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Notes or author-date
Chicago has two systems, and your instructor picks one. The generator does both: choose Chicago 18 (notes) or Chicago 18 (author-date) in the style menu.
- Notes and bibliographyA superscript number in your sentence and a footnote at the bottom of the page, plus a bibliography at the end. Most history and humanities classes use it.
- Author-dateA short citation in parentheses, (Walker 2017, 112), and a reference list at the end. Used in some sciences and social sciences.
For notes, the generator gives three things: the first footnote, written in full; the short note for every later citation of the same source; and the bibliography entry.
Real Chicago citations from the generator
First footnote, journal article
Shelley D. Hershner and Ronald D. Chervin, “Causes and Consequences of Sleepiness Among College Students,” Nature and Science of Sleep 6 (2014): 76, https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S62907.
Later footnotes
Hershner and Chervin, “Causes and Consequences,” 79.
Bibliography entry
Hershner, Shelley D., and Ronald D. Chervin. “Causes and Consequences of Sleepiness Among College Students.” Nature and Science of Sleep 6 (2014): 73–84. https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S62907.
First footnote, book
Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams (Scribner, 2017), 112.
Bibliography entry
Walker, Matthew. Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. Scribner, 2017.
The note gives the author’s name in normal order and separates parts with commas; the bibliography entry inverts the first author’s name and uses periods.
Footnotes in Chicago 18
- The note number goes at the end of the clause or sentence, after the punctuation, as a superscript.¹ Word and Google Docs both number notes for you with Insert footnote.
- Cite a source in full the first time. After that, use the short note: the author’s last name, a short title of up to four words, and the page.
- Chicago 18 prefers the short note to “ibid.” for a source cited twice in a row, so the generator never writes ibid.
- Type the page beside the first footnote and it goes into both the full note and the short one.
The Chicago footnotes guide covers notes in tables, notes that quote a source quoted elsewhere, and more.
The bibliography
The bibliography comes after the last page of text, titled Bibliography, single-spaced with a blank line between entries and a hanging indent, in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name. Copy all under the tool gives it in that order.
Some sources live in the notes only: Chicago 18 leaves social media posts, court cases, scripture and private messages out of the bibliography. The generator says so beside the note when your source is one of them. The bibliography guide has a finished example.
In the Format app, Chicago is part of Pro, and MLA and APA are free. This generator makes Chicago citations free for everyone.
Questions
Is this Chicago 17 or 18?
Chicago 18, the edition of The Chicago Manual of Style published in 2024. Turabian follows the same patterns for student papers.
Do I need a bibliography if I use footnotes?
Usually, yes; most instructors ask for one. Chicago allows a paper with full notes and no bibliography, so check your assignment.
What is the difference between the first note and the short note?
The first note gives everything a reader needs to find the source. Every later note to the same source gives only the last name, a short title and the page, because the reader has seen the rest.
Is the citation generator free?
Yes, every style, with no account and no limit on citations you type in. Looking up a link, DOI or ISBN is free too; a network that looks up a lot in a short time is asked for a quick human check.
Are the citations accurate?
The generator formats exactly what is in the form, by the rules of the style’s current manual, with the same code the Format app uses for every paper. A lookup is only as good as the record it reads, so check author names, the title’s capitals and the date against the source itself.