Provided by the Academic Center for Excellence 1 CMS Format
Reviewed February 2015
Chicago Manual Style (CMS) Format
From Purdue University Online Writing Lab
Revised by Germanna Community College Tutoring Services
The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition incorporates two styles of citation. The Note-Bibliography
style is discussed in this handout. The Chicago Manual Style (CMS) Note-Bibliography style is
traditionally utilized by literature, history, art, and other humanities courses. It is important to note
that students may also wish to consult Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for the Writers of Research Papers,
Theses, and Dissertations, 7th Edition as this book presents the Chicago Manual Style in a form that is
more applicable to student papers.
General Format
• Type the paper on a computer and print it out on standard-sized paper (8.5 X 11 inches).
• The body text of the paper should be double spaced.
• Set the paper margins to no less than 1 inch and no greater than 1.5 inches on all sides.
• The font of the paper should be a readable font such as Times New Roman or Palatino.
• The font size should be no less than 10 points; however, a 12 point font size is preferable.
• The paper header should have a page number in the upper right-hand corner beginning on the
first page of body text. Instructors may require additional information in the header as well.
Major Paper Sections
• Title page
• Body
• Footnotes or Endnotes
• Bibliography
• Tables and Figures
Title:
Subtitle
John Smith
HIS 204
Professor Jones
May 14, 1607
Title page example
