Chicago Essay Format

Quick, page-by-page reference for formatting your essay according to the Chicago Manual of Style.

Cover Page

You should have the title of your essay 1/4 of the way down the page.

Next, put your name halfway down.

At the bottom of the page, on three lines (double-spaced), put AP US History, then Mr. Bowman, then the date.

Body

Keep your text at 12pt font. Double-space the essay but don't put extra space between paragraphs. Citations should be in Arabic numerals (1,2,3...), superscripted (see Citations).

Header

Each page except the title page should have a header with your last name and the page number, e.g. Burr 3, at the top right. This takes a little doing, and is different on different word processors.

Microsoft Word 2007

1. Insert > Header and footer > Header (blank)
2. Tab twice over. You should now be aligned at the top right of the page.
3. Make sure you have the "Header and Footer Tools: Design" menu at the top of the screen. At the far left, click "page number"
4. "Top of Page," #3 (top right)
5. Click right before the number and type your name.
6. In the "Header and Footer Tools: Design" menu, check off the box in "Options" that says "different first page." This will make Word insert a blank header on the first page only, letting your page numbers start at 2 on the second page.
7. You're done!

OpenOffice Writer

1. Click in the first page
2. Format > Styles and Formatiing
3. Click on the little "Page Styles" Icon at the top of the box
4. Double-click "First Page."This applies a different style to your first page.
5. Insert > Header > First Page (This will make OO.o insert a blank header on the first page only, letting your page numbers start at 2 on the second page.)
6. Click on your second page
7. Insert > Header > Default
8. Tab twice over. You should now be aligned at the top right of the page.
9. Write your last name and one space
10. Insert > Fields > Page Number
11. You're done!

Citations

You can use either footnotes (at the bottom of each page) or endnotes (at the end of the document) to cite all the sources that need citing. Use Chicago Manual of Style citations. An automated generator like KnightCite is easiest to use, but double-check everything to make sure you don't leave anything out.

In addition to the works you cite specifically, you will also need a bibliography including all the works you researched while writing the paper. This follows roughly the same style as MLA:

1. "Bibliography" in plain text, centered at the top of the page
2. A numbered list of citations, listed alphabetically by author's last name
3. Single-space each entry if it runs over one line, but double-space betweeen the entries.
4. The first line of each entry should be flush with the left side of the page. Any additional lines in the entry should be indented.

Helpful Links

• A sample essay (pdf) in Chicago format. Note that this uses a Works Cited page instead of a Bibliography page. Don't pay attention to that. Mr. Bowman wants us to have a bibliography
• Another sample essay. This one uses endnotes, but it does not use a bibliography either.
• Expectations for Written Assignments from Mr. Bowman's site.