Q. Do YouTube video blogs that are made by everyday people (i.e., not mainstream corporate companies) need to be cited in the bibliography? Or do they just need a note? If so, what is the style format?
A. Privately made videos are just as much copyrighted as those made by corporations, so provide a complete citation in the note. You can find citation formats for videos at the Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide. Listing a video in your bibliography is optional. Consider how important it is in your paper and decide accordingly.
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Has Chicago completely eliminated the use of ibid., when quoting more than once from the same source?
A. Not at all. Although Chicago now prefers the use of a short citation (e.g., “Author, Short Title” plus a page number), ibid. remains an option for those who wish to use it and who are in a position to decide (if in doubt, check with your publisher). See CMOS 13.37; see also 12.77 (for ibid. with parenthetical citations in the text).
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. In a footnote do the year and page number go at the beginning or at the end?
A. The page number usually goes at the end of a citation. The placement of the year depends on whether you’re using the notes-bibliography system or the author-date system. You can find a free guide to both systems at our website.
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Dear CMOS, I am attempting to cite a modern edition of a medieval text called The Rule of Saint Benedict, which was written by the eponymous saint. The title page lists only the editor-translator. Which of the following would you recommend for the bibliography entry?
Venarde, Bruce L., ed. and trans. The Rule of Saint Benedict. Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library 6. Harvard University Press, 2011.
or
Benedict. The Rule of Saint Benedict. Edited and translated by Bruce L. Venarde. Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library 6. Harvard University Press, 2011.
A. Both suggestions are fine. Consider alphabetizing under Benedict’s name (with the name in square brackets). After all, it’s not obvious that a book called The Rule of Saint Benedict was written by the saint.
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I’m writing a paper in which I periodically have to repeat quotations, or parts of quotations, that I have already used earlier in the work. I’ve looked through CMOS but I still can’t work out how this should be done. I could just repeat the citation (I’m using author-date style), but this seems cumbersome.
A. Bingo! Repeating author-date citations is not pretty, but when you’re identifying quotations, whether previously quoted or not, it gets the job done. An alternative is to use abbreviations for the titles of works you cite frequently, in which case you should provide a list of abbreviations somewhere.
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I am writing a dissertation on a cartoon series that appeared in a magazine. The title of the magazine is in the title of the cartoon series. Do I italicize? Magazine title: The Etude Music Magazine (I will always italicize that). Cartoon series title: “The Etude Educational Cartoons” (I have put it in quotes in every instance, but my editor doesn’t know if The Etude should be italicized in this case).
A. A magazine title is always italic, even if it’s within a title in quotation marks. Please see CMOS 8.175 (“Italicized Terms and Titles Within Titles”). Please note, too, that Chicago style for comic strips and cartoon series is also italics (8.202, “Cartoons”). Thus in Chicago style your title would be entirely in italics, with the magazine part quoted: “The Etude” Educational Cartoons.
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I want to refer as briefly as possible in the footnotes of my book to the two printings of the Japanese translation of a book, originally published in 1991 and reprinted with a new introduction in 2002. Can I refer as follows: C. L. R. James, Burakku jakoban (Omura-Shoten, 1991; 2002), or should I use a comma or a slash to distinguish the two printings?
A. Chicago style specifies the reprint date this way: (Omura-Shoten, 1991; repr. 2002).
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. What is the correct way to format a note citation for a chapter from an edited book when the editor and the author happen to be the same person?
A. Cite it as a contribution to a multiauthor book and put the author’s name twice, where the author and editor names go. See also CMOS 14.9.
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. How do you cite a White Paper that was accessed online?
A. In general, such citations may follow the format for printed sources with the addition of a URL. The examples at CMOS 14.116 (on working papers and the like) and 14.117 (on pamphlets, reports, and the like) can serve as a guide.
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. How would you create a footnote for an entry in the following specialized dictionary that has a single author?
Aune, David E. The Westminster Dictionary of New Testament and Early Christian Literature and Rhetoric. Westminster John Knox Press, 2003.
Would the footnote be
1. David E. Aune, The Westminster Dictionary of New Testament and Early Christian Literature and Rhetoric, “Pathos,” Westminster John Knox Press, 2003.
A. That’s close! Please see the examples at CMOS 14.130. Chicago puts parentheses around the publication information and treats the entry as a substitute for a page number, at the end of the citation:
1. David E. Aune, The Westminster Dictionary of New Testament and Early Christian Literature and Rhetoric (Westminster John Knox Press, 2003), under “pathos.”
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]