Whether you are using the Author-Date system, or Notes-Bibliography, Turabian Style provides guidelines on how to set up your paper so that it is well organized, easy to read, and helps you look more professional within your discipline. The style has guidelines that are specifically designed for students of college-level research papers, theses, and dissertations. Still, it is always best to check with each instructor to see what they require for formatting in their assignments. If your professor mentions using Footnotes, they are referring the Notes/Bibliography format.
While it is important to know the information below to correctly format your paper, we have included links to Templates of Turabian Style Author-Date system papers in Microsoft Word and Google Docs that you can use to get started after checking in with your instructor about their requirements. You should refer back to this LibGuide to ensure your paper adheres to those guidelines.
Note that some elements (like an appendix) are not necessary for certain papers. Omit pieces of the template when necessary and at the discretion of your instructor.
Turabian style papers should be on regular-sized white paper with all margins set to 1-inch and paragraphs set to double-spaced. Font type and size are not dictated, but should be legible and consistent throughout the paper.
Some recommended styles and sizes include: 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Calibri, and 11-point Aptos.
All text is double spaced with two exceptions:
In Google Docs: File → Page setup to check that all margins are set at 1". Format → Line & paragraph spacing to select Double Spaced for the document and set Before and After spacing to zero.. Font and font size can be changed in the ribbon menu at the top of the screen.
In Microsoft Word: Layout → Margins → Normal to ensure all margins are set at 1". Paragraph → Spacing → Line spacing dropdown menu, choose Double and set Before and After spacing to zero.. Font and font size can be changed in the ribbon menu at the top of the screen.
You will need the page number added to the right side of the header starting with the first page AFTER the Title Page as page 1. Your word-processing program will then number each subsequent page.
You can choose to put the page numbers on the top right, bottom right, or bottom centered, but whatever you choose, be consistent throughout the paper.
If your instructor requires a Title Page for your paper, it should contain the following elements:
The Title of Your Paper Should Come First:
And a Subtitle if You Have One
Your Name
Course Code/Number: Course Name
Date
Paragraphs should be aligned to the left, the right side left uneven (not justified), and the first line of each new paragraph indented by 0.5". Your word-processing program will automatically move words to the next line - do not manually break up or hyphenate a word at the end of a line.
Once you ensure that the paper is left aligned, you can use the tab key to indent at the start of each new paragraph. Or, you can set up your word processing program to automatically indent at the start of each new paragraph when you hit enter.
Turabian Style allows you to use section headings and subheadings to help you organize your paper.
Section Heads and Subheads should be formatted to be visibly prominent using font-size, location (centered or flush-left) and bold or italic type. Unless your instructor has provided specific guidelines on headings, you may choose your own formatting structure. However, you must remain consistent. Each level should have a reduction in prominence. You should have at least two subheads at any level within a chapter/section - if you do not, you should rethink if you need the subhead at all.
Do not end a section head or subhead with a period. Put more space before a subhead (up to two blank lines before). Add one line spacing, or one double line spacing after a subhead.
Below is a very basic plan for headers and subheads. You can also choose to use the defaults in your word processing program.
Section Headings Are For the Main Parts of Your Paper
Second Level Headings Indicate Subsections
Third Level Subheadings Still Show Some Prominence
Fourth level headings
You will need to cite your sources of information as you work through your paper. This is done using a superscript* number inserted at the end of a clause, a sentence, or a direct quote. This number will correspond to either a footnote (located at the bottom of the page on which the superscript number appears) or an endnote (located at the end of a chapter or paper). You will learn more about Notes and Shortened Notes in the next section.
Footnotes and Endnotes should be single spaced with an extra line added in between each entry. See the examples below.
Both Google Docs and Microsoft Word have shortcuts for inserting footnote citations with a superscript number in the text and a corresponding number at the bottom of the page in your document. However, you will need to check with your instructor regarding what format you should use for those footnotes. Both Word and Google have a default format that uses a smaller font type, size, and usually with superscript numbering. If your instructor doesn't want you to use the default settings, you can edit some things in footnotes to match Turabian style.
In Microsoft Word, you will need to enter all of your footnotes using the default, and when you are done writing, highlight and format them all at once (see instructions below).
In Google Docs, you will have to either format each Footnote as you create it, or go back at the end and, using a Google Add-on, edit your first footnote and direct it to apply to all of the other footnotes (see directions below).
(Note: there is no way to change the size of the footnote numbers in Google Docs, so if you are required to do so, you should use Microsoft Word for your assignment.)
For Footnotes in Microsoft Word:
To insert a footnote, place your cursor at the end of the sentence or clause which requires the citation. Now click References → Add Footnote. A superscript number will appear where your cursor was, and a corresponding number at the bottom of the page. The cursor should automatically move to the footnote. Go ahead and enter your citation information. Continue to do this for the entirety of the paper.
Once all of your footnotes are complete, go back and place your cursor in the first footnote. Press Ctrl and the A key at the same time to select all your footnotes in the paper. → Right click in the footnote and choose Font. Turn off the Superscript and Subscript effects. Select the desired Font, make sure it is set to Regular, and chose font size (usually either the same as the body of the paper or slightly smaller). Click OK.
Right click again and select Paragraph. Be sure the line spacing is set to Single. Set the spacing before to 12pt, and spacing after to 0pt. Click the dropdown menu under Special, and choose First line, and set it to 0.5”. For each footnote, you will then need to go back to enter a period after each number.
For Footnotes in Google Docs:
To insert a footnote, place your cursor at the end of the sentence or clause which requires the citation. Now click Insert → Footnote. With the cursor in the footnote, you can use the top menu to choose the font, font size, and set a First Line Indent (Format → Align & indent → Indentation options → Special indent → First line → set for 0.5.) You can also have a line space automatically put between each footnote (Format → Line and paragraph spacing → Add space before paragraph). You will need to do this with each Footnote as you create them. Or…
You can download the Add-on "Footnote Style" and after you've entered all of your footnotes, go back and set up the first footnote with the correct formatting. Next, highlight it, and then in Extensions, click Footnote Style → Match footnote style to selection, and all your footnotes will assume the same formatting.
Example in Microsoft Word:
Microsoft Word has an option for Endnotes whose formatting you will also have to edit if your instructor tells you to (use the same instructions as above after highlighting all Endnotes). Google Docs does not have an Endnotes option. In Google Docs, you will need to create your own Endnote section with the section heading of "Notes", or you can use an Add-on such as Paperpile or EndNote to do it for you.
Example in Microsoft Word:
The Bibliography list should start on a new page using a Section Heading. List sources alphabetically. Check with your instructor to see if they want you to alphabetize word-by-word, or letter-by-letter and stick to that system.
If the same author has more than one source, put them in alphabetical order by title of the book, chapter, or article, (whatever title comes first in the citation) ignoring any preceding The, A, or An (i.e. Smith, Andrew. The Art of Basket Weaving would come before Smith, Andrew. Basket Weaving for Beginners). Subsequent entries with the same author(s) can replace the name with a 3-em dash (-----. Title of the Book.)
The Bibliography should be single-spaced and add an extra line space between each entry. The first line should be flush-left and each subsequent line in a reference should be indented (hanging indent).
Citing or documenting the sources used in your research serves three purposes:
Whenever you paraphrase* or directly quote* something in your paper that comes from an information source found in print, online, or through a personal communication, you need to cite that source at its point of use in your paper. Notes and Bibliography uses a superscript* number placed where the cited material is included. The superscript number corresponds to a Note either in a footnote (bottom of the page) or an endnote (a page at the end of the paper) with information about the source.
Whether you paraphrase or directly quote a source, the superscript number should usually come at the end of the sentence or the end of a clause. In most cases, it should be placed after any type of punctuation mark except for the dash (which it should precede).
Important - The first Note for a source should be in full form, but subsequent Notes for the same source may be shortened. For more on the two kinds of Notes, see the section on One Work by One Author. A bibliography with full source information should be included at the end for every source cited, unless otherwise instructed. Be sure to check with your instructor to see what they require for your assignments.
It is important to add these in-text citations AS YOU WRITE YOUR PAPER so you do not accidentally plagiarize material by forgetting to do it later.
In the Turabian system, Notes are constructed a lot like regular sentences, using commas and parentheses to separate information. Author's names are placed in normal order, followed by the title and other source information.
The basic format of a full Note would be as follows:
FirstName LastName, Title of the Item: And It's Subtitle (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year) ,or: page number/location.
Examples:
Printed Book
[1]Jill Wine-Banks, Watergate Girl: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against a Criminal President (New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2021), 25.
Chapter in an Edited Book
[2] Sara Kallock, “Sex Work,” in Handbook on the International Political Economy of Gender, eds. Juanita Elias and Adrienne Roberts (Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018), 112-13.
Journal Article (note that a colon : is used after the date before the page number for journal articles instead of a comma , )
[3] Soumyajit Mazumder, “The Persistent Effect of U.S. Civil Rights Protests on Political Attitudes,” American Journal of Political Science 62, no. 4 (October 2018): 925, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26598792.
A shortened Note may be used if it is the second time the source has been referenced in the paper, or if your paper has a complete Bibliography and your instructor gives you permission to use only the shortened form. Titles of more than four words can be shortened and initial A's or The's may be dropped, but do not change the order of the words.
The basic format for a shortened note would be as follows:
LastName, Shortened Title, page numbers.
Examples:
Printed Book
[1] Wine-Banks, Watergate Girl, 25.
Chapter in an Edited Book
[2] Kallock, “Sex Work,” 112-13.
Journal Article
[3] Mazumder, "Persistent Effect," 925.
For large quotations that are 5 lines (in prose) or 1+ paragraphs long, do not use quotation marks. Instead, start a single-spaced block quotation on the next line and indent the entire block by .5 inch from the left. Leave a blank line before and after it. In most cases, do not further indent the first paragraph - keep it flush left - but if there are subsequent paragraphs in the original text, indent to show the distinction. However, for some literary and other fields of study, if the first line is indented in the original, you should further indent it in the block quotation.
You can choose whether to lead into the quotation with starter sentence, or introduce the quote as a separate entity and adjust the punctuation as needed. Use a superscript number for the Note after the ending punctuation.
Full Note:
[1] Elisa Wagner and Miguel Pina E. Cunha, “Dogs at the Workplace: A Multiple Case Study,” Animals (Basel) 11, no.1 (January 2021): 12, https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11010089.
Shortened Note:
[1] Wagner and Pina E. Cunha, “Dogs at the Workplace,” 12.
Bibliography:
Wagner, Elisa and Miguel Pina E. Cunha. “Dogs at the Workplace: A Multiple Case Study.” Animals (Basel) 11, no.1 (January 2021): 1-20. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11010089.
The same rules apply to two and three authors as for one. Connect two authors with "and". Use commas, then ", and" for the third author.
For 4 or more authors or editors, you list only the first author and then "et al.".
The basic format would be as follows:
FirstName LastName and FirstName LastName, Title of the Item: And It's Subtitle (Place of Publication, Year), page number or location.
Examples:
Online Edited Book (two editors or authors)
[1] Sally L. Kitch and Dawn R. Gilpin, eds., Art, Activism, and Sexual Violence (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2024), 114-15, EBSCOhost.
Online Article Two Authors
[2] Philip Baker and Sharon Friel, “Food Systems Transformations, Ultra-Processed Food Markets and the Nutrition Transition in Asia,” Globalization and Health 12, no. 1 (December 2016): 9, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-016-0223-3.
Journal Article with 20 Authors
[3] Ashraf et al., “Compounding Effects of Human Activities and Climatic Changes on Surface Water Availability in Iran,” Climatic Change 152, no. 3-4 (November 2019): 391, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-018-2336-6.
The same rules apply to a shortened Note by two authors as they do for one. Again, for 4 or more authors/editors, only use the name of the first author followed by "et al.".
Examples:
Online Edited Book (two authors/editors)
[1] Kitch and Gilpin, eds., Art, Activism, 114-15.
Online Article Two Authors
[2] Baker and Friel, “Food Systems,” 9.
Journal Article with 20 Authors
[3] Ashraf et al., “Compounding Effects,” 391.
Group Author with Abbreviation
To allow for shorter in-text citations, you may use an organization's abbreviation. The Bibliography entry must then be alphabetized under that abbreviation rather than the full name.
For example, an article written by the University of Vermont can become UVM. The Bibliography entry must then go by UVM and not the full name.
When citing multiple works at the same time, enter only one superscript number at the point of the reference, then in the Note, include all of the citations, separated by semi-colons and "and" before the final source. Sources must appear in the same order as their citations appear in the text. In the example below, we used Shortened Notes, but the same format would be used for Full Notes.
Examples:
[1] Wine-Banks, Watergate Girl, 25; Kallock, “Sex Work,” 112-13; and Mazumder, "Persistent Effect," 925.
You may come across resources that are missing important pieces of information that would normally go into creating your citation and reference. Here are some things you can do to still correctly cite those items.
No Author?
Skip the author and put the title in as the start of the source reference. If the title is long, you can use a shortened version of it for your in-text citation, followed by the date (and page number if it is a direct quote).
No Date?
If no date is provided, you can use n.d. instead in the Note.
No Publisher?
If a publisher is not listed, you can use n.p. Thoroughly check the material to make sure you didn't miss it in the front or back material.
References that correspond to your in-text footnotes/endnotes help others to find the works you used to write your paper, especially if you used Shortened Notes. It is how they are able to check that your information is accurate. The four main reference elements are: Author, Title, Source, and Date. These main elements are separated by periods. Formatting, particularly of the source, will depend on the type of information material you are using.
Professional Hint - gather all the information you need for a reference when you first access the source, even if later on you don't use it. It is much harder to go back and find citation information when you are trying to wrap up your paper than it is to store the information now and format it later. Consider using a citation manager (i.e. EndNote, Zotero) to help you keep all that information safely stored.
The next tab contains samples of sources you might use when researching and writing your papers. We've identified for you where to find, in each example, the information elements you need to create your Notes and Bibliography. They also include examples of references for these types of sources. Additionally, check out this handy Notes and Bibliography: Sample Citations Guide, which contains a wide selection of reference source types and how to properly formulate their citations in both Notes and the Bibliography. As always, contact a librarian for more detailed help with formatting citations.
With the vast variety of online sources available to you, it can be confusing to know how to identify the information elements you need to cite them. To help you out, we've assembled a few examples of articles, eBooks and websites, with arrows drawn in, to show you where you can find the main reference citation elements of Author, Date, Title, and Source.
LastName, FirstName. Title of the Book: And Subtitle. Publisher Name, Date. https://doi.org/xxxx
Guidelines to keep in mind:
List author's last names in order of appearance on the book cover or title page. Invert the first author's name. Write out first and last names, and include middle initials if provided.
Use a comma to separate each author's name and "and" before the final name.
The title and subtitle of the book should be in italics and in Title Case.
Include publisher's location and name.
If you accessed the book online, include the DOI if one is available. Double check using CrossRef.org (instructions below).
Printed Book One Author
Wine-Banks, Jill. Watergate Girl: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against a Criminal President. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2021.
Online Edited Book, Two Editors
Kitch, Sally L. and Dawn R. Gilpin, eds. Art, Activism, and Sexual Violence. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2024. EBSCOhost.
Chapter in an Edited Book
Kallock, Sara. “Sex Work.” In Handbook on the International Political Economy of Gender, edited by Juanita Elias and Adrienne Roberts, 392-
410. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018.
LastName, FirstName, FirstName LastName, and FirstName LastName. "Title of the Article: And It's Subtitle." Title of the Periodical Volume#, Issue no.# (Date): Pages ##-##. https://doi.org/xxxx
Guidelines to keep in mind:
Use a comma to separate each author's name. Even if there are only two authors, include a comma before "and".
If there are FOUR or more authors, list up to TEN authors in the bibliography. If there are more than ten authors, list only the first SEVEN authors, followed by "et al."
The title of the periodical should be in italics and written in title case. If an issue number is available, add it after the volume, preceded by "no.". The issue number is not in italics. The date is in parentheses followed by a colon (date): and page numbers.
The second and subsequent lines are indented, or "hanging" indentation. Present DOIs and URLs as hyperlinks - do not break them to make them fit neatly on the page with hanging indentation.
Journal with one Author
Mazumder, Soumyajit. “The Persistent Effect of U.S. Civil Rights Protests on Political Attitudes.” American Journal of Political Science 62,
no. 4 (October 2018): 922-935. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26598792
Journal article with two authors
Baker, Philip, and Sharon Friel. “Food Systems Transformations, Ultra-Processed Food Markets and the Nutrition Transition in Asia”
Globalization and Health 12, no. 1 (December 2016): 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-016-0223-3
Journal article with Twenty Authors
Ashraf, Samaneh, Amir AghaKouchak, Ali Nazemi, Ali Mirchi, Mojtaba Sadegh, Hamed R. Moftakhari, Elmira Hassanzadeh, et al.
“Compounding Effects of Human Activities and Climatic Changes on Surface Water Availability in Iran.” Climatic Change 152, no. 3-4 (November 2019): 379-391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-018-2336-6
News or Magazine Article
Mayorquin, Orlando. "Problems With New California Bar Exam Enrage Test Takers and Cloud Their Futures." New York Times, March 2,
2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/02/us/california-bar-exam-test.html
Author/Owner/Sponsor of site. "Title of the Page or Section." Last modified/Accessed/Archived Month day, year. https://xxxxxx.
Guidelines to keep in mind:
If you are just mentioning a website in your text, using the name of the site in your text is sufficient. Do not create a Note or Reference in your bibliography for general mentions of a particular site.
If the author of a website or webpage is not immediately evident, check the "about us" or acknowledgement sections of the website. If you are still unable to locate an author, use the group/site name as the author.
Be as specific as possible with the date, including month, day and year. If you know the site/page is designed to have changing content, include "last modified month day, year" or "accessed month day, year," before the URL.
Webpage on a website
WCRB. "GBH Music Presents Deconstructing Opera: Omar with Rhiannon Giddens and the BLO." GBH Music Presents. Published April 20,
2023. https://www.classicalwcrb.org/2023-04-20/gbh-music-presents-deconstructing-opera-omar-with-rhiannon-giddens-and-the-blo
Webpage
Saint Anselm College. "Our Patron Saint." Accessed February 10, 2025. https://www.anselm.edu/about/history-mission/our-patron-saint
Before using A.I. tools and materials to assist you with your assignments, check with your instructor to be sure they allow the use of such tools.
Just like other sources of information, the use of A.I. created material needs to be acknowledged and cited within your work. If you quote or paraphrase the result of an A.I. tool query such as ChatGPT, you need to include either a parenthetical citation (Author/Date) or note (Notes/Bibliography).
Do NOT include a source in your bibliography or references list UNLESS the A.I. tool has a way to generate a sharable link to the chat conversation. More A.I. tools are including ways to generate sharable links, so check back with Chicago/Turabian often to see if the guidelines on this have changed - Chicago Style A.I. Citation Guidance
1. Author, Title, Publisher, Date, url for tool.
*Note: The URL for the tool is not essential since it cannot take the reader to the exact conversation that was generated, so it can be omitted if desired.
(Note if prompt is included in the text)
1. Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, September 15, 2025, https://chat.openai.com/chat.
(Note if prompt is NOT included in the text)
1. ChatGPT, response to "Explain how to make laundry soap using common household ingredients," OpenAI, September 15, 2025.
In the conversation box I typed, "Explain how to make laundry soap using common household ingredients," and it described needing to use a grater or food processor to grate a bar of soap into fine flakes (ChatGPT, September 15, 2025).
The Turabian Style requires a URL, or a DOI in the form of a URL (https://doi.org/xxxx) if the materials cited were consulted online. If a URL/DOI is not available or is inaccessible in a database, then include the name of the database at the end of the reference.
Many databases will provide the DOI for you along with the rest of an article's citation information (title, author, etc.). This is most often located on the first page of the article or in the eBook description.
However, if you cannot find a DOI for your article or book, or if you have a DOI, but don't know what article or book it is for, use the following online DOI Resolver: www.crossref.org. Use the "Search Metadata" box to look up the title of the book/article, or the unidentified DOI. If you are unable to determine the DOI of a work online, you may provide the URL address of the website at the end of the citation. "Retrieved/Accessed from" is no longer used. If the work without a DOI is from an academic database, do not include the URL. Instead leave the reference as you would for the print version.
While DOIs were first introduced in about 2000, they did not become commonly used for another 8-10 years. Therefore, many articles published before 2010 will not have DOIs assigned to them. However, some publishers are starting to assign DOIs to older articles. You should check CrossRef.org to ensure you have the most accurate information.
Citation generators are found in all sorts of places these days. There are "stand alone" options that your instructor may recommend such as EasyBib, BibMe, Owl, or even ChatGPT. Some of these require a subscription to work.
You can also find citation generators in databases such as in EBSCO, ProQuest, and JSTOR.
They are all AI powered programs that are meant to pull the reference elements out of an online source (or you have to enter the information) and then produce a reference that is formatted according to the citation style you select (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).
However, these programs notoriously get it WRONG!
They cannot always manipulate formatting such as altering titles that are created with all caps, or changing between Title and Sentence format for article titles and Journal names. Some are using outdated rules from previous style editions.
Notice in the ProQuest example above that the generator included all seven authors, even though Chicago 18th edition now only allows up to six. If there are more than six, then only the first three authors are included followed by "et al."
You can use a citation generator to gather the reference elements for you, but you MUST go back and check that the formatting and order are correct. That's why we have created this Guide to help you ensure your citation formatting is correct.
A useful alternative to citation generators are Citation Managers. These are more robust programs that allow you to import or input the reference information elements for each of your sources. It can then be used in conjunction with your word-processing program to correctly insert in-text citations, footnotes, and create a bibliography page with correctly formatted references at the end of your paper. It is important to always check imported information to ensure it was correctly entered (i.e. not in all caps, or in title case) so that the program can correctly format the citations for you later. Citation Managers do not fix spelling errors and typos!
At Saint Anselm, we have access to both Zotero and EndNote. The staff at the IT Help Desk can load EndNote onto your computer. Zotero is open source software that you can download freely from Zotero.org. Use our Zotero and EndNote guides for more information.