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How to Cite Newspapers and Other Articles in Chicago Style

Following the required style guide is a key component of successful academic writing. Depending on your field, this could be APA, MLA, the Chicago Manual of Style, or another, less common style guide. Formatting your citations correctly is an important part of adhering to the style guide. 

Articles from academic and scientific journals are likely to be the most common kinds of sources that you reference in your academic writing. However, you might also need to cite newspaper and magazine articles sometimes. To make citing your sources in Chicago style easier, we’ve compiled this list of common periodical citation formats. 

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Citing a newspaper or other type of article in Chicago style

In Chicago style, there are two ways to format citations: the author-date system and the notes-bibliography system. With the author-date system, the list of sources at the end of your text is known simply as the reference list. With the notes-bibliography system, this list is called the bibliography. If you aren’t sure which system to use in your research paper or essay, ask your instructor. 

The format for citing a newspaper article in a reference list using the author-date system looks like this: 

Last name, First name of author. Year. “Article title.” Newspaper name, Month Day, Year, #–#.

Note that in Chicago style, you don’t need to write “p. or “pp.” before the page or page ranges you are referencing.

Example: 

Chen, Jack. 2019. “November’s Mini Market Dip.” Wall Street Journal, July 13, 2019, 4–7.

For a bibliography entry using the notes-bibliography system, the format looks like this: 

Last name, First name of author. “Article title.” Newspaper name, Month Day, Year, #–#.

Example: 

Chen, Jack. “November’s Mini Market Dip.” Wall Street Journal, July 13, 2019, 4–7.

In-text citations

Each citation system has specific format guidelines for in-text citations. In the author-date system, in-text citations are formatted like this: 

(Last name of author, Year, #–#)

(Brown, 2020, B19)

In the notes-bibliography system, in-text citations appear as superscript numbers at the end of a sentence or clause and are linked to a footnote or endnote containing the citation. 

Example:

In Brown’s work, she argues that both systems are essentially the same.1

This superscript number corresponds to the longer citation in the footnotes or endnotes. You can choose whether to use footnotes, which appear at the bottom of each page, or endnotes, which go at the end of each section, based on what makes more sense for your paper’s length and format. Citations in footnotes and endnotes are formatted like this: 

note #. First name Last name of author, “Article title,” Newspaper name, Month Day, Year, #–#.

Example:

1. Jacquelyn Brown, “Electric versus Hybrid Lifts,” Tech Today, September 4, 2019.

When you’re following the author-date system, a reference list is required. With the notes-bibliography system, a bibliography is recommended but not explicitly required (unless your instructor tells you otherwise). 

Here’s a tip: Grammarly’s Citation Generator ensures your essays have flawless citations and no plagiarism. Try it for tricky Chicago citations like magazine covers, newsgroups, and editorials.

How to cite an online version of a print article in Chicago style

Citing an online version of a print article in Chicago style is very similar to citing the actual print version of the article. Use this format when citing this type of source in your reference list or bibliography:

Last name, First name of author. “Article title.” Newspaper name, Month Day, Year. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).

Note that Chicago style requires that your URLs start with http:// or https://. 

Example: 

Scordo, Michelle. “Metacognition in Toddlers Ages 23.” Family and Youth PsychologyMarch 2, 2007. http://www.fypsych.org/articles/archive/2007/metacognition-in-toddlers (accessed April 9, 2022).

In Chicago style, cite articles in print magazines using the same format you use to cite print newspapers. Similarly, you use the same format to cite online magazines that you use to cite online articles.

How to cite an online-only article in Chicago style

To cite an online-only article, use this format:

Last name, First name of author. “Webpage or Article title.” Website name, Month Day, Year. URL.

Example: 

Bartlett, Dean. “Troubleshooting Apps Coded with Python.” Code Like a Snake, August 9, 2021. http://www.codelikeasnake.com/troubleshooting-python-apps.

How to cite an article from an online database in Chicago style

If you accessed the article you’re citing through a library or an online database, you need to include the database’s name in your citation. Use this format:

Last name, First name or First initial of author. “Article title.” Journal title vol. #, no. # (Year): #–#. Database name or article URL.

Example: 

Crowley, R. “Bat Migration Patterns, 19982020.” Tracking America’s Wildlife 17, no. 4 (2020): 4260. Biological Studies Database. 

How to cite an academic or a scientific journal article in Chicago style

The citation format for academic and scientific journal articles is similar to the format for non-academic magazines, but also includes the journal’s volume and issue numbers. When you’re writing your reference list or bibliography, remember its purpose is to help readers find and consult the sources you reference. They’re potentially reading your work to conduct their own research, so including a comprehensive list of sources is like giving them a valuable map of your research journey. 

Use this citation format for academic and scientific journal articles: 

Last name, First name or First initial of author. “Article title.” Journal title vol. #, no. # (Year): #–#.

Example: 

Sermais, Jane. “Revisiting Jurassic Park.” Film Studies 16, no. 3 (2018): 1013.

What if no author is listed?

If no author is listed for the article you are citing, begin the citation with the article’s title.

Example: 

“Under the Boardwalk: The Lives of Microorganisms in the Sand.” Weekly EcologyJanuary 20, 2020. http://www.ecoweekly.org/articles/under-the-boardwalk.html.

What if no date is listed?

If there is no date listed for the article you are citing, list “n.d.” in place of a date. This stands for “no date.” 

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