How To Reference A History Paper
The Chicago Manual of Style is often used in history writing. Many other disciplines also use the Chicago-Style citation but make sure to check with your instructor about which method you should use in your class.
Formatting Your History Paper
Title page - Not necessary for shorter papers. For theses, include the full title of your paper, your name, the course title, the instructor’s name, and the date.
Pagination: Using Arabic numerals, number the pages in the upper right corner. Do not number the title page; start on the first page of text (in MS Word, go to Header & Footer Tools and toggle "Different first page;†right click on the page number and select "Format page number†to adjust settings). Depending on your instructor’s preference, you may also use a short title or your last name before the numbers.
Margins & font: Use standard 1-inch margins. Indent the start of each paragraph one-half inch from the left margin. Avoid a font that is unusual or hard to read, and be consistent throughout your paper, 12-pt Times New Roman is standard.
Line spacing: Double-space the body of the paper. Single-space a block quotation, and leave a blank line before and after it. Single-space footnotes and the bibliography, but leave a blank line between entries.
Block quotations: Set off a long quotation (more than 3-4 lines) by indenting the entire quotation one-half inch from the left margin. Single-space. Do not add quotation marks. Be sure to include a footnote.
Capitalization: In titles of works, capitalize all words except articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet), or the words to or as, unless one of these words is first or last in the title or subtitle. Do not capitalize prepositions (at, from, between, to, and so on) unless they are emphasized or used as adverbs, adjectives, or conjunctions. Follow these guidelines in your paper even if the title is styled differently in the source or in the library catalog.
Italics: Italicize the titles of books, journals, films, and other long works. Use quotation marks around the titles of periodical articles, short stories, poems, other short works, and websites.
Formatting The Bibliography
Typically, the notes in Chicago-style papers are followed by a bibliography, an alphabetically arranged list of all the works cited or consulted. Center the title Bibliography at the top of the page. Number bibliography pages consecutively with the rest of the paper.
Alphabetizing the list: Alphabetize the bibliography by the last names of the authors (or editors); when a work has no author or editor, alphabetize it by the first word of the title other than A, An, or The.
If your list includes two or more works by the same author, use a 3-em dash (six hyphens) instead of the author’s name in all entries after the first. Arrange the entries alphabetically by title.
Indenting and line spacing: Begin each entry at the left margin, and indent any additional lines one-half inch. Single-space each entry and double-space between entries (unless your instructor prefers double-spacing throughout).
Categorized listings: You may organize a longer bibliography into categories to help readers see related sources as a group. For example, you may separate primary sources from secondary ones. Ask your professor before doing this.
Note: The correct formats for footnotes and bibliographies are different. Do not just copy and paste a reference from your footnote into your bibliography. Consult the accompanying "Brief Guide to Style†or the references below for information about the differences, and pay careful attention to punctuation.