visuals as close as possible to the sentences that relate to them and point out the most important qualities of each visual.

Endnotes start on a new page at the end of your paper. Center the heading, “Notes,” about one inch from the top of the page, and continue numbering the pages consecutively from where you left off in the manuscript.

Indenting and numbering

The first line of each note is indented half an inch (or five spaces) from the left margin; do not indent subsequent lines in the note. The number that corresponds to the number in the text is placed at the start of the note, followed by a period.

Line spacing

It is standard practice to use single-spacing within each note, and double-spacing between notes, but check to see if your instructor prefers double-spacing throughout.

Typically, you will be asked to create a bibliography at the end of your paper. It should list every work cited throughout your paper, and it may also include materials that you consulted but did not actually reference.

• Place the bibliography after the endnotes page.
• Center the heading, “Bibliography,” about one inch from the top of the page, and continue numbering the pages consecutively from where you left off.
• Arrange works cited/consulted alphabetically by the last names of authors/editors.
• Alphabetize anonymous works by the first word of the title (ignoring articles such as A, An, and The).
• For two or more works by the same author, use six hyphens (‐‐‐‐‐‐) instead of the author’s name in all entries after the first and alphabetize them by title.
• Begin entries at the left margin.
• Indent additional lines a half inch or five spaces, and single-space each entry.
• Double-space between entries (unless your instructor asks for double-spacing throughout).