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Citation Generator (Chicago)

EducationCitations and Bibliographies
Source type

Write each author as Last, First and separate authors with a semicolon.

Include any subtitle after a colon.

Bibliography entry —
Full footnote
—
Shortened note
—
Authors listed
—

Chicago notes-bibliography style gives each source three forms. For Michael Pollan's 2006 Penguin book the bibliography reads "Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma… New York: Penguin, 2006.", the first footnote reads "Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma… (New York: Penguin, 2006), 99–100." and later notes shrink to "Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma, 3."

About this tool

History, art history and many humanities courses ask for Chicago's notes-bibliography system, where every source needs a full footnote the first time, a shortened note after that, and an alphabetised bibliography entry at the end. Getting the punctuation right is fiddly: notes use commas and parentheses, the bibliography uses periods and an inverted first author. This generator takes the author names, title and publication details for a book, a journal article or a web page and writes all three forms side by side, with the page you cite placed in the notes. It follows the 17th edition rules for listing up to ten authors in the bibliography and switching to et al. in notes with four or more. Plain text carries no italics, so book and journal titles need italics applied after pasting, and author-date Chicago is not covered.

How to use it

  1. Pick the source type

    Choose Book, Journal article or Web page; the form shows only the fields that type needs.

  2. Enter authors and title

    Type authors as Last, First separated by semicolons, and give the full title with any subtitle after a colon.

  3. Add publication details

    Fill in publisher and year, journal volume and issue, or website name and dates, plus a DOI or URL.

  4. Copy the three forms

    Use the full footnote for the first citation, the shortened note afterwards and the bibliography entry in your list of sources.

Examples

Single-author book

Source type
Book
Authors
Pollan, Michael
Title
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Place of publication
New York
Publisher
Penguin
Year
2006
Page cited in the note
99–100

Result Bibliography entry: Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin, 2006.
Full footnote: 1. Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (New York: Penguin, 2006), 99–100.
Shortened note: Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma, 99–100.
Authors listed: 1

  1. Bibliography: Last, First. Title. Place: Publisher, Year.
  2. Note: First Last, Title (Place: Publisher, Year), page.
  3. Authors read: Michael Pollan

The Chicago Manual's own sample: the bibliography inverts the name and uses periods, the note keeps the natural name order and puts the publication facts in parentheses.

Three-author journal article

Source type
Journal article
Authors
Keng, Shao-Hsun; Lin, Chun-Hung; Orazem, Peter F.
Title
Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality and Income Inequality
Journal name
Journal of Human Capital
Volume
11
Issue number
1
Issue date
Spring 2017
Article page range
1–34
DOI or URL
https://doi.org/10.1086/690235
Page cited in the note
9

Result Bibliography entry: Keng, Shao-Hsun, Chun-Hung Lin, and Peter F. Orazem. "Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality and Income Inequality." Journal of Human Capital 11, no. 1 (Spring 2017): 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1086/690235.
Full footnote: 1. Shao-Hsun Keng, Chun-Hung Lin, and Peter F. Orazem, "Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality and Income Inequality," Journal of Human Capital 11, no. 1 (Spring 2017): 9, https://doi.org/10.1086/690235.
Shortened note: Keng, Lin, and Orazem, "Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014," 9.
Authors listed: 3

  1. Bibliography: Last, First. "Article." Journal Volume, no. Issue (Date): pages. DOI.
  2. Note: First Last, "Article," Journal Volume, no. Issue (Date): page, DOI.
  3. Authors read: Shao-Hsun Keng; Chun-Hung Lin; Peter F. Orazem

Every author is listed, only the first is inverted in the bibliography, and the note cites page 9 instead of the full range.

Web page with no named author

Source type
Web page
Title
Privacy Policy
Website name
Privacy & Terms
Date published
2017-04-17
DOI or URL
https://policies.google.com/privacy

Result Bibliography entry: "Privacy Policy." Privacy & Terms. April 17, 2017. https://policies.google.com/privacy.
Full footnote: 1. "Privacy Policy," Privacy & Terms, April 17, 2017, https://policies.google.com/privacy.
Shortened note: "Privacy Policy."
Authors listed: 0

  1. Bibliography: Last, First. "Page Title." Site. Month Day, Year. URL.
  2. Note: First Last, "Page Title," Site, Month Day, Year, URL.
  3. Authors read: none, so the entry starts with the title

With no author the entry opens with the page title in quotation marks, then the site, the date written month first and the URL.

How it is calculated

Bibliography = Last, First. Title. Place: Publisher, Year. Note = First Last, Title (Place: Publisher, Year), page. Short note = Last, Short Title, page.

Last, First
The first author inverted; further authors keep natural order, joined with commas and and
Short Title
The main title without its subtitle and without a leading A, An or The
page
The specific page or range cited in the note

The entries follow the Chicago Manual of Style 17th edition, chapter 14. Notes separate elements with commas and wrap book publication facts in parentheses; the bibliography separates them with periods. Journal articles go in quotation marks followed by journal, volume, issue number and date, then pages and the DOI. Web pages use the publication date, or the access date when none is shown. Bibliographies list up to ten authors and give seven plus et al. beyond that; notes give the first author plus et al. for four or more.

When not to use it

  • Your instructor asks for Chicago author-date style with parenthetical citations.
  • You need edited volumes, chapters, translations or editions, which add elements this form does not ask for.
  • Your publisher's house style changes Chicago's punctuation.

Common mistakes

  • Inverting every author's name in the bibliography instead of only the first.
  • Repeating the full footnote for every later citation instead of the shortened note.
  • Leaving book and journal titles in plain type rather than italics.
  • Putting the article's full page range in a note that cites one page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a Chicago footnote and a bibliography entry?

The footnote cites a specific passage and is punctuated like a sentence with commas, with the author in natural order and the publication facts in parentheses. The bibliography entry describes the whole work, inverts the first author for alphabetising and separates parts with periods.

When does a shortened note replace the full footnote?

After the first full note for a source, Chicago 17 prefers a shortened note with the author's surname, a short title of up to four words and the page. The shortened title here drops the subtitle and any leading article, so check that it stays under four words for long article titles.

How many authors does Chicago list?

In the bibliography up to ten authors are all listed. With more than ten, the first seven are listed followed by et al. In notes, one to three authors are named in full, and four or more are cited as the first author followed by et al.

Do I still need Ibid. in Chicago 17?

The 17th edition discourages Ibid. and recommends a shortened note for consecutive citations of the same source. Some instructors still accept Ibid., so follow the course guide if it asks for it.

What goes in the date for a web page with no publication date?

Chicago uses the date you accessed the page, written as accessed followed by the month, day and year. When the page shows a published or revised date, that date is used and the access date is left out.

Should I include a DOI or a URL for a journal article?

Chicago prefers a DOI when the article has one, written as a https://doi.org/ link. Use a stable URL from the database or publisher only when no DOI exists. Print articles read in paper form need neither.

Cite this tool

Using this tool in an assignment, article or report? Copy a citation, or a link for your website.

APA

Tools Directory Editorial Team. (2026, October 27). Citation Generator (Chicago). Tools Directory. Retrieved October 27, 2026, from https://tools.milunir.com/education/citations-and-bibliographies/citation-generator-chicago/

MLA

Tools Directory Editorial Team. “Citation Generator (Chicago).” Tools Directory, 27 Oct. 2026, https://tools.milunir.com/education/citations-and-bibliographies/citation-generator-chicago/. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Tools Directory Editorial Team. “Citation Generator (Chicago).” Tools Directory. Last modified October 27, 2026. Accessed October 27, 2026. https://tools.milunir.com/education/citations-and-bibliographies/citation-generator-chicago/.

Link<a href="https://tools.milunir.com/education/citations-and-bibliographies/citation-generator-chicago/">Citation Generator (Chicago) – Tools Directory</a>