This guide is distilled from the official Chicago Manual of Style regulations in an attempt to make it easier to read and reference. Full copies of the Chicago Manual of Style are available at the library for in-library use. There is also a great deal of free help available at the Chicago Manual of Style Online and the official Turabian Resources page.
If you have a question not covered by this guide, please consult a librarian.
The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition by Request a physical copy of the handbook through the Library Catalog.
The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) has a long, storied history, beginning in 1891 when the University of Chicago Press first began. Since then, it has become an industry standard in the US for book publishing, and is used in a wide variety of academic disciplines. At the University of Mary, Chicago style is the largely preferred style for History, Theology, Philosophy, and Catholic Studies, though other disciplines often use it as well.
But what is the difference between Chicago and Turabian? The short answer is that there is NO difference. In 1930, the University of Chicago's dissertation secretary wrote a small pamphlet to guide students through the Chicago Manual. This pamphlet quickly gained popularity and grew into A Manual for Writers by Kate L. Turabian, or simply "Turabian style." As of the 16th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style, A Manual for Writers has been brought under the same development team, and both are fully compatible with each other.
The Chicago Manual of Style has a robust online resource known as the The Chicago Manual of Style Online, which includes free resources on research, writing, and documentation within the Chicago style. There is also the opportunity to subscribe to a complete online version of the Manual, but the library also has several copies of the current edition of The Chicago Manual of Style available for referencing for free.
Some other useful online guides include the Purdue Owl Writing Lab, Scribbr and EasyBib by Chegg. All of these online guides include help with citation formatting, sample papers, and even some video tutorials.
We are always looking to improve the resources we provide to our students and faculty, so please let us know if you see something that should be added, updated, corrected, or otherwise modified. Contact our Reference Librarian to let us know what changes would be helpful to see.
