Chicago in-text citation generator
Chicago has two systems. In author-date, an in-text citation is (Okafor 2022, 48): no comma before the year. In notes-bibliography, you use a footnote instead.
Quick in-text citation
Type the surnames, year and page. The citation updates as you type.
Your in-text citations for Chicago author-date appear here.
Chicago in-text citation format
Author-date: (Author Year, page), e.g. (Okafor 2022, 48). Notes-bibliography: a superscript number in your sentence and a footnote: 1. Maya Okafor, Sleep and Memory (Chicago: Ridge Press, 2022), 48. Later notes are shortened: 2. Okafor, Sleep and Memory, 52.
(Okafor 2022, 48)
(Okafor and Brandt 2022, 48)
(Okafor et al. 2022, 48) in the 18th edition (the 17th edition used et al. from four authors)
(Okafor, n.d., 48)
Use the title, shortened: (Sleep and Memory 2022, 48)
(Brandt 2020; Okafor 2022)
Full details, author’s name in normal order, then the page
Surname, short title, page. “Ibid.” is discouraged in the 17th and 18th editions
Source: The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition, chapters 13 and 14.
Need the full reference too?
Every in-text citation must match an entry in your bibliography or reference list. Paste a link, DOI or ISBN into the Chicago citation generator to get both at once, or use the all-styles in-text generator to compare the four styles side by side.
Chicago in-text citation questions
How do you do an in-text citation in Chicago style?
In the author-date system, write the author’s surname, the year and the page, with no comma before the year: (Okafor 2022, 48). In the notes-bibliography system, put a superscript number after the clause and give the source in a footnote.
Which Chicago system should I use?
Whichever your instructor asks for. History and the arts usually use notes-bibliography (footnotes); the sciences and social sciences often use author-date. See the Chicago style guide.
Can I use ibid. in Chicago?
It’s allowed but discouraged since the 17th edition. Chicago prefers a shortened note (surname, short title, page) for later references to the same source.
How do I cite a source with no date in Chicago?
Use n.d. after the author: (Okafor, n.d., 48). In author-date style this is the one case with a comma after the author.