Skip to Main Content

Chicago Manual of Style 18th Edition Citation Guide: Author-Date

Helpful resources for applying The Chicago Manual of Style standards to in-text citations, works cited pages, and formatting.

Author-Date Citation Style

Citing Sources with Author-Date Citation Style

The CMOS Author-Date citation style is predominantly used in the sciences, such as biology, anthropology, sociology, etc.

The main difference from Note-Biographical style?  Author-Date style:

  • Uses parenthetical citations in the body of the work with the author’s last name and year of publication instead of using footnotes.
  • Only brief details (author + year + page, if needed) appear in the text.
  • Full publication details are given in the reference list at the end instead of a bibliography. 

Please always check your course materials and/or ask your professor which CMS citation style to use.

Author-Date Bibliography/Works Cited

The below examples can be used for guidance when creating bibliographic entries for your paper's bibliography. While similar to the Notes used in the text, there are some differences. Please contact a Lone Star College librarian if you have any questions.

Source Example Key
Book, one author

Jones, Julia. 2011. A History of Birds. Chicago: ALA Press.

Author Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. Book Title in Italics. City of Publication: Publisher. 
Book, two or more authors Jones, Julia, Matt O'Connor, and Will Beene. 2014. Amazing Birds and Where to Find Them. New York: ABC Publishers. Author Last Name, First Name, First Name Last Name additional author, and First Name Last Name additional author. Publication Year. Book Title in Italics. City of Publication: Publisher.
Organization as Author USFWS (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). 2018. Endangered Birds of Texas. Austin: USFWS.

*Abbreviated organization name (Full organization name). Publication Year. Book Title in Italics. City of Publication: **Abbreviated organization name.

*If there is no abbreviated term for organization name, just use full name. 

**This assumes organization as publisher.

Chapter from a book with an editor

O'Connor, Matt. 2005. "Tuxedos." In Favorite Fancy Birds, edited by Julia Jones, 117-25. New York: Dragon Queen Press.

Author Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. "Chapter title." In Book Title in Italics, edited by Editor First Name Last Name, page numbers. City of Publication: Publisher. 
eBook online

Jones, Julia.2011. A History of Birds. Chicago: ALA Press. http://www.books.com-history-of-birds.html.

Author Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. Book Title in Italics. City of Publication: Publisher. Web address of book location.
eBook found in library database Beene, Will. 2018. Climate Change and Birds. London: Crown Publishing. EBSCOhost. Author Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. Book Title in Italics. City of Publication: Publisher. Database name.
eBook for a device King, Marcus. 2012. Avian Migrations in North American. Houston: Bayou Publishing. Kindle. Author Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. Book Title in Italics. City of Publication: Publisher. Device.
 
Source Example Key
Journal Article

Jones, Julia. 2018. "Teaching Iambic Pentameter." Journal of Poetry 114, no. 3 (August): 21-36.

Author Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. "Title of Article."  Journal Title in Italics, Volume number, issue number: page numbers. 
Journal Article with a DOI (library database or website) Hodges, Kevin. 2017. "Modern Use of Literary Terms." American Literature Journal 5, no. 2 (March): 17-21. https://doi.org/10.233/505511. Author Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. "Title of Article."  Journal Title in Italics, Volume number, issue number (Publication Month or Season): page numbers. doi number.
Journal Article with Stable URL Westin, Nicole. 2012. "Great American Literature." The Literary Student 12, no. 1 (Spring): 5-12. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3456879. Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article."  Journal Title in Italics, Volume number, issue number (Publication Month or Season): page numbers. Stable URL.
Journal article without a DOI (library database or website) Westin, Nicole, Kevin Hodges, and Julia Jones. 2014. "Teaching Poetry to Middle School Students." Poetry Education 8, no. 1: 27-34. Academic Search Complete. Author Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. "Title of Article."  Journal Title in Italics, Volume number, issue number: page numbers. Database name.
Source Example Key
Found in Print

O'Connor, Matt. 1972. "Damone Rocks." Rolling Stone, October 14, 1972.

Author Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. "Article title in quotes." Magazine name in italics, Publication Date.
Found on Website

Neil, Vince. 2019. "History of Football." Texas Monthly, July 22, 2019. http://www.texasmonthly.com/history-of-football. 

Author Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. "Article title in quotes." Magazine name in italics, Publication Date. Web address of article location.
Found in Database

Lee, Tom. 1999. "Drumming for a Cause." Modern Drummer Magazine, February 1999. Project MUSE.

Author Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. "Article title in quotes." Magazine name in italics, Publication Date. Database name.
Source Example Key
Found in Print

Hohler, Bob. 2004. "Red Sox Win World Series for First Time in 86 Years." Boston Globe, October 28, 2004.

Author Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. "Article title in quotes." Newspaper name in italics, Publication Date.
Found on Website

Norgren, Shay. 1979. "The Men on the Moon." Houston Chronicle, July 20, 1979. http://www.houstonchronicle/history-men-walked-on-moon.

Author Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. "Article title in quotes." Newspaper name in italics, Publication Date. Web address of article location.
Found in Database

Lopez, Jen. "Dance as Art." Los Angeles Times, April 15, 2005. Credo Reference.

Author Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. "Article title in quotes." Newspaper name in italics, Publication Date. Database name.

Author-Date In-Text Citation Examples

Source Type

In-Text Citation

Parenthetical Citation
One author

Jones (2017) argues that the spotted flyer shore bird is the first species to circle the globe.

(Jones 2017)

Two authors

Jones and O'Connor (2018, 12) state "the blue-billed peacock gets its name from the bright blue spots along it's beak."

(Jones and O'Connor 2018, 12)
Three authors Jones, O'Connor, and Hodges (2007) state suitable habitat as the deciding factor for species migration and settlement. (Jones, O'Connor, and Hodges 2007)
Four or more authors

Jones et al. (1995) describe the sloth as "a kind-eyed, slow moving mammal for which locating and languidly grazing is the sole focus" (115).

(Jones et al. 1995, 115)
Chapter/Article in Edited Book

The "tuxedo" birds discussed by O'Connor are known for their black and white markings that are not only decorative but help to camouflage the species from predators (O'Connor, 2005).

(O'Connor 2005)
e-book

Julia Jones, A History of Birds (Chicago: ALA Press, 2011), 100-107, http://www.books.com-history-of-birds.html.

Author First and Last Name, Book Title in Italics (Publication city: Publisher name, Publication year), pages, URL or database name.

Jones, History of Birds, 112.

Source Type

In-Text Citation

Parenthetical Citation
One author

Jones (2018) stresses purchases of carbon offsets will not be enough to counteract the ever-increasing aviation carbon footprint.

(Jones 2018)

Two authors

Hodges and Jones (2017, 18) state "the loggerhead sea turtle is enjoying a resurgence in the warm waters of the Gulf due to the steps taken by a consortium of government agencies and private corporations."

(Hodges and Jones 2018, 18)
Three authors Jones, O'Connor, and Hodges (2007) state suitable habitat as the deciding factor for species migration and settlement. (Jones, O'Connor, and Hodges 2007)
Four or more authors

Jones et al. (1995) describe the sloth as "a kind-eyed, slow moving mammal for which locating and languidly grazing is the sole focus" (115).

(Jones et al. 1995, 115)
Organization as author According to the Sea Turtle Conservancy (2015), the Atlantic Hawksbill sea turtle "is the most tropical of all sea turtles enjoying the waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans" (33). (Sea Turtle Conservancy 2015, 33)

Note: for journal article in-text citations, add just the page number for the quoted material in the citation. In the full bibliography/works cited entry you will add the entire page range for the article.

Source Type

In-Text Citation

Parenthetical Citation
One author

Wilson (2014) stresses that tobacco products continue to show a link to cancer.

(Wilson 2014)

Two authors

Hodges and Jones (2017, 18) state "the loggerhead sea turtle is enjoying a resurgence in the warm waters of the Gulf due to the steps taken by a consortium of government agencies and private corporations."

(Hodges and Jones 2017, 18)
Three authors Jones, O'Connor, and Hodges (2007) state suitable habitat as the deciding factor for species migration and settlement. (Jones, O'Connor, and Hodges 2007)
Four or more authors

Jones et al. (1995) describe the sloth as "a kind-eyed, slow moving mammal for which locating and languidly grazing is the sole focus" (115).

(Jones et al. 1995, 115)

Note: for journal article in-text citations, add just the page number for the quoted material in the citation. In the full bibliography/works cited entry you will add the entire page range for the article.

Source Type

In-Text Citation

Parenthetical Citation
With Author Name

Jones (2018) emphasizes that coding skills may prove useful in many career paths, including education and finance.

(Jones 2018)

No Author Name

Lone Star College (2019) seeks to provide "comprehensive educational opportunities and programs to enrich lives."

(Lone Star College 2019)
Video Content In his TED Talk, Clint Smith (2014) encourages his students to read critically, write consciously, speak clearly, and to tell their truth to abate the ignorance and hate that can arise from being silent. (Smith 2014)

Author-Date Example Paper

This CMS example paper uses the Author-Date citation style. The sample paper was downloaded from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (Purdue OWL). The Purdue OWL is recommended for further guidance regarding formatting in the CMS N&B style.

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

Hanging Indent for Bibliographic Sources

Sources listed in a bibliography must be formatted with a "hanging indent".  This means that any lines of text that occur after the first must be indented 5 spaces to the right. 

To create a hanging indent in Word, select the text you want to format, right-click on it, and choose "Paragraph" from the menu. In the Paragraph dialog box, go to the "Indents and Spacing" tab, find the "Special" drop-down menu, select "Hanging," and then click "OK" to apply the formatting. The first line of each paragraph will remain at the left margin, while subsequent lines will be indented.