Chicago Literature Review Example: Notes-Bibliography vs. Author-Date

The Two Chicago Systems: At a Glance

Notes-Bibliography (NB) Author-Date

In-text method Superscript number¹ or parenthetical Superscript note number (Author Year, page) — comma between year and page

Reference list Bibliography (alphabetical) Reference list (alphabetical)

Primary disciplines History, art history, theology, musicology, some literature Sciences, social sciences (when Chicago is required)

Footnotes Required (full citation + optional commentary) Not used

Shortened citations Ibid. or Author, Title (short), page Not used (full citation each time)

CMOS edition baseline 18th edition (2024) — current standard 18th edition (2024)

Key point: If your professor says "use Chicago," ask which system. In history and humanities, they almost always mean NB. In social sciences at a Chicago-requiring institution, they may mean Author-Date.

Chicago vs. APA vs. Harvard vs. MLA: The Master Comparison

Element APA 7th Harvard (CTR) MLA 9th Chicago NB Chicago A-D

In-text (Author, Year) (Author, Year) (Author page) Superscript ¹ + footnote (Author Year, page)

List title References Reference list Works Cited Bibliography Reference list

Ibid. No No No Yes (same source, consecutive) No

3-em dash No No ---. (for same author) ——— (for repeated author in bib) No

Title case Sentence (articles) / Title (books) Title (books) / Sentence (articles) Title throughout Title throughout Title throughout

Quotes for articles None (italics only) Single quotes Double quotes Double quotes Double quotes

Page in citation p. 45 p. 45 or : 45 Just 45 45 (in footnote) , 45 (after year)

DOI/URL https://doi.org/... doi: or Available at: Optional; doi: or URL https://doi.org/... or URL Same

When to Use Which System

Use Notes-Bibliography when:

• You are in history, art history, theology, musicology, or literature (especially pre-20th-century topics)

• Your sources are archival materials, manuscripts, or unusual formats that don't fit author–date templates

• Your instructor expects footnote commentary (Chicago NB allows substantive notes that go beyond the citation)

• You are writing a thesis or dissertation in a humanities field

Use Author-Date when:

• You are in the sciences or social sciences and your department requires Chicago specifically

• Your sources are primarily journal articles and books with clear publication dates

• You need quick in-text identification without flipping to footnotes

Notes-Bibliography: How It Works (CMOS 18th)

The three-part system

1. Superscript number in the text: Sethe's house was haunted.¹

2. Footnote at the bottom of the page (or endnote): full publication details on first citation

3. Bibliography at the end: alphabetical by author, with full details

First citation (footnote)

¹ Toni Morrison, Beloved (Knopf, 1987), 3.

Subsequent citation (same source, different page)

² Morrison, Beloved, 45.

Consecutive citation (same source, same page)

³ Ibid.

CMOS 18th note: Ibid. is still accepted but optional—some disciplines now prefer the shortened form (Morrison, Beloved, 3) even for consecutive cites. Check your department.

Bibliography entry

Morrison, Toni. Beloved. Knopf, 1987.

Format rules (CMOS 18th NB): - Hanging indent in bibliography

• CMOS 18 prefers repeating the author’s name instead of replacing it with a 3-em dash

• Title case for all titles

• A place of publication is no longer required for books in CMOS 18

• No URL for print books; include DOI or stable URL for online-only sources

Author-Date: How It Works (CMOS 18th)

In-text

(Morrison 1987, 45)

• No comma between author and year

• Comma before page: (Morrison 1987, 45) — not a colon

• Two authors: (Morrison and Denard 2008, 70) — use and (not an ampersand)

• Three+ authors: (Peterson et al. 1997, 22) — et al. not italicized

Reference list entry

Morrison, Toni. 1987. Beloved. Knopf.

Note the year immediately after the author, followed by a period. CMOS 18 no longer requires a place of publication for books.

Format rules (CMOS 18th A-D): - Year immediately after author, followed by a comma, then the title

• Use a hanging indent unless your department specifies another layout

• A place of publication is no longer required in CMOS 18 book citations

• Alphabetical by surname

5 Chicago-Specific Scoring Dimensions

Comparison fields: Dimension Poor signal Strong signal

1 System choice Uses NB for a sociology paper (or A-D for history) Picks NB for humanities, A-D for sciences/social sciences

2 Footnote completeness ¹ See source. Full publication data in footnote on first citation; shortened form after

3 Ibid. usage Ibid. for a different page Ibid. only for same source AND same page; use shortened form for same source, different page

4 Bibliography formatting Mixed with "Works Cited" or "References" "Bibliography" for NB; "Reference list" for A-D

5 3-em dash ---. (MLA style) or repeating the name Repeat the author’s name (CMOS 18 preference) in Chicago bibliography

Format Demonstration Paragraph (NB system, placeholder citations)

[Opening] This literature review examines a research question through primary and secondary sources. [First citation] The foundational study established the central mechanism.¹ [Second citation, different source] Later work complicated this account.² [Subsequent citation, same source] The mechanism persists across contexts.³ [Consecutive, same page] This point is reinforced.⁴ [New source] A recent synthesis challenges the field's assumptions.⁵

Footnotes

¹ AuthorA, Title in Title Case (Publisher, Year), 22–25. ² AuthorB, "Article Title," Journal Name, vol. X, no. Y (Year): 88. ³ AuthorA, Title, 140. ⁴ Ibid. ⁵ AuthorC and AuthorD, "Another Article," Journal Name, vol. Z, no. W (Year): 302.

Bibliography

AuthorA. Title in Title Case. Publisher, Year. AuthorB. "Article Title." Journal Name, vol. X, no. Y (Year): 88. AuthorC and AuthorD. "Another Article." Journal Name, vol. Z, no. W (Year): 302.

Format audit

• ✅ Superscript numbers in text, no parentheses

• ✅ Full citation in footnote 1; shortened in footnote 3

• ✅ Ibid. only for consecutive same-source same-page

• ✅ Bibliography: repeated author name (not shown here; would appear if AuthorA had two entries)

• ✅ Two-author entry: AuthorC and AuthorD. (no comma before "and")

5 Fatal Signals (Chicago-specific)

1. Mixing NB and Author-Date in one paper — pick one system and stay with it. A history paper with (Author Year) parentheticals is wrong; a sociology paper with footnotes may be accepted but is unusual.

2. Using Ibid. for a different page — Ibid. alone means same source AND same page. For same source, different page: Ibid., 45 or use shortened form.

3. Calling the list "Works Cited" or "References" — Chicago NB uses "Bibliography"; A-D uses "Reference list".

4. MLA-style ---. instead of Chicago's ——— — CMOS 18 prefers repeating the author’s name rather than substituting a 3-em dash.

5. Dropping the publisher location — CMOS 18th still includes Publisher for books (unlike MLA 9th, which dropped it).

Rewrite Checklist (Chicago)

For Notes-Bibliography

1. Confirm your department expects NB (not Author-Date).

2. Insert superscript numbers in text at the end of each sentence/claim that needs a source.

3. Write a full footnote on first citation of each source (author, title, place: publisher, year, page).

4. Use shortened citations (Author,

   Short Title

   , page) for subsequent cites of the same source.

5. Reserve Ibid. for consecutive cites of the same source and same page only.

6. Build the Bibliography: alphabetical by surname, hanging indent, repeated author name.

7. Include publisher location for books; include DOI/URL for online-only sources.

8. Do not mix NB with parenthetical author–date citations.

For Author-Date

1. Confirm your department expects A-D (not NB).

2. Convert all in-text citations to (Author Year, page) — comma between year and page (never a colon).

3. For two authors, use &: (Morrison and Denard 2008, 70).

4. For three+ authors, use et al. (not italicized) from first citation.

5. Build the Reference list: Author, FirstName. Year, Title. Publisher. — comma after year.

6. Do not use footnotes or Ibid. in Author-Date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Chicago system should I use for a history literature review?

Notes-Bibliography. This is the standard for history and most humanities. Our /chicago-history-literature-review-example page demonstrates CMOS 18th NB in full: no Ibid. if your department prefers shortened citations, repeated author names, and strict bibliography formatting.

Is Ibid. still allowed in CMOS 18th?

Yes, but optionally. CMOS 18th retains Ibid. but acknowledges that many journals and departments now prefer the shortened citation form (Author, Title, page) even for consecutive references. Check your department's preference before using Ibid. extensively.

Does Chicago use a hanging indent?

Yes for NB bibliographies (hanging indent, 0.5"). For A-D reference lists, CMOS does not strictly require it, but many departments do—check your guidelines.

How does Chicago NB differ from MLA?

Five big differences: (1) NB uses footnotes, not parenthetical (Author page); (2) the list is a Bibliography, not Works Cited; (3) publisher location is included; (4) CMOS 18 prefers repeating the author name; (5) Ibid. is unique to Chicago NB. See the master comparison table above.

In Author-Date, do I use a colon or comma before the page number?

Comma. CMOS 18th Author-Date uses (Author Year, page) — a comma separates the year from the page. Never use a colon in Chicago Author-Date in-text citations. This is a common error when switching from another style.

Can I use both footnotes and parenthetical citations?

No. Pick NB (footnotes + bibliography) or A-D (parenthetical + reference list). Mixing them is a fatal signal.

Verify the Style Rules Before Submission

Citation styles change, and universities often publish local variants. Use the official guidance below as a starting point, then follow the handbook, department guide, or journal instructions that govern your submission.

• Chicago Manual of Style: Citation Quick Guide

• Chicago Manual of Style: What’s New in the 18th Edition

Continue Through the Citation-Style Series

• MLA Literature Review Example

• Chicago History Literature Review Example

• APA 7 Literature Review Example

• Annotated Literature Review Example Hub

Use Acade for the Next Citation Task

Tell Acade whether your department requires Notes-Bibliography or Author-Date, then provide your verified sources and draft. Ask it to organize citations in that system and flag every entry that still requires checking against CMOS 18 and your department guide.

Acade can support citation formatting and reference organization, but it cannot guarantee that a generated entry is correct. You remain responsible for opening the original source, confirming the author, title, edition, date, pages, DOI or URL, and applying the rules required by your institution or publisher.

Format My Chicago Literature Review