One author
RuleGive the author's surname and the year, with no comma between them.
Example
- Parenthetical
- (Poropat 2009)
- Narrative
- Poropat (2009)
Free guide and tool
Chicago in-text citation
How to cite a source in the text in Chicago author-date style, 18th edition, with examples for each case. Type the authors, year and page, or a DOI, and get the narrative and parenthetical citation. No sign-in.
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Narrative and parenthetical citations
Chicago has two systems. This page covers author-date, where the in-text citation gives the author's surname and the year with no comma between them. Notes and bibliography style uses footnotes instead, which this page and the builder don't cover.
A parenthetical citation puts the author and year in parentheses. A narrative citation names the author in your sentence and puts the year in parentheses right after the name.
Rules and examples
Two authors
RuleGive both surnames, joined by and.
Example
- Parenthetical
- (Kluger and DeNisi 1996)
- Narrative
- Kluger and DeNisi (1996)
Three or more authors
RuleGive the first author's surname followed by et al.
Example
- Parenthetical
- (Richardson et al. 2012)
- Narrative
- Richardson et al. (2012)
Group author
RuleGive the group's full name, as it begins the reference list entry.
Example
- Parenthetical
- (World Health Organization 2021)
- Narrative
- World Health Organization (2021)
No date
RuleWrite n.d. in place of the year, after a comma.
Example
- Parenthetical
- (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.)
- Narrative
- National Institute of Mental Health (n.d.)
Page numbers
RuleAdd the page after the year and a comma, with no p. before it.
Example
- Parenthetical
- (Poropat 2009, 330)
- Narrative
- Poropat (2009, 330)
Other styles
FAQ
- Is the in-text citation builder free?
- Yes. You don't need an account. If you build a lot of citations in a few minutes, the tool asks you to wait a moment before the next one.
- Do you store what I type?
- No. The details go to our server, which formats the citation and sends it back to your browser. A DOI is looked up in Crossref and OpenAlex. We don't save what you typed or the results.
- Which edition of Chicago does this follow?
- The 18th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style, in its author-date system.
- Can it make Chicago footnotes?
- No. It makes author-date in-text citations only. If your course asks for footnotes, it wants the notes and bibliography system.