The following examples illustrate the author-date system. Each example of a reference list entry is accompanied by an example of a corresponding in-text citation. For more details and many more examples, see sections 13.102-13.128, as well as multiple examples to be found throughout Chapter 14 in Chicago Manual of Style (18th ed.).
The Chicago Manual of Style also has a very useful website with a page dedicated to the Author-Date system, as well as a general Q&A page which includes some citation topics.
When citing sources with more than one author, the first author's name is always listed as last name, first name while subsequent author names are listed first name, last name.
Oakley, Ann. 2003. Gender on Planet Earth. New Press.
In Text
(Oakley 2003, 77)
NOTE: "Chicago no longer requires a place of publication for books published since 1900" (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th et., 14.29).
Boxer, Marilyn J., and Jean H. Quataert. 2000. Connecting Spheres: European Women in a Globalizing World, 1500 to the Present. 2nd ed. Oxford University Press.
In Text
(Boxer and Quataert 2000, 69)
Clayden, Marie, Dianne Fenner, Christine McAdam, and Christine Strauss. 2003. Making It Work: A Handbook for Reading, Writing, Language and Media. Irwin Publishing.
In Text
(Clayden et al. 2003, 209)
"For a book with more than two authors or editors, list up to six authors in the reference list; if there are more than six, list only the first three, followed by "et al.". In the text, list only the first author, followed by "et al." (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., 13.107).
AMA (American Medical Association). 1998. Essential Guide to Asthma. Pocket Books.
In Text
(AMA 1998, 141)
"To facilitate shorter in-text citations, an organization listed as author may be cited in the text using an abbreviation, in which case the entry must be alphabetized under that abbreviation in the reference list" (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., 13.127).
American Heritage Dictionary for Learners of English. 2002. Houghton.
In Text
(American Heritage Dictionary for Learners of English 2002, 309)
The in-text citation may refer to a short form of the title.
(American Heritage Dictionary 2002, 309)
Hughes, Kenneth J., ed. 1990. Contemporary Manitoba Writers: New Critical Studies. Turnstone Press.
In Text
(Hughes 1990, 77)
A book with an editor in place of an author includes the abbreviation ed. (editor; for more than one editor, use eds.) For translators, use trans. for compilers, use comp.. Note that in-text citation does not include any of these abbreviations (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., 14.5).
Crozier, Lorna. 2001. “What Stays in the Family.” In Dropped Threads: What We Aren’t Told, edited by Carol Shields and Marjorie Anderson. Vintage Canada.
In Text
(Crozier 2001, 14)
"...note that it is no longer necessary to record a page range for the chapter in the reference list entry" (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., 13.109).
Kutscher, Martin L. 2017. Digital Kids: How to Balance Screen Time, and Why it Matters. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ProQuest EbookCentral.
In Text
(Kutscher 2017, 49)
When citing an e-book, include a URL, DOI, or the name of the database the e-book was accessed in.
"It is...often best to cite a chapter number or a section heading or other such milepost in lieu of a [page] number" for ebooks (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., 14.59).
Bouman, Katie. 2016. “How to Take a Picture of a Black Hole.” TEDxBeaconStreet, Brookline, MA, November. Video, 12:51. https://www.ted.com/talks/katie_bouman_what_does_a_black_hole_look_like.
In Text
(Bouman 2016)
Horowitz, Vladimir. 1989. The Last Recording. Sony Classical SK 45818, 1990, compact disc.
In Text
(Horowitz 1989)
"For digital recordings other than compact discs, a streaming service or file format may be noted if relevant but is not required" (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., 14.163).
Klein, Joseph. 2011. “Recommendations for Care.” In NURS 2190: Nursing Philosophical Issues Course Pack, edited by Sarah Kaye, 11-24. Douglas College Bookstore.
In Text
(Klein 2011)
Instructor's Name. Year. "Title of Course." Lecture, School Name, City, Province, Day of lecture.
Richards, Simon. 2023. "CYCC 1220: Relationship Building with Children and Youth" Lecture #5: Ethical Behaviour in the Classroom, Douglas College, Coquitlam, BC, February 21.
In Text
(Richards 2023)
Secondary sources should only be cited if you are unable to obtain the original.
Cite the original source in-text. Cite the secondary source (i.e., the article/book you read) in your reference list.
For example, if you read a work by Brennan (2021) in which Barron (1982) was cited, and you were unable to read Barron's work yourself, in-text cite Barron's work as the original source, followed by Brennan's work as the secondary source. Only Brennan's work appears in the reference list.
In Text
Barron (quoted in Brennan 2021) ...
Entry in Reference List:
Brennan, Karen. 2021. "How Kids Manage Self-Directed Programming Projects: Strategies and Structures." Journal of the Learning Sciences 30(4-5): 576-610. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2021.1936531.
Last Name, First Name (Traditional Name [if applicable]). Year. Nation/community. Treaty territory [if applicable]. Where they live [if applicable]. Topic/subject of communication. Interview, month, day.
In text
(Last Name year)
"Information acquired directly from an Indigenous person can often be cited as a form of personal communication. However, when the source of information is an Indigenous Elder or other Indigenous Knowledge Keeper, there are additional requirements" as seen in the example above (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., 14.137).
Chicago Manual of Style (@ChicagoManual). 2015. "is the world ready for singular they? We thought so back in 1993." Facebook, April 17. https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoManual/posts/10152906193679151.
In Text
(Chicago Manual of Style 2015)
"Social media content can usually be cited entirely in the text...because such content is typically brief and often informal, it is not usually listed in a bibliography...private content, including direct messages and posts on private accounts, is treated as personal communication...authors who rely on social media for data and other facts should first consider whether the same information is available in a published source" (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., 14.106).
One Author
Tolmacz, Rami. 2008. “Concern and Empathy: Two Concepts or One.” American Journal of Psychoanalysis 68 (3): 257-275. https://doi.org/ 10.1057/ajp.2008.22.
In Text
(Tolmacz 2008, 260)
If no month or season specified (eg. Spring or November), the issue number (eg. (3) ) is placed in parentheses.
Authors should no longer use "DOI:" "in their own citations and should instead append the DOI's prefix and suffix to https://doi.org/" (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., 13.7).
Multiple Authors
Keng, Shao-Hsun, Chun-Hung Lin, and Peter F. Orazem. 2017. “Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality and Income Inequality.” Journal of Human Capital 11 (Spring): 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1086/690235.
In Text
(Keng et al. 2017, 28)
"If there are more than two authors...only the name of the first author is used, followed by et al." (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., 13.123).
Sandage, Steven J. 2010. “Comparison of Two Group Interventions to Promote Forgiveness: Empathy as a Mediator of Change.” Journal of Mental Health Counseling 32 (1): 35-57. Academic Search Complete.
In Text
(Sandage 2010, 43)
Akin, D., and L. M. Huang. 2019. “Perceptions of College Students with Disabilities.” Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability 32 (1): 21-33. https://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/publications/jped/archived-jped/jped-volume-32.
In Text
(Akin and Huang 2019)
Tolmacz, Rami. 2008. “Concern and Empathy: Two Concepts or One.” American Journal of Psychoanalysis 68 (3): 257-275.
In Text
(Tolmacz 2008, 260)
Rice, Andrea. 2025. “Blueberry Recall Elevated to Highest Level Due to Listeria Contamination.” Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/blueberry-recall-listeria-severe-risk-fda
In Text
(Rice 2025)
Google. 2025. “Privacy Policy.” Privacy & Terms. Last modified July 1, 2025. https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.
In Text
(Google 2025)
"It is often sufficient to simply describe web pages and other website content in the text...If a more formal citation is needed, it may be styled like the examples below."
ELP (Endangered Languages Project) n.d. “Balkan Romani.” https://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/5342. Accessed April 26, 2023.
(ELP n.d.)
New Westminster n.d. City of New Westminster services (website). Accessed July 8, 2025. https://www.newwestcity.ca/services.
In Text
(New Wesminster n.d.)
"...when there is no date of publication or revision for a website or web page = that is, when only an access date is used - record n.d. as the date of publication in the reference list entry and for the in-text citation" (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., 14.104).
Posner, Richard. 2011. “Inequality in Income and Wealth.” The Becker-Posner Blog, January 30. http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/2011/01/inequality-in-income-and-wealthposner.html.
In Text
(Posner 2011)
"Blog posts are cited like...news articles...comments on a blog post included in a reference list are cited in the text only and in terms of that entry" (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., 14.105).
British Columbia. Ministry of Education and Child Care. 2022. Inclusive Education Resources. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/specialed/ppandg.htm.
In Text
(British Columbia. Ministry of Education and Child Care 2022)
Canada. Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women 1991. Brief to the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies. Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women.
In Text
(Canada. Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women 1991)
"Any work that needs to do more than mention the occasional legal document should use supplementary footnotes or endnotes (see also 13.128). This advice does not extend to documents cited in secondary sources or published as freestanding works" (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., 14.172).
Many instructors will not allow the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools (i.e. ChatGPT, et cetera) in assignments. If you do use tools like this, it is important that you check with your instructors first and then that you include citations in your assignment.
The Chicago Manual of Style Online recently released some information about citing artificial intelligence tools.
"Authors who have relied on content generated by a chatbot or similar AI tool must make it clear how the tool has been used (either in the text or in a preface or the like). Any specific content, whether quoted or paraphrased, should be cited where it occurs, either in the text or in a note" (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., 14.112).
Unlike other citation styles, Chicago requires you to "acknowledge the AI tool in your text" but not to credit it for the text. AI tools should be cited in a parenthetical in-text reference but not in a reference list. For example:
In Text
When asked who the three most famous Canadians are, Microsoft CoPilot (July 14, 2025) listed Michael Bublé, Bryan Adams, and Katarina Mogus.
Fumano, Dan. 2023. "The Promise and Limitations of Vancouver's Density Plan." Vancouver Sun, August 2, 2023. ProQuest.
In Text:
(Fumano 2023, A.1)
Khullar, Dhruv. 2023. "What a Heat Wave Does to Your Body." New Yorker, August 25, 2023. https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-a-warming-planet/what-a-heat-wave-does-to-your-body. Fumano, Dan. 2023. "The Promise and Limitations of Vancouver's Density Plan." Vancouver Sun, August 2, 2023. ProQuest.
In Text:
(Khullar 2023)
If you consulted the article online, include a URL or the name of the database.
For newspaper reference list entries, "the year of publication follow's the author's name; the month and day follow the title of the newspaper" (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., 14.89).
For magazine reference list entries, "the year of publication follows the author's name; the remainder of the date follows the title of the article" (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., 14.87).
Personal communications, including emails, text messages, and direct messages sent through social media, are usually cited in-text only.
In Text:
(Sam Gomez, Facebook message to author, August 27, 2023)