Turabian citation style is the student version of Chicago style. It uses Chicago's two systems, notes-bibliography and author-date, and adds practical guidance on formatting papers, theses and dissertations.
It is named after Kate L. Turabian, author of A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. The widely used 9th edition follows the 17th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style. This page covers both systems with examples, paper formatting and common mistakes.
Turabian in Brief
- Same citations as Chicago: Turabian adapts Chicago's rules for students.
- Two systems: notes-bibliography (footnotes) or author-date (brackets in the text).
- Notes: a full note the first time, a shortened note after that.
- Lists: a bibliography for notes, a reference list for author-date, both alphabetical.
- Extra value: detailed guidance on title pages, margins and thesis front matter.
Turabian and Chicago
Chicago is written for editors and publishers. Turabian takes Chicago's citation rules and presents them for students, leaving out publishing details and adding advice on presenting academic papers.
If one instruction says "Chicago" and another says "Turabian", you do not need two sets of references. Use the same citation forms, and follow Turabian's guidance for layout.
Which System Should You Use?
| Feature | Notes-bibliography | Author-date |
|---|---|---|
| How you cite | Superscript number linked to a footnote | (Author Year, page) in the text |
| List at the end | Bibliography | Reference list |
| Typical fields | History, religion, literature, the arts | Sciences and social sciences |
If your brief does not say, follow your discipline, or ask your tutor. Converting a finished paper from one system to the other is slow.
The Notes-Bibliography System
Place a superscript number at the end of the sentence or clause that uses the source, after any punctuation. The note at the foot of the page gives the source and the page you used.
The first note for a source is in full. Later notes for the same source are shortened to the author's surname, a short title and the page.
Full note (book): 1. Jill Lepore, These Truths: A History of the United States (New York: W. W. Norton, 2018), 212.
Shortened note: 4. Lepore, These Truths, 219.
Bibliography: Lepore, Jill. These Truths: A History of the United States. New York: W. W. Norton, 2018.
Notes use commas and brackets, with the first name first. Bibliography entries use full stops, with the surname first, and a hanging indent.
More Note and Bibliography Examples
These use illustrative authors and titles to show the pattern.
Journal article, note: 2. Li Chen, "Memory and Form in the Postwar Novel," Modern Fiction Studies 67, no. 2 (2021): 18.
Journal article, bibliography: Chen, Li. "Memory and Form in the Postwar Novel." Modern Fiction Studies 67, no. 2 (2021): 15–34.
Chapter in an edited book, note: 3. Ngozi Okafor, "Motivation in Adult Learners," in Handbook of Adult Education, ed. Rana Patel (London: Routledge, 2019), 90.
Website, note: 5. "Adolescent Mental Health," World Health Organization, March 2, 2023, https://www.who.int/...
For a journal article found online, add the DOI or URL at the end of the note and the bibliography entry.
Shortened Notes and Ibid.
Chicago's 17th edition and Turabian's 9th edition prefer shortened notes to "ibid." for repeated citations, although ibid. is still allowed for a source cited in the note immediately before.
6. Lepore, These Truths, 230.
7. Lepore, These Truths, 231.
A shortened note is clearer, especially when notes move during editing. Choose one approach and use it consistently.
The Author-Date System
Author-date gives the author's surname and year in brackets, with no comma between them, and a comma before the page. Each source appears in a reference list where the year follows the author's name.
In-text: The early republic was less unified than its founders claimed (Lepore 2018, 212), a reading echoed in later work (Chen 2021, 19).
Book: Lepore, Jill. 2018. These Truths: A History of the United States. New York: W. W. Norton.
Journal article: Chen, Li. 2021. "Memory and Form in the Postwar Novel." Modern Fiction Studies 67 (2): 15–34.
Notes and Author-Date Compared
| Element | Notes-bibliography | Author-date |
|---|---|---|
| Year position | Near the end of the entry | Straight after the author |
| In-text signal | Superscript number | (Lepore 2018, 212) |
| Page numbers | In the note | In the brackets |
| Journal issue | 67, no. 2 (2021) | 67 (2) |
Formatting a Turabian Paper
Turabian's formatting chapters are its main advantage over Chicago for students. Typical guidance includes:
- A readable 12-point font, such as Times New Roman.
- Margins of at least 1 inch.
- Double-spaced text, with block quotations, notes, captions and bibliography entries single-spaced and a blank line between entries.
- Page numbers in the header or footer, with none on the title page.
- A title page with the title about a third of the way down and your name, course and date lower down.
Your university's thesis or department guide takes priority wherever it differs from Turabian.
Quotations and Block Quotations
Short quotations run into your sentence in double quotation marks, followed by the note number or the author-date citation with a page.
Quotations of five or more lines are usually set as block quotations: indented, single-spaced and without quotation marks. Every quotation needs a page reference.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Treating Turabian and Chicago as different citation systems | Use the same citation forms |
| Mixing footnotes and author-date | Choose one system for the whole paper |
| A full note every time | Shorten notes after the first citation |
| Comma between author and year in author-date | (Lepore 2018, 212) |
| Page ranges for a whole book in the bibliography | Pages only for chapters and articles |
| Numbering footnotes by hand | Use your word processor's footnote tool |
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Frequently Asked Questions
For citations, yes. Turabian adapts Chicago's rules for students and adds guidance on formatting papers and theses.
Notes-bibliography for most humanities subjects and author-date for most sciences and social sciences, unless your brief says otherwise.
Yes, for a source cited in the note immediately before, but the current editions prefer shortened notes.
Usually yes. Most tutors expect a bibliography with notes-bibliography, although a full first note can technically stand alone. Check your brief.
Either, but footnotes are more common in student papers. Follow your tutor's preference.
In a note, give the author if known, the page title in quotation marks, the site owner, the date published or accessed and the URL.