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Turabian Style Guide: Sample Papers in Turabian

• Turabian (& Chicago)
• Sample Papers in Turabian
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Sample Turabian Papers

• Turabian Style paper (Austin Peay State University) from Austin Peay State University, Academic Support Center
• "Turabian Tutor" (Tennessee Temple University) Tennessee Temple University, Turabian-style paper
• Intro to Chicago-Turabian Style (paper) (University of North Alabama) University of North Alabama, turabian-style paper
• Sample Turabian Bibliography from Carpenter Library, UNF

Turabian formatting in Word

Turabian title page in Word

Simple Formatting Guidelines

• Paper size - 8.5 inch x 11 inch
• 1 inch on all four edges of the page
• Typeface/Font size
• Easily read; preferably serifed, ex. Times New Roman
• 12-point is accepted size
• Spacing/Indentation  
• Double-space text with exceptions that are single-spaced:
• Block quotations
• Table elements, ex. titles and figure captions
• Appendices' lists
• Footnotes/endnotes are single-spaced but separated by a space between each item.
• Items in a bibliography/reference list are single-spaced but each item is separated by a space.
• Do not number the title page.
• Start arabic numbers (at 1) on first page of paper that is not considered front matter (front matter = title page).
• Place page numbers consistently in same location throughout paper: 
• Options for page numbers include: centered in footer OR right-hand of footer OR centered in header OR right-hand of header
•    Title Page elements
• Center all elements
• Use consistent typeface and font size
• font size can increase slightly for title elements
• preferred format is boldface for title
• Employ Headline Capitalization with All Elements  (first letter of each noun/pronoun is capitalized) ( definition of Headline Style Capitalization)
• Title is placed approx. 1/3 down the page. A subtitle follow the main title with a colon and starts on a new line.
• Two-thirds down the page, your name, any title page information provided by your professor, and the date should be included.
• Body of Paper (Text)
• Includes 
• Introduction
• Quotations, including block quotations, should follow Turabian's standard formatting rules.
• Text Formatting
• Be consistent throughout body of paper with typeface, font size, and other formatting elements.
• Make sure text is aligned left.
• Do not add color in the text (hyperlinked text will automatically become blue; this is unavoidable).
• Block quotations should be set apart by blank space above and below and, internally, should be single-spaced. 
• Back Matter elements
• Notes (endnotes section) ( http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocChicago_Notes_Formatting.html )
• Bibliography OR References OR Works Cited (your choice as to heading)
• Center page titles
• Font size can increase slightly for title elements.
• Preferred format is  boldface  for  title
• Leave two blank spaces between heading and first endnote/work referenced.
• Notes section
• Use standard paragraph indentations for each endnote.
• Single-space each endnote and separate each by a blank space.
• Use standard-size numbers with periods to enumerate your endnote list.
• Bibliography/References/Works Cited section
• Use hanging indentations for works referenced (first line is not indented; second and remaining lines are indented standard tab of five spaces)
• This section is typically arranged alphabetically by author, then alphabetically by title if you list multiple works by one author. 

All information comes from 

Turabian, Kate L.  A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations :  Chicago Style for Students & Researchers . 8th ed. Chicago:    University of Chicago Press, 2013. 

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Turabian Style

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Format Your Paper

• Shortened Notes

Turabian Paper Examples

• Turabian Paper Example
• Turabian Annotated Bibliography Example
• Chicago Paper Example (Purdue Owl)

Formatting Guidelines

Margins (a.1.1).

• Paper size - 8 1/2 x 11 inches
• 1 inch at top, bottom, and both sides

Font (A.1.2)

• Use easy to read font, such as Times New Roman
• 12-point font size

Spacing and Indentation (A.1.3)

• Block quotations
• Table elements (titles and captions)
• Lists in appendixes
• Footnotes/endnotes and bibliography lists are single-spaced but with a blank line between items.

Pagination  (A.1.4)

• Do not number the title page
• Page numbers start on the first page of the text using arabic numbers
• Can be placed in the center or right side of top or bottom of the paper

Title Page (A.1.5)

• Center all elements on the page
• Font size can increase slightly for the title.
• Preferred format is  boldface  for  title          
• Title placed approximately 1/3 down page.
• Two-thirds down page place name, class title, and date

Text  (A.2.2)

• Align the text to the left with a 1/2-inch left indent
• Double-space
• Include sections:  introduction, chapters/sections , and conclusion
• Spell out long organization names and add the abbreviation in parenthesis, then just use the abbreviation
• Write out numbers up to nine and use a number for 10 or more
• Use a number for units of measurement, in tables, to represent statistical or math functions, and dates or times
• Capitalize major words in the titles of books and articles

Bibliography  (A.2.3.5)

Begins on a new page following the text of your paper and includes complete citations for the resources you've used in your writing.

• Center "Bibliography" at the top of the new page, leaving two spaces between title and first entry
• Single-space and use hanging indents (where the first line is on the left margin and the following lines are indented a half inch from the left)
• List authors' last name first followed by the first and middle initials (ex. Skinner, B.F.) t
• Alphabetize the list by the first author's last name of of each citation, hen alphabetically by title if you list multiple works by one author. 
• Add full-sentence annotations on a new line indented from the left margin.
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Turabian Style Guide With Examples

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Turabian Style was developed especially for students by Kate Turabian, the dissertation secretary at the University of Chicago, and based on the  Chicago style  of writing. Turabian Style is used mainly for history papers, but it is sometimes used in other disciplines.

Chicago style is a standard used for formatting scholarly books. Turabian knew that most students are concerned with writing papers, so she narrowed the focus and refined the rules specifically for paper writing. Turabian style omits some of the information that is relevant for publishing, but it also departs from Chicago Style in a few other ways.

Turabian style allows writers to choose from two systems of citing information:

• The notes and bibliography method allows students will use footnotes or endnotes in the text and a bibliography at the end of the paper.
• The parenthetical method lets writers use in-text citations (similar to those used in  MLA style ). Those papers would also include a reference list of works cited at the end.

Differences From MLA

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Generally, the feature that sets Turabian Style apart from MLA is the use of endnotes or footnotes, so this is most likely the style that most instructors will expect to see in your paper. If a teacher instructs you to use Turabian style and does not specify which citation system to use, use the notes and bibliography style.

Endnotes and Footnotes

As you write your paper, you will want to use quotations from a book or other source. You must always provide a citation for a quote to show its origin. Also, you must provide a citation for any information that is not  common knowledge . 

Whether something is common knowledge is not always clear, so the best idea is to provide a citation for important facts that you bring up if you have any doubt. An example of common knowledge would be: Some chickens lay brown eggs. By contrast, an example of a fact that is not common knowledge would be: Some chickens lay blue and green eggs. You would need to include a citation for this second statement.

You may also use a footnote/endnote to clarify a passage that may confuse some readers. For instance, you may mention in your paper that the story of "Frankenstein" was written during a friendly writing game among friends. Many readers may know this, but others may want an explanation.

Inserting a Footnote

To insert a footnote in Turabian style:

• Make sure your cursor is placed in the exact spot where you want your note (number) to appear.
• In most word processing programs, go to the "Reference" tab to find footnote options.
• Click either "Footnotes" or "Endnotes" (whichever you want to use in your paper).
• Once you select either footnote or endnote, the superscript (number) will appear on the page. Your cursor will jump to the bottom (or end) of the page and you will have the opportunity to type the citation or other information. 
• When you finish typing the note, scroll back to your text and continue writing your paper.

Formatting and numbering of the notes are automatic in word processors, so you don’t have to worry about spacing and placement. The software will also automatically renumber your notes if you delete one or you decide to insert one at a later time.​

Citation for a Book

In Turabian citations, always italicize or underline the name of a book and put the title of an article in quotation marks. The citations follow the style shown ​here.

Citation for a Book With Two Authors

Follow this style guide if the book has two authors.

Citation for an Edited Book With Stories Inside

An edited book may contain many articles or stories written by different authors.

Article Citation

Notice how the author's name changes from the footnote to the bibliography.

Encyclopedia

You should list a citation for an encyclopedia in the footnote, but you don't need to include it in your bibliography.

• Formatting Papers in Chicago Style
• What Is a Bibliography?
• What Is a Senior Thesis?
• What Is a Citation?
• Tips for Typing an Academic Paper on a Computer
• What Is a Style Guide and Which One Do You Need?
• What Are Endnotes, Why Are They Needed, and How Are They Used?
• How to Organize Research Notes
• Writing a History Book Review
• MLA Style Parenthetical Citations
• What's the Preferred Way to Write the Abbreviation for United States?
• MLA Bibliography or Works Cited
• Definition of Appendix in a Book or Written Work
• MLA Sample Pages
• Title Page Examples and Formats
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Turabian Writing Guide: Formatting

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Writing Center Help

The Liberty University Writing Center is available to provide writing coaching to students. Residential students should contact the  On-Campus Writing Center  for assistance. Online students should contact the  Online Writing Center  for assistance.

Sample Papers

The Writing Center has a sample paper available here and has also made templates available depending on the length of the paper:

• Turabian Template for papers with no headings . These are typically undergraduate papers with less than ten pages in the body.
• Turabian Template for papers requiring headings . These are typically graduate or doctoral papers with more than ten pages in the body. See page 9 of the Sample Paper for specific instructions for setting the paper's headings.

General Formatting

• The paper should use Times New Roman, 12 point font. Footnotes use Times New Roman, 10 point font
• 1" margins all around
• For bound theses or dissertations (rare), include a 1.5" left margin

Spacing and Indentation

• The body of the paper should be double-spaced.
• Quotes should be blocked if the citations are five or more lines.
• Footnotes should be single-spaced, but add a blank line between individual footnotes.

Footnotes and Bibliography

• Indent Footnotes on the first line
• In Word, use “Insert Footnote” under the “References” ribbon (not “Insert Citation”). This will insert a superscripted number in the body text and the footnote below. The Turabian manual shows footnote numbers that are not superscripted and are followed by a period, but Liberty University programs require superscripted numbers with no periods, which is the Word default.
• To renumber footnotes, add section breaks between chapters.
• Use hanging indents for bibliography citations.
• The bibliography is single-spaced, with a blank line between entries.

Page Numbers

• In general, page numbers in Turabian Style should begin after the title page and any front matter; they should continue through the rest of the paper.  To format your page numbering properly, you would need to add section breaks after the front matter.  You can find a guide to adding page numbers to your paper in Word  here .

The paper’s body, bibliography, and appendices display Arabic numerals (i.e., 1, 2, 3) placed flush-right in the header, beginning with page 1 on the first page of the body of the paper. 

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Chicago Style

Chicago/Turabian Style Guide

Need Chicago or Turabian style for a paper you are writing? This guide has everything you need to know about Chicago style according to the latest standards.

This page follows the 17th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) and the 9th edition of the Turabian guide ( A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations ), though this guide is not officially connected with either.

Here’s a run-through of everything this page includes:

Here’s what you’ll find on this page:

What is chicago style what is turabian, paper formatting guidelines, citing your sources, notes and bibliography style, author-date style, formatting your bibliography or reference list, other chicago guides.

• Introduction to the Chicago and Turabian styles
• Paper formatting guidelines
• When and what you need to cite when writing a paper
• Notes and bibliography style
• Author-date style
• Bibliography and reference list formatting tips

You may have heard the terms “Chicago” and “Turabian” used interchangeably and wondered what the difference is. Simply put, they are just about the same.

Turabian is a simpler version of Chicago style meant for students who are writing materials that will not be published. Since the CMOS is meant for material that is intended for publication, it’s often used by scholars, publishers, and other professional academics. The Turabian guide is shorter and includes information on formatting rules, the basics of researching and writing academic papers, and citation style. Despite these differences, these two books work in tandem; both are considered to be official Chicago style.

Since Chicago style is typically used for manuscripts that will be published, The Chicago Manual of Style does not offer many guidelines for paper formatting. This is because publishers each have their own house styles and authors must follow these exactly. There are a few areas where guidance is offered.

• Manuscripts : Generally, manuscripts should be double-spaced (CMOS 2.8). Exceptions are block quotations, table titles, and lists in appendixes, which should be single-spaced, and certain front matter (e.g., table of contents), footnotes or endnotes, and bibliographies and reference lists, which should be single-spaced internally but have a blank line between each separate item (Turabian A.1.3).
• Spaces at the end of sentences and after colons : Chicago recommends one space (CMOS 2.9; Turabian A.1.3).
• Margins : Margins should be at least one inch on all four sides (CMOS 2.10). Certain forms of writing like dissertations or theses may require a larger margin on the left side to allow room for binding, but each institution will have different requirements (Turabian A.1.1).
• Justification : Text should be justified to the left (CMOS 2.10).
• Font : Turabian recommends using a font that is both readable and readily available to most people such as Times New Roman or Arial. Times New Roman font size should be no smaller than 12-point and Arial no smaller than 10-point. Footnotes and endnotes may require different sizing and you should refer to your instructor’s guidelines (Turabian A.1.2).
• Pagination : Pagination of the body of the paper and back matter should use arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.). Front matter like the title page and table of contents should use lowercase roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.). For the placement of page numbers, the general rule is to adhere to local guidelines and be consistent. (Turabian A.1.4)

For more specific formatting guidelines, you can take a look at the appendix “Paper Format and Submission” in the Turabian manual.

Chicago style has two citation styles to let readers know that you used information from somewhere else and to show them where to find it.

• notes and bibliography style
• author-date style.

Though different, each style allows you to tell your readers how you found your information. If you’re wondering how these two styles differ from parenthetical citations, this guide on footnotes, end notes, and parentheticals contains more details on each method.

The 2 styles

The first style is the notes and bibliography style . This style uses footnotes or endnotes to point readers to the original source of the information. This style also often provides a bibliography at the end that readers consult, but this is not always necessary if sources are cited in full in your text.

The second style is called author-date style . This style uses parenthetical in-text citation to let readers know to look at the reference list at the end to find the full citation for the information you have used.

Here’s a chart to compare these two citation styles:

You must cite your source in any of the following situations:

• If you quote a source exactly
• If you reword ideas from a source
• If you use any material (e.g., statistics, data, methodology) from a source you read while writing

When citing your sources, you usually need a few key pieces of information:

• Who created the source? This might be an author, editor, translator, or corporate body.
• How can you identify the source? This information will likely include a title, page numbers, volume or issue numbers, and edition.
• What is the publication information? This might include the name of the publishing company, the year of publication, and the name of the journal or book the information is in.
• Where can others find the source? This is important for online sources and singular material like that found in rare book collections or archives. For online material, you’ll want to record a URL or database name if possible. For rare book or archival material, you’ll need the name of the place you found it and the collection name.

Why citing your sources is important Telling your readers where you found your information is a very important part of the writing process. It gives credit to the hard work others have done . It also lets readers know that your information is reliable—they don’t just have to take it from you; they can go see what other researchers have written about the topic.

Citing your sources also helps readers to understand the context of your project . You can show that you understand the work that has already been done and where your own research fits in.

Finally, your readers might want to build on your research. Citing helps them to know where you found your information when readers do their own research. They might even cite you if you formally published your work. You can read more about how to integrate the research of others into your paper in Chapter 7 of the Turabian manual or Chapter 13 in the CMOS.

This style uses superscript numbers at the ends of sentences. These numbers alert readers that the sentence contains information from another source. Each superscript number refers to a note.

The notes are located at the bottom of the page (footnotes) or at the end of the paper, chapter, or book (endnotes).

• Footnotes make it very easy for readers to find your source, but they can interrupt the document flow.
• Endnotes tend to reduce distraction on the page, but then the reader must flip pages to find the source you cite.

Unless your instructor has told you otherwise, the choice between footnotes and endnotes is up to you. You just need to be consistent and stick to one style or the other.

Updates to “Ibid” It’s important to note that previous editions of the CMOS encouraged the use of “ibid” when the same source was cited multiple times in a row. “Ibid” is a Latin word meaning “in the same place.”

The 17th edition of the CMOS, however, overturns this recommendation because the use of “ibid” can be confusing for readers and authors can easily cite to the wrong source if they are not careful.

The current recommendation of the CMOS is to always use the shortened form of the citation. If you refer to the same work multiple times in a row, you may leave out the shortened title and just list the author’s last name and the page number to which you are citing (See CMOS 14.34 for more information.).

Full Bibliography If you are including a full bibliography, you might choose only to use shortened citation forms in your footnotes or endnotes. You may also use the shortened structure that omits the title for sources that you cite several times in a row.

Keep in mind that if you cite a different source, you need to use the full shortened structure the next time you cite from a source you have used before. Here’s an example:

• Robisheaux, Langenburg , 58
• Robisheaux, 59.
• Robisheaux, 70.
• Cyrus, Scribes , 80.
• Robisheaux, Langenburg , 95.

Citation Examples Here are a few examples of citation structures in the notes and bibliography style. For more examples and information on this style, check out the EasyBib Chicago footnotes guide.

Journal article:

Newspaper or magazine article:

This style uses parenthetical in-text citations and a reference list to guide readers to the sources you cite. The in-text citation generally includes the:

• Author’s last name
• Year of publication
• Page numbers referenced

Using the parenthetical citation, the reader can then look at the reference list and find full information for the source.The reference list for this style is usually titled “References” or “Works Cited” and is organized in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. The parenthetical in-text citation always comes at the end of a sentence, and is placed before the final punctuation.

In-text citation example Nicholson’s study reveals a great deal about the general practices of ARL institutions in regard to the technical processing of these personal libraries. About half of the institutions kept the personal libraries shelved together and half used a Library of Congress classification scheme (Nicholson 2010, 114-115).

In the reference list, the citation would appear as follows:

Nicholson, Joseph R. 2010. “Making Personal Libraries More Public: A Study of the Technical Processing of Personal Libraries in ARL Institutions.” RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage 11, no. 2 (Fall): 106-133.

Additional Examples Here are more examples of parenthetical in-text citations and their full citations as they would appear in the reference list. There are even more guides linked at the bottom of this page.

Social media:

In-text citation examples

When building in-text citations, you might come across more complicated citations. This chart shows some of the most common citation types you will come across and how to build in-text citations for them.

Bibliographies and reference lists are located at the end of your paper. You should include every source you cite in your bibliography or reference list.

Here are a few guidelines to follow:

• Center your title (either “Bibliography” or “Reference List”) at the top of the page.
• Organize entries alphabetically by the last name of the author (or title if no author is known).
• Each entry should be single-spaced with a blank line between entries.
• Each entry should also have a half-inch hanging indent.

3-em dashes

While sometimes 3-em dashes are used in bibliographies and reference lists in repeated list entries under the same author, the 17th edition of CMOS actually recommends that authors not do this in citation lists (CMOS 14.67 and 15.17).

Using 3-em dashes can cause a number of problems and it is best to just use the author’s name each time, especially if submitting your work for formal publication.

If your editor or publisher wants to use the 3-em dash, they will insert them where necessary. You can also check with your teacher and see what they want you to do.

For more guidelines for formatting bibliographies and reference lists, see CMOS 14 and 15 and Chapters 16 and 18 in the Turabian guide.

Citation Basics

• Fundamentals of Chicago Citation
• How to Cite a Book
• How to Cite a Chapter
• How to Cite an E-book
• How to Cite the Bible

Periodicals

• How to Cite a Journal
• How to Cite a Newspaper
• How to Cite a Magazine

Online Content

• How to Cite a Blog
• How to Cite a Website
• How to Cite a Tweet
• How to Cite a Video on YouTube

Audio / Video / Photo / Art

• How to Cite a Film
• How to Cite a Musical Recording
• How to Cite a Painting
• How to Cite a Podcast
• How to Cite a Photo
• How to Cite Sheet Music
• How to Cite a TV/Radio Broadcast

Academic Sources

• How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation
• How to Cite a Conference Paper
• How to Cite a Lecture

Other Source Types

• How to Cite a Report
• How to Cite Interview
• How to Cite a Mobile App

Reference Materials

• How to Cite an Encyclopedia
• How to Cite a Dictionary

Bibliography:

The Chicago Manual of Style , 17th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017. https://doi.org/10.7208/cmos17.

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations , 9th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018.

Published October 31, 2011. Updated April 9, 2020.

Written by Janice Hansen . Janice has a doctorate in literature and a master’s degree in library science. She spends a lot of time with rare books and citations.

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Chicago/Turabian Style Citation Examples

Chicago vs. turabian, what's in this guide, turabian style manual, citation faq, guide/sample papers, author-date format.

Books/eBooks

• Letters & Pamphlets
• Gov't/legal

Social Media

One Source Quoted in Another

• Ask a Librarian
• Author-Date style

Chicago and Turabian are nearly identical citation styles - the key difference being that Turabian is a somewhat simplified version of Chicago style, and intended for students writing research papers. The Chicago Manual of Style is designed for professionals who are publishing work and thus goes into much greater detail on formatting.

Check with your professord, but usually the citation guidelines in this Turabian guide will also apply to Chicago style.

• journal, magazine and newspaper articles
• print and online books/book chapters
• online and print

Web pages

• entire websites, single web pages

Gov't/Legal

• cases, laws, government documents.
• Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
• images, music, video
• online, book, webpage
• Organizational author, no author, oral histories/interviews, class lectures,  formatting subsequent (shortened) notes

Ask a Librarian  

• Ask for research help at the Library Services Desk, using chat, email, phone
• Email any one of the librarians for a research appointment tailored to your paper/project
• Citation FAQ Find answers to commonly asked questions regarding APA, CSE, MLA, and Turabian styles.
• Turabian Quick Guide
• Chicago Style, notes-bibliography sample paper Credit: Purdue OWL
• Turabian Style Guide: Sample Paper in Turabian

Turabian Style, first created for students by Kate Larimore Turabian , is a simplified version of the Chicago Manual of Style. 

B.D. Owens Library supports Notes-Bibliography style for Turabian, however, a short guide for Author-Date style can be found here:

• Author-Date Sample Citations
• Chicago Style, author-date sample paper Credit: Purdue OWL

The formatting and citation examples in this guide are based upon rules and examples in A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers, 9th edition by Kate Turabian. If you would like additions or would like to report a correction to this guide, please contact Becky Meneely . 

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

General Format

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Since The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is primarily intended as a style guide for published works rather than class papers, these guidelines will be supplemented with information from, Kate L. Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (8th ed.), which is largely based on CMOS with some slight alterations.

To see a side-by-side comparison of the three most widely used citation styles, including a chart of all CMOS citation guidelines, see the Citation Style Chart.

Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in CMOS.

A Note on Citations

Unlike many citation styles, CMOS gives writers two different methods for documenting sources: the Author-Date System and the Notes-Bibliography (NB) System.  As its name suggests, Author-Date uses parenthetical citations in the text to reference the source's author's last name and the year of publication. Each parenthetical citation corresponds to an entry on a References page that concludes the document. In these regards, Author-Date is very similar to, for instance, APA style.

By contrast, NB uses numbered footnotes in the text to direct the reader to a shortened citation at the bottom of the page. This corresponds to a fuller citation on a Bibliography page that concludes the document. Though the general principles of citation are the same here, the citations themselves are formatted differently from the way they appear in Author-Date.

If you are using CMOS for school or work, don't forget to ensure that you're using your organization's preferred citation method. For examples of these two different styles in action, see our CMOS sample papers:

Author-Date Sample Paper

NB Sample Paper

General CMOS Guidelines

• Text should be consistently double-spaced, except for block quotations, notes, bibliography entries, table titles, and figure captions.
• A prose quotation of five or more lines, or more than 100 words, should be blocked.
• CMOS recommends blocking two or more lines of poetry.
• A blocked quotation does not get enclosed in quotation marks.
• A blocked quotation must always begin a new line.
• Blocked quotations should be indented with the word processor’s indention tool.
• Page numbers begin in the header of the first page of text with Arabic number 1.
• For CMOS and Turabian’s recommendations, see “Headings,” below.

Supplemental Turabian Style Guidelines

• Margins should be set at no less than 1”.
• Typeface should be something readable, such as Times New Roman or Courier.
• Font size should be no less than 10 pt. (preferably, 12 pt.).

Major Paper Sections

• The title should be centered a third of the way down the page.
• Your name, class information, and the date should follow several lines later.
• For subtitles, end the title line with a colon and place the subtitle on the line below the title.
• Double-space each line of the title page.

CMOS Title Page

• Different practices apply for theses and dissertations (see Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, ad Dissertations [8 th ed.].
• Titles mentioned in the text, notes, or bibliography are capitalized “headline-style,” meaning first words of titles and subtitles and any important words thereafter should be capitalized.
• Book and periodical titles (titles of larger works) should be italicized.
• Article and chapter titles (titles of shorter works) should be enclosed in double quotation marks.
• The titles of most poems should be enclosed in double quotation marks, but the titles of very long poems should be italicized.
• Titles of plays should be italicized.
• For example, use lowercase terms to describe periods, except in the case of proper nouns (e.g., “the colonial period,” vs. “the Victorian era”).
• A prose quotation of five or more lines should be “blocked.” The block quotation should match the surrounding text, and it takes no quotation marks. To offset the block quote from surrounding text, indent the entire quotation using the word processor’s indentation tool. It is also possible to offset the block quotation by using a different or smaller font than the surrounding text.
• Label the first page of your back matter, your comprehensive list of sources, “Bibliography” (for Notes and Bibliography style) or “References” (for Author-Date style).
• Leave two blank lines between “Bibliography” or “References” and your first entry.
• Leave one blank line between remaining entries.
• List entries in letter-by-letter alphabetical order according to the first word in each entry, be that the author's name or the title of the piece..
• For two to three authors, write out all names.
• For four to ten authors, write out all names in the bibliography but only the first author’s name plus “et al.” in notes and parenthetical citations.
• When a source has no identifiable author, cite it by its title, both on the references page and in shortened form (up to four keywords from that title) in parenthetical citations throughout the text.
• Write out publishers’ names in full.
• Do not use access dates unless publication dates are unavailable.
• If you cannot ascertain the publication date of a printed work, use the abbreviation “n.d.”
• Provide DOIs instead of URLs whenever possible.
• If no DOI is available, provide a URL.
• If you cannot name a specific page number when called for, you have other options: section (sec.), equation (eq.), volume (vol.), or note (n.).

CMOS Bibliography Page

• Note numbers should begin with “1” and follow consecutively throughout a given paper.
• Note numbers are superscripted.
• Note numbers should be placed at the end of the clause or sentence to which they refer and should be placed after all punctuation, except for the dash.
• Note numbers are full-sized, not raised, and followed by a period (superscripting note numbers in the notes themselves is also acceptable).
• In parenthetical citation, separate documentation from brief commentary with a semicolon.
• Do not repeat the hundreds digit in a page range if it does not change from the beginning to the end of the range.

For more information on footnotes, please see CMOS NB Sample Paper .

While  The Chicago Manual of Style does not include a prescribed system for formatting headings and subheads, it makes several recommendations.

• Maintain consistency and parallel structure in headings and subheads.
• Use headline-style for purposes of capitalization.
• Subheadings should begin on a new line.
• Subheadings can be distinguished by font-size.
• Ensure that each level of hierarchy is clear and consistent.
• Levels of subheads can be differentiated by type style, use of boldface or italics, and placement on the page, usually either centered or flush left.
• Use no more than three levels of hierarchy.
• Avoid ending subheadings with periods.

Turabian has an optional system of five heading levels.

Turabian Subheading Plan

Here is an example of the five-level heading system:

CMOS Headings

Tables and Figures

• Position tables and figures as soon as possible after they are first referenced. If necessary, present them after the paragraph in which they are described.
• For figures, include a caption, or short explanation of the figure or illustration, directly after the figure number.
• Cite a source as you would for parenthetical citation, and include full information in an entry on your Bibliography or References page.
• Acknowledge reproduced or adapted sources appropriately (i.e., photo by; data adapted from; map by...).
• If a table includes data not acquired by the author of the text, include an unnumbered footnote. Introduce the note by the word Source(s) followed by a colon, then include the full source information, and end the note with a period.

How to Cite the Purdue OWL in CMOS

On the new OWL site, contributors’ names and the last edited date are no longer listed at the top of every page. This means that most citations will now begin with the title of the resource, rather than the contributors' names.

Footnote or Endnote (N):

Corresponding Bibliographical Entry (B):

“Title of Resource.” List the OWL as Publishing Organization/Web Site Name . http://Web address for OWL resource.

“General Format.” The Purdue OWL. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/02/.

Author Date In-text Citation:

("General Format" 2017).

Author Date References Page Citation:

Year of Publication. “Title of Resource.” List the OWL as Publishing Organization/Web Site Name . http://Web address for OWL resource.

2017. “General Format.” The Purdue OWL . https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/02.

Turabian Footnote/Endnote Style

Table of Contents: Books E-books Journal Articles (Print) Journal Articles (Online) Magazine Articles (Print) Magazine Articles (Online) Newspaper Articles Review Articles Websites For More Help

The examples in this guide are meant to introduce you to the basics of citing sources using Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (seventh edition) .  Kate Turabian created her first "manual" in 1937 as a means of simplifying for students The Chicago Manual of Style ; the seventh edition of Turabian is based on the 15th edition of the Chicago Manual . For types of resources not covered in this guide (e.g., government documents, manuscript collections, video recordings) and for further detail and examples, please consult the websites listed at the end of this guide, the handbook itself or a reference librarian .

Whenever you refer to or use another's words, facts or ideas in your paper, you are required to cite the source. Traditionally, disciplines in the humanities (art, history, music, religion, theology) require the use of bibliographic footnotes or endnotes in conjunction with a bibliography to cite sources used in research papers and dissertations. For the parenthetical reference (author-date) system (commonly used in the sciences and social sciences), please refer to the separate guide Turabian Parenthetical/Reference List Style . It is best to consult with your professor to determine the preferred citation style.

Indicate notes in the text of your paper by using consecutive superscript numbers (as demonstrated below). The actual note is indented and can occur either as a footnote at the bottom of the page or as an endnote at the end of the paper. To create notes, type the note number followed by a period on the same line as the note itself. This method should always be used for endnotes; it is the preferred method for footnotes. However, superscript numbers are acceptable for footnotes, and many word processing programs can generate footnotes with superscript numbers for you.

When citing books, the following are elements you may need to include in your bibliographic citation for your first footnote or endnote and in your bibliography, in this order:

1. Author or editor; 2. Title; 3. Compiler, translator or editor (if an editor is listed in addition to an author); 4. Edition; 5. Name of series, including volume or number used; 6. Place of publication, publisher and date of publication; 7. Page numbers of citation (for footnote or endnote).

Books with One Author or Corporate Author

Author: Charles Hullmandel experimented with lithographic techniques throughout the early nineteenth century, patenting the "lithotint" process in 1840. 1

Editor: Human beings are the sources of "all international politics"; even though the holders of political power may change, this remains the same. 1

Corporate Author: Children of Central and Eastern Europe have not escaped the nutritional ramifications of iron deficiency, a worldwide problem. 1

First footnote:

1 Michael Twyman, Lithography 1800-1850 (London: Oxford University Press, 1970), 145-146.

1 Valerie M. Hudson, ed., Culture and Foreign Policy (Boulder: L. Rienner Publishers, 1997), 5.

1 UNICEF, Generation in Jeopardy: Children in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union , edited by Alexander Zouev (Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1999), 44.

Note the different treatment of an editor's name depending on whether the editor takes the place of an author (second example) or is listed in addition to the author (third example). 

Subsequent footnotes:

       Method A: Include the author or editor's last name, the title (or an abbreviated title) and the page number cited.

2 Twyman, Lithography 1800-1850, 50.

2 Hudson, ed., Culture and Foreign Policy, 10.

2 UNICEF, Generation in Jeopardy, 48.

       Method B: Include only the author or editor's last name and the page number, leaving out the title.  

2 Twyman, 50.

2 Hudson, ed., 10.

2 UNICEF, 48.

Use Method A if you need to cite more than one reference by the same author.

1. Michael Twyman, Lithography 1800-1850  (London: Oxford University Press, 1970), 145-146.

Ibid., short for ibidem, means "in the same place."  Use ibid. if you cite the same page of the same work in succession without a different reference intervening.  If you need to cite a different page of the same work, include the page number.  For example:   2 Ibid., 50.

Bibliography:

Hudson, Valerie, N., ed. Culture and Foreign Policy . Boulder: L. Rienner Publishers, 1997.

Twyman, Michael. Lithography 1800-1850 . London: Oxford University Press, 1970.

UNICEF.  Generation in Jeopardy: Children in Central and Eastern Europe and the             Former Soviet Union . Edited by Alexander Zouev. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1999.

Books with Two or More Authors or Editors

1 Russell Keat and John Urry, Social Theory as Science, 2d ed. (London: Routledge and K. Paul, 1982), 196.

1 Toyoma Hitomi, "The Era of Dandy Beauties," in Queer Voices from Japan: First-Person Narratives from Japan's Sexual Minorities,  eds. Mark J. McLelland, Katsuhiko Suganuma, and James Welker ( Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2007), 157.

For references with more than three authors, cite the first named author followed by "et al." Cite all the authors in the bibliography.

1 Leonard B. Meyer, et al., The Concept of Style , ed. Berel Lang (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1979), 56.

2 Keat and Urry, Social Theory as Science , 200.

2 Meyer, et al., The Concept of Style , 90.

Keat, Russell, and John Urry. Social Theory as Science , 2d. ed. London: Routledge and K. Paul, 1982.

Hitomi, Toyoma. "The Era of Dandy Beauties." In Queer Voices from Japan: First-Person Narratives from Japan's Sexual Minorities,  edited by Mark J. McLelland, Katsuhiko Suganuma, and James Welker, 153-165.   Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2007.

Meyer, Leonard B., Kendall Walton, Albert Hofstadter, Svetlana Alpers, George Kubler, Richard Wolheim, Monroe Beardsley, Seymour Chatman, Ann Banfield, and Hayden White. The Concept of Style . Edited by Berel Lang.  Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1979.  

Electronic Books

Follow the guidelines for print books, above, but include the collection (if there is one), URL and the date you accessed the material.

1 John Rae, Statement of Some New Principles on the Subject of Political Economy (Boston: Hillard, Gray and Company, 1834), in The Making of the Modern World,   http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/MOME?af=RN&ae=U104874605&srchtp=a&ste=14  (accessed June 22, 2009).  

2 Rae, Statement of Some New Principles on the Subject of Political Economy .

Rae, John.  Statement of Some New Principles on the Subject of Political Economy. Boston: Hillard, Gray and Company, 1834. In The Making of the Modern World,   http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/MOME?af=RN&ae=U104874605&srchtp=a&ste=14  (accessed June 22, 2009).  

PERIODICAL ARTICLES

For periodical (magazine, journal, newspaper, etc.) articles, include some or all of the following elements in your first footnote or endnote and in your bibliography, in this order:

1. Author; 2. Article title; 3. Periodical title; 4. Volume or Issue number (or both); 5. Publication date; 6. Page numbers.

For online periodicals   , add: 7. URL and date of access; or 8. Database name, URL and date of access. (If available, include database publisher and city of publication.)

For an article available in more than one format (print, online, etc.), cite whichever version you used.

Journal Articles (Print)

1 Lawrence Freedman, "The Changing Roles of Military Conflict," Survival 40, no. 4 (1998): 52.

Here you are citing page 52.  In the bibliography (see below) you would include the full page range: 39-56.

If a journal has continuous pagination within a volume, you do not need to include the issue number:

1 John T. Kirby, "Aristotle on Metaphor," American Journal of Philology 118 (1997): 520.

Subsequent footnotes :

2 Freedman, "The Changing Roles of Military Conflict," 49.   

2 Kirby, "Aristotle on Metaphor," 545.

Freedman, Lawrence. "The Changing Roles of Military Conflict."   Survival 40, no. 4 (1998): 39-56.

Kirby, John T. "Aristotle on Metaphor."  American Journal of Philology 118 (1997): 517-554.  

Journal Articles (Online)

Cite as above, but include the URL and the date of access of the article.

On the Free Web

1 Molly Shea, "Hacking Nostalgia: Super Mario Clouds," Gnovis 9, no. 2 (Spring 2009), http://gnovisjournal.org/journal/hacking-nostalgia-super-mario-clouds  (accessed June 25, 2009).

Through a Subscription Database

1 John T. Kirby, "Aristotle on Metaphor," American Journal of Philology 118, no. 4 (Winter 1997): 524, http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/american_journal_of_philology/v118/118.4.kirby.html  (accessed June 25, 2009).

1 Michael Moon, et al., "Queers in (Single-Family) Space," Assemblage 24 (August 1994): 32, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3171189  (accessed June 25, 2009).

Subsequent Footnotes:

2 Shea, "Hacking Nostalgia."

2 Kirby, "Aristotle on Metaphor," 527. 

2 Moon, "Queers in (Single-Family) Space," 34. 

Shea, Molly. "Hacking Nostalgia: Super Mario Clouds," Gnovis 9, no. 2 (Spring 2009), http://gnovisjournal.org/journal/hacking-nostalgia-super-mario-clouds  (accessed June 25, 2009).

Kirby, John T. "Aristotle on Metaphor," American Journal of Philology 118, no. 4 (Winter 1997): 524, http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/american_journal_of_philology/v118/118.4.kirby.html  (accessed June 25, 2009).

Moon, Michael, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Benjamin Gianni, and Scott Weir. "Queers in (Single-Family) Space." Assemblage 24 (August 1994): 30-7, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3171189  (accessed June 25, 2009).

Magazine Articles (Print)

Monthly or Bimonthly

           1 Paul Goldberger, "Machines for Living: The Architectonic Allure of the Automobile," Architectural Digest, October 1996, 82.

1 Steven Levy and Brad Stone, "Silicon Valley Reboots," Newsweek , March 25, 2002, 45.

          2 Goldberger, "Machines for Living," 82.

          2 Levy and Stone, "Silicon Valley Reboots," 46.

Goldberger, Paul.  "Machines for Living: The Architectonic Allure of the Automobile." Architectural Digest, October 1996.

Levy, Steven, and Brad Stone. "Silicon Valley Reboots." Newsweek , March 25, 2002.

Magazine Articles (Online)

Follow the guidelines for print magazine articles, adding the URL and date accessed.

1 Bill Wyman, "Tony Soprano's Female Trouble," Salon.com, May 19, 2001, http://www.salon.com/2001/05/19/sopranos_final/ (accessed February 13, 2017).

1 Sasha Frere-Jones, "Hip-Hop President." New Yorker , November 24, 2008, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=35324426&site=ehost-live (accessed June 26, 2009).

Wyman, Bill. "Tony Soprano's Female Trouble." Salon.com, May 19, 2001, http://www.salon.com/2001/05/19/sopranos_final/ (accessed February 13, 2017).

Frere-Jones, Sasha. "Hip-Hop President." New Yorker , November 24, 2008. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=35324426&site=ehost-live (accessed June 26, 2009).

Newspaper Articles

In most cases, you will cite newspaper articles only in notes, not in your bibliography. Follow the general pattern for citing magazine articles, although you may omit page numbers.

        1 Eric Pianin, "Use of Arsenic in Wood Products to End," Washington Post , February 13, 2002, final edition.

        1 Eric Pianin, "Use of Arsenic in Wood Products to End," Washington Post , February 13, 2002, final edition, in LexisNexis Academic (accessed June 27, 2009).

Note: In the example above, there was no stable URL for the article in LexisNexis, so the name of the database was given rather than a URL.

Review Articles

Follow the pattern below for review articles in any kind of periodical.

1 Alanna Nash, "Hit 'Em With a Lizard," review of Basket Case, by Carl Hiassen, New York Times , February 3, 2002, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=105338185&sid=2&Fmt=6&clientId=5604&RQT=309&VName=PQD (accessed June 26, 2009).  

1 David Denby, "Killing Joke," review of No Country for Old Men , directed by Ethan and Joel Coen,  New Yorker, February 25, 2008, 72-73, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=fah&AN=30033248&site=ehost-live (accessed June 26, 2009). 

Second footnote:

2 Nash, "Hit 'Em With a Lizard."

2 Denby, "Killing Joke."

In most cases, you will be citing something smaller than an entire website. If you are citing an article from a website, for example, follow the guidelines for articles above. You can usually refer to an entire website in running text without including it in your reference list, e.g.: "According to its website, the Financial Accounting Standards Board requires ...".

If you need to cite an entire website in your bibliography, include some or all of the following elements, in this order:

1. Author or editor of the website (if known) 2. Title of the website 3. URL 4. Date of access

Financial Accounting Standards Board .  http://www.fasb.org  (accessed April 29, 2009).

FOR MORE HELP

Following are links to sites that have additional information and further examples:

Turabian Quick Guide (University of Chicago Press)

Chicago Manual of Style Online

RefWorks Once you have created an account, go to Tools/Preview Output Style to see examples of Turabian style.

Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL) Excellent source for research, writing and citation tips.

Citing Sources Duke University's guide to citing sources. The site offers comparison citation tables with examples from APA , Chicago , MLA and Turabian for both print and electronic works.

How to Cite Electronic Sources From the Library of Congress. Provides MLA and Turabian examples of citing formats like films, photographs, maps and recorded sound that are accessed electronically.

Uncle Sam: Brief Guide to Citing Government Publications The examples in this excellent guide from the University of Memphis are based on the Chicago Manual of Style and Kate Turabian's Manual .

Citation Styles

• About This Guide
• In-Text Citations - Basics
• Reference List - Basics
• Examples of APA Style
• Works Cited - Basics
• Examples of MLA Style - Basics
• Notes-Bibliography System
• Author-Date System
• Turabian Style
• Examples of AMA Style
• Citing Generative AI Models
• More Citation Styles
• Academic Integrity & Plagiarism
• ASU Graduate Education

Using These Examples

The examples provided are the most commonly cited types of sources such as books, articles in journals, magazines & newspapers, and miscellaneous sources including conferences, web pages, media & other electronic resources.

There are two forms of citations: the notes-bibliography style [used more in the humanities] and the parenthetical citations-reference list style [used in most of the social sciences].  The list of sources used in the bibliography style appears to look more akin to the MLA Style while sources in the reference style are more similar to APA Style. The examples in this LibGuide are the parenthetical citations-reference list style.

No Author or Editor - Reference Book : Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. 1993. 10th ed.  Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

Stot, Jon C. 1995.  Native Americans in children's literature . Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press.

Edited Book: Dunlap, Linda L, ed. 1997.  An introduction to early childhood special education.   Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Journals, Magazines and Newspapers

Magazine, No Author, from a Printed Source : Unsnarling the I-way traffic jams. 1998. Business Week , January 12.

Magazine from a Printed Source: Sachs, Andrew. 2010. The untold war: Inside the hearts, minds, and souls of our soldiers. Time, March 8.

Online Magazine Article:

Bower, Brandon. 2008. Dawn of the city: Excavations prompt a revolution in thinking about the earliest cities. Science News, Feb. 9. http://www.sciencenewsmagazine.org . (accessed August 9, 2010).

Journal Article from a Printed Source :

Gallegos, Bee and Peter Rillero.  1996. Bibliographic database competencies for preservice teachers. Journal of Technology and Teacher  Education 4, no. 3: 231-246.

Online Journal Article:

Villarreal, Mark. 2006. Finding our place: Reconstructing community through oral history. The Oral History Review 33, no. 2. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4495382 (accessed August 9, 2010).

Newspaper from Print Source: Pearson, Susan. L. 1997. Why Johnny can't play. The Arizona Republic , June 5.

Online Newspaper Article: Newton, Charles. 2010. Driving-while-texting ban advances Senate . The Arizona Republic . Feb. 15. http://www.azcentral.com (accessed August 9, 2010).

Other Types of Sources

Music Recording: Jackson, Michael. 1979.  Off The Wall . New York: Sony Music. 25-3P-149 [CD].

Entire Website : Study Languages, LLC. Learn Spanish.   http://www.studyspanish.com . (accessed July 20, 2010).

Interviews and Personal Communication (Often listed as a note rather than a Citation): Sandra Johnson, email to author, March 1, 2010).

• Last updated: Mar 13, 2024 11:31 AM
• URL: https://libguides.asu.edu/citing

The ASU Library acknowledges the twenty-three Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University's four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today. ASU Library acknowledges the sovereignty of these nations and seeks to foster an environment of success and possibility for Native American students and patrons. We are advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice. ASU Library welcomes members of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh, and all Native nations to the Library.

Example Turabian Style Paper

• January 17, 2020

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Recently, the Academics Department and Distance Education Department at Manna University collaborated on an example Turabian style paper for assisting students in our Bible and Theology courses at both the Undergraduate and Graduate levels. Please note that our Bachelor of Arts in Christian Counseling, Master of Arts in Christian Leadership, and Graduate-level Christian Counseling courses utilize APA Style.

If you are a current Manna U student, and have specific questions about writing papers in Turabian, Chicago, or APA style, please contact the Manna U Writing Center at [email protected] .

Manna U has created an   Example Turabian Paper   that shows how to properly format the:

• page numbering
• section headings
• footnotes ( including how to cite scripture )
• bibliography page

This paper is intended to show examples of formatting according to A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Ninth Edition by Kate Turabian , revised by Wayne C. Booth ,  Gregory G. Colomb ,  Joseph M. Williams ,  Joseph Bizup ,  William T. FitzGerald , and the University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff.

Follow these links for detailed examples of:

CITATION QUICK GUIDE https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/turabian/turabian-notes-and-bibliography-citation-quick-guide.html

PAPER-FORMATTING TIP SHEETS https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/turabian/Student-Tip-Sheets.html

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CITATION QUICK GUIDE

Source citations in the Turabian manual come in two varieties: (1) notes and bibliography (or simply notes) and (2) author-date. These two systems are also sometimes referred to as Chicago-style citations, because they are the same as the ones presented in The Chicago Manual of Style .

If you already know which system to use, follow one of the links above to see sample citations for a variety of common sources. Otherwise, read on.

Notes and Bibliography or Author-Date?

The  notes and bibliography style is popular in the humanities—including literature, history, and the arts. In this system, sources are cited in numbered footnotes or endnotes. Each note corresponds to a raised (superscript) number in the text. Sources are also usually listed in a separate bibliography. This system is very flexible and can easily accommodate a wide variety of sources.

The  author-date style is more common in the physical, natural, and social sciences. In this system, sources are briefly cited in the text, usually in parentheses, by author’s last name and year of publication. Each citation in the text matches up with an entry in a reference list, where full bibliographic information is provided.

Aside from the way they cite sources in the text, the two styles are very similar. To compare them, follow the links at the top of this page, where you’ll find examples of the more common source types cited in each style.

If you’re not sure which style you should use, ask your instructor. You will also find more information here .

For a more detailed description of the styles and many more examples, see chapters 16 and 17 of the 9th edition of the Turabian manual for notes style and chapters 18 and 19 for author-date style.

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Home > Christian Resources > How to Quote a Bible Verse in an Essay

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How to Quote a Bible Verse in an Essay

Published: April 23, 2024

Learn the proper way to cite Bible verses in academic essays, ensuring accurate and respectful integration of scripture into your writing.

(Many of the links in this article redirect to a specific reviewed product. Your purchase of these products through affiliate links helps to generate commission for Christian.net, at no extra cost. Learn more )

Table of Contents

Choosing the right translation, determining the citation style, in-text citations, introducing bible verses, quoting longer passages, citing the bible in references/works cited, ethical considerations, additional tips.

Quoting Bible verses in an essay is a common practice, especially in religious studies, theology, or literature classes. However, it’s essential to do it correctly to maintain academic integrity and avoid unintentional plagiarism. In this comprehensive guide from Academized.com , I’ll walk you through the steps to quote Bible verses properly, ensuring your essay is well-structured and follows academic conventions.

The first step is to choose the right translation. The Bible has been translated into numerous languages and versions, each with slight variations in wording and phrasing. When quoting a Bible verse, it’s crucial to use a reputable and widely accepted translation that aligns with your specific academic or research purposes.

Some popular translations include the King James Version (KJV), New International Version (NIV), and English Standard Version (ESV). The KJV is known for its literary quality and poetic language, while the NIV and ESV are more modern translations aimed at preserving the original meaning while using contemporary language.

If you’re writing for a religious studies or theology course, it’s generally recommended to use a translation approved by the religious institution or denomination you’re studying, as discussed in this Academized review on https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/academized-review-2023-actually-good-mary-walton . For literature or general academic purposes, any widely accepted translation should suffice.

Read more : Christian Blogs To Follow Before Writing a Religious Essay

Next, you’ll need to determine the appropriate citation style. Different academic disciplines and institutions may have their own preferred citation styles. The most common citation styles for quoting Bible verses are:

• MLA (Modern Language Association) style: Commonly used in literature, arts, and humanities. 
• APA (American Psychological Association) style: Frequently used in social sciences, education, and psychology. 
• Chicago/Turabian style: Often used in history, religion, and some humanities fields.

Before you start writing, check with your instructor or consult the style guide to ensure you’re using the correct citation format. Adhering to the proper citation style is crucial for maintaining academic integrity and avoiding plagiarism.

When quoting a Bible verse within the body of your essay, you’ll need to include an in-text citation. The format for in-text citations varies depending on the citation style you’re using.

In MLA style, the in-text citation for a Bible verse should include the book name (abbreviated), chapter number, and verse number(s). For example: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3.16).

In APA style, the in-text citation for a Bible verse should include the book name (not abbreviated), chapter number, and verse number(s), separated by colons. For instance: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

In Chicago/Turabian style, the in-text citation for a Bible verse should include the book name (abbreviated), chapter number, and verse number(s), separated by periods, like this: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3.16).

It’s also important to introduce Bible verses properly within the context of your essay. You can provide context by explaining the situation or context in which the verse is being used or referenced. Alternatively, you can use a signal phrase to indicate that you’re quoting a Bible verse, such as “As stated in the Gospel of John,” or “The Bible says.”

Introducing the verse with context or a signal phrase helps to smoothly integrate the quotation into your writing and clarifies the source for the reader.

If you’re quoting a longer passage from the Bible that spans multiple verses, you’ll need to format it differently. In MLA style, for example, longer quotations (four or more lines) should be indented one inch from the left margin and double-spaced. Here’s an example:

As the Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians:

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Eph. 2.8-10)

Note the indentation and the use of a signal phrase to introduce the quotation. This format helps to visually separate the longer quotation from your own writing and makes it easier for the reader to follow.

Read more : 26 Life-Changing Bible Verses For Graduation

In addition to in-text citations, you’ll need to include a full citation for the Bible in your references or works cited list at the end of your essay. The format for this citation varies depending on the citation style you’re using.

• MLA Style: In MLA style, the Bible citation should appear as: The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.
• APA Style: In APA style, the Bible citation should appear as: Bible. (Year of publication). (Version/Translation). (Publisher details). For example: Bible. (2011). New International Version. Biblica.
• Chicago/Turabian Style: In Chicago/Turabian style, the Bible citation should appear as: Bible. Translated by [Translation/Version]. [Publisher details]. For example: Bible. Translated by New International Version. Biblica, 2011.

Including a full citation in your reference list ensures that readers can easily locate the specific version of the Bible you’ve used in your research.

When quoting from the Bible, it’s important to consider ethical implications and potential biases. The Bible is a sacred text for many religions, and quotes should be handled with respect and sensitivity.

Avoid taking verses out of context or using them to promote harmful or discriminatory viewpoints. Be mindful of the historical and cultural contexts in which the verses were written, and strive for a balanced, objective analysis.

If you’re writing about controversial or sensitive topics related to the Bible, it’s advisable to consult with experts or religious authorities to ensure your interpretations are accurate and respectful.

While quoting Bible verses is important, you should also include your own analysis and interpretation, avoiding excessive quotation. Use quotations judiciously, only quoting verses that are directly relevant to your argument or analysis.

Provide context by explaining the significance of the quoted verse and how it relates to your essay’s main points. Don’t assume that the reader has the same level of familiarity with the Bible or the specific context of the verse.

When interpreting or analyzing Bible verses, be sure to back up your claims with evidence from reliable sources, such as scholarly works or authoritative religious texts.

By following these guidelines, you’ll be able to effectively quote Bible verses In your essay while maintaining academic integrity, adhering to citation conventions, and demonstrating a nuanced understanding of the material. Remember, quoting Bible verses is not just about including the text; it’s also about providing context, analysis, and demonstrating your knowledge of the subject matter.

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