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MVNU Writing Guide: Chicago Style Overview

General Chicago Formatting

All Chicago papers must have the following format:

  • Font = Times New Roman, 12 pt. size
  • 1-inch margins on all sides of the paper  (this is the automatic setting)
  • Double-spaced lines
  • The first line of all new paragraphs must be indented 0.5 inches  (press the Tab Key to indent)
  • Every page except for the title page is numbered in the top right corner (using a Header) 
  • The first page of the paper is a Title Page (see next box for a title page example)
  • In-text citations use footnotes, NOT parenthetical citations (see the Chicago Citation Guide)

Important Links

Chicago Important Links:

Click Here for the Chicago Citation guide

(Footnotes + Bibliography citation guide)

Click Here for the Sample Chicago paper

 (Sample Chicago paper with notes + explanations)

Have questions that this guide doesn't answer? Visit Purdue Owl or schedule a Writing Lab appointment!

Chicago Title Page

*Note about capitalization in titles: The first and last word of your title are ALWAYS capitalized. Words in between that shouldn't be capitalized include: articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, so, or, for, nor, but, yet), and short prepositions (on, to, in, up, etc.). Note that some words like "on" can be used as an adverb-- "I Could Go On Singing" and would be capitalized in that case.