Cite a Book Chapter Using Chicago Style Generator

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What is Chicago Citation for a Chapter in a Book?

The majority of modern students who have used Chicago style citations know how demanding it is, which is only natural if one remembers that Chicago is one of the oldest and challenging styles out there. Already in its 17th edition, it is most commonly used in the publishing of various manuscripts and research works. Therefore, it is not surprising that book citing frequently becomes the first source type. Nevertheless, there are various problems that come along like failing to meet all indents and spacing, let alone trying to find all the required information that must be filled in. The reason why it happens can be summed up in: 

  • Unclear academic requirements in a grading rubric. 
  • Lack of time to complete all the tasks. 
  • Various plagiarism issues due to incorrect citing. 
  • Mixing up citing requirements between print or online sources.
  • Inability to identify information when citing a chapter in a book Chicago.

The Parts of Book You May Need to Cite For Your Research

Once your homework involves citing only a section or even a paragraph of some book, things can easily get confusing since the different citation rules apply. Most notable is including your author’s name that is followed by the title of the relevant section or part that you must enclose in single quotation marks. Next, it is necessary to provide the title in italics of a book that represents a complete reference. Do not forget to include the word “in” before citing the complete book. 

Speaking of your Bibliography page, include a particular range of pages or a chapter where a necessary citation appears. 

The challenging part is that there are different types of how to cite a chapter in a book Chicago because there may be various types of what exactly is being cited: 

  • A chapter that has a single author.
  • An article that appears in a book with several authors.
  • Various anthology works.
  • Book introductions, preface, afterword, or non-typical in-text citations. 
  • Letters that appear in specific published collections.

Why Citing Book Chapters Manually is a Bad Idea

  • It is time-consuming and can easily exhaust even the best students. 
  • The risks of accidentally mistyping the information and making extra space. 
  • It is easy to choose a different citation option by doing so automatically. 
  • The use of different citation types has completely opposite rules. 
  • Spelling, grammar, or stylistic mistakes while typing. 

This is why using the automatic tool by turning Chicago style book chapter citation generator by EduBirdie that helps a great deal. Just enter the ISBN number or a title, choose what kind of citation you require, and get things done lightning fast without paying a dime!

Basic Book Chapter Citation in Chicago

Let’s start with the basic Chicago chapter in a book citation and see how it is done for the footnotes/endnotes and how exactly it must be composed for your Bibliography page. 

Footnote/Endnote Template: 

Author’s First Name. Last Name, “Chapter or Section Title,”, in Your Complete Book Title, ed. followed by First Name. Last Name (City: Publisher Info, Date), page(s) cited. 

The shorter variation: 

Author’s Last Name, “Chapter or Section Name (short,” page(s) cited. 

Cite Bibliography this way: 

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Chapter or Paragraph Title.” In Full Book Title, edited by First Name. Last Name, complete page range. City of Publication: Publisher, Date. 

In practice, we receive the following Chicago style entries: 

Footnote & Endnote: 

John Willey, “The Science of Light and Sound,” in Psychoacoustics For Dummies, eds. Robin Towers and Randy James (Jacksonville, FL: Florida State University Press, 2005), 312. 
Willey, “The Science of Light and Sound,” 312.

Bibliography reference: 

Willey, John. “The Science of Light and Sound.” in Psychoacoustics For Dummies, edited by Robin Towers and Randy James, 312-319. Jacksonville, FL: Florida State University Press, 2005.

Examples of Citing Various Book Chapters in Chicago

Now that we have the basic examples learned both with templates and real-life citing, it is high time to proceed with the Chicago style citation for a chapter in a book that is not typical in terms of source or paragraph. 

Chapter of a Book

Bibliography: 

Last Name, First Name Initial. “Title without italics.” In Complete Book Title, Pages. City: Publisher Information, Year. 
Rogers, Sarah Z., William N. “Mediation & Negotiations.” In Business Insider Guide, 19-22. New York: McMillan Press, 2004. 

Footnotes: 

First Name Initial. Last Name, “Title,” in Complete Book Title (City: Publisher, Year), page. 
Sarah Rogers, “Mediation & Negotiations,” in Business Insider Guide, New York: McMillan Press, 2004.

Chapter of an eBook

The template states exactly the same as with citing a chapter in a book Chicago format but you have to add the “Accessed” part with Month, Day, Year, and URL or DOI number. See below: 

Footnote/Endnote Citation:

Mark Twain, “Chapter 3,” in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, (Hartford, CT: American Publishing Co., 1876), accessed August 27, 2020, https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/34/the-adventures-of-tom-sawyer/5432/chapter-3/

Short version:

Twain, “Chapter 3.”
Bibliography Reference: Twain, Mark. “Chapter 3.” In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Hartford, CT: American Publishing Co., 1876. Accessed August 27, 2020. https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/34/the-adventures-of-tom-sawyer/5432/chapter-3/

Foreword/Preface

There are cases when introduction, preface, or some afterthoughts are written down by someone other than the author. Therefore, it is recommended to include citing such a book as a complete part of your references. See the examples for each citation type: 

Bibliography: 

Stipe, Michael. Foreword to Life and How to Live It: R.E.M. Chronicles, by Geoff Stanley. vii. New York: New Cinema Line, 2009. 

Footnotes: 

Michael Stipe, foreword to Life and How to Live It: R.E.M. Chronicles, by Geoff Stanley (New York: New Line Cinema, 2009), vii. 

References page would change in this case to: 

Stipe, Michael. 2009. Foreword to Life and How to Live It: R.E.M. Chronicles, by Geoff Stanley, vii. New York: New Line Cinema. 

Our in-text citing includes the main author’s Last Name with the year and the page. 

(Stipe 2009, vii)

Work in an Anthology

Footnotes: 

Angela, Landsbury, “Something In The Way,” in Poetry Anthology of Modern English Romance: 1932 to 1992, ed. Laura King and Tom Berry (London: Penguin Books, 1995), 122. 

References: 

Landsbury, Angela. 1995. “Something In The Way.” In Poetry Anthology of Modern English Romance: 1932 to 1992, edited by Laura King and Tom Berry, 122-134. London: Penguin Books. 

In-text remain as usual with the main author: 

(Landsbury 1995, 122)

Letters in a Published Collection

Sometimes college assignments require citing letters that appear in some published collection. Here is the example:

This type is rather complex as you start with the names of the sender and the recipient, then placing the date of the letter itself, and only then include information about the book where it appears in the footnotes. References/Bibliography goes differently with the inclusion of only the author. See the examples: 

Footnotes: 

Bob Dylan to Julian Lennon, May 7, 1993, in The Selected Letters of Bob Dylan, ed. Darren Geraghty (Manchester: Music Rock Hill, 1997), 15. 

References: 

Bob Dylan. 1993. The Selected Letters of Bob Dylan. Edited by Darren Geraghty. Manchester: Music Rock Hill. 

Bibliography changes as usual with the addition of a year the work was published: 

Bob Dylan. The Selected Letters of Bob Dylan. Edited by Darren Geraghty. Manchester: Music Rock Hill, 1997. 

In-text citing would include: 

(Dylan, 1997, 15)

Chapter of an Edited Book Source

This section follows the same format with the addition of editors like done below:

Footnotes/Endnotes:

Tim Tally, “Brain Injury Recovery,” in Sports Rehabilitation, ed. Tom Allen (London: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 300.

Shorter version:

Tally, “Brain Injury Recovery,” 300.

Bibliography: 

Tally, Tim. “Brain Injury Recovery.” In Sports Rehabilitation, edited by Tom Allen, 300-312. London: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

In-text:

(Tally, 2001, 300)

Number of Authors

Single Author

Full Note:

First Name Last Name, Chapter / Complete Source (City: Publisher, Year), page. 

Concise Note: 

Author First Name and Author Surname, Title, page. 

Bibliography:

Last Name, First Name. Title / Chapter / Complete Book. City: Publisher, Year.

Two or More Authors

Full Note:

First Name Last Name and First Name Last Name, Book Chapter / Complete Source (City: Publisher, Year), page. 

Concise Note: 

Author First Name and Author Surname, Title, page. 

Bibliography:

Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name. Title / Chapter / Complete Source. City: Publisher, Year.

No Author

According to Chicago style book chapter citation manual, in this case, you start with the title (in italics) instead: 

Full Note:

Book Title (City: Publisher, Year), page.

Concise Note: 

Title, page. 

Bibliography:

Title. City: Publisher, Year.

FAQ

What are the pages citing rules in Chicago?

For your short citing and the footnote(s)/endnotes(s), you should only cite a direct page that you quote. In Bibliography or References, cite the full range. 

When I quote a letter, should I use the book’s author or the letter's author?

Chicago’s manual section specifies that the author of the letter must be used as the main source. 

What are the recommended fonts for Chicago style?

Times New Roman, Arial, or Palatino font is recommended. Your font size should be no less than 10 points even for the captions part. Font size 12 is safe to use. 

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