Following the required style guide is a key component of successful academic writing. Depending on your field, this could be APA, MLA, the Chicago Manual of Style, or another, less common style guide. Formatting your citations correctly is an important part of adhering to the style guide.
Articles from academic and scientific journals are likely to be the most common kinds of sources that you reference in your academic writing. However, you might also need to cite newspaper and magazine articles sometimes. To make citing your sources in Chicago style easier, we’ve compiled this list of common periodical citation formats.
Citing a newspaper or other type of article in Chicago style
In Chicago style, there are two ways to format citations: the author-date system and the notes-bibliography system. With the author-date system, the list of sources at the end of your text is known simply as the reference list. With the notes-bibliography system, this list is called the bibliography. If you aren’t sure which system to use in your research paper or essay, ask your instructor.
The format for citing a newspaper article in a reference list using the author-date system looks like this:
Last name, First name of author. Year. “Article title.”
Note that in Chicago style, you don’t need to write “p.” or “pp.” before the page or page ranges you are referencing.
Example:
Chen, Jack. 2019. “November’s Mini Market Dip.”
For a bibliography entry using the notes-bibliography system, the format looks like this:
Last name, First name of author. “Article title.”
Example:
Chen, Jack. “November’s Mini Market Dip.” Wall Street Journal, July 13, 2019, 4–7.
In-text citations
Each citation system has specific format guidelines for in-text citations. In the author-date system, in-text citations are formatted like this:
(Last name of author, Year, #–#)
(Brown, 2020, B19)
In the notes-bibliography system, in-text citations appear as superscript numbers at the end of a sentence or clause and are linked to a footnote or endnote containing the citation.
Example:
In Brown’s work, she argues that both systems are essentially the same.1
This superscript number corresponds to the longer citation in the footnotes or endnotes. You can choose whether to use footnotes, which appear at the bottom of each page, or endnotes, which go at the end of each section, based on what makes more sense for your paper’s length and format. Citations in footnotes and endnotes are formatted like this:
note #. First name Last name of author, “Article title,”
Example:
1. Jacquelyn Brown, “Electric versus Hybrid Lifts,” Tech Today, September 4, 2019.
When you’re following the author-date system, a reference list is required. With the notes-bibliography system, a bibliography is recommended but not explicitly required (unless your instructor tells you otherwise).
How to cite an online version of a print article in Chicago style
Citing an online version of a print article in Chicago style is very similar to citing the actual print version of the article. Use this format when citing this type of source in your reference list or bibliography:
Last name, First name of author. “Article title.”
Note that Chicago style requires that your URLs start with http:// or https://.
Example:
Scordo, Michelle. “Metacognition in Toddlers Ages 2
In Chicago style, cite articles in print magazines using the same format you use to cite print newspapers. Similarly, you use the same format to cite online magazines that you use to cite online articles.
How to cite an online-only article in Chicago style
To cite an online-only article, use this format:
Last name, First name of author. “Webpage or Article title.” Website
Example:
Bartlett, Dean. “Troubleshooting Apps Coded with Python.” Code Like a
How to cite an article from an online database in Chicago style
If you accessed the article you’re citing through a library or an online database, you need to include the database’s name in your citation. Use this format:
Last name, First name or First initial of author. “Article title.”
Example:
Crowley, R. “Bat Migration Patterns, 1998
How to cite an academic or a scientific journal article in Chicago style
The citation format for academic and scientific journal articles is similar to the format for non-academic magazines, but also includes the journal’s volume and issue numbers. When you’re writing your reference list or bibliography, remember its purpose is to help readers find and consult the sources you reference. They’re potentially reading your work to conduct their own research, so including a comprehensive list of sources is like giving them a valuable map of your research journey.
Use this citation format for academic and scientific journal articles:
Last name, First name or First initial of author. “Article title.”
Example:
Sermais, Jane. “Revisiting Jurassic Park.” Film Studies 16, no. 3 (2018): 10–13.
What if no author is listed?
If no author is listed for the article you are citing, begin the citation with the article’s title.
Example:
“Under the Boardwalk: The Lives of Microorganisms in the Sand.”
What if no date is listed?
If there is no date listed for the article you are citing, list “n.d.” in place of a date. This stands for “no date.”
