Turabian Citation Style

Formatting Papers in the Turabian Style

Do you get confused by the rules of the APA, Chicago, Modern Language Association (MLA), and the Harvard styles when you are trying to cite various references in an essay or research paper? Well there is another citation style to add to the existing list – the Turabian style. The guide for this style was created by Kate Turabian, a secretary who worked in the University of Chicago until retirement in the year 1958, and it is named A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Thesis Papers, and Dissertations.

Turabian is Closely Related to the Chicago Style Manual

A good aspect of the Turabian formatting style is that it is founded on the Chicago style and bears many similarities. As the following description shows, this style takes many of its features from the Chicago citation style, such as the way titles are italicized and the year of publication placed as the last element of a reference.

A key feature of the Turabian formatting style is that a writer can either place references within the body text of a paper (as happens in the MLA style) or as endnotes or footnotes. Whichever style you choose should be used consistently and always with a bibliography at the end.

See also: “Oxford writing style”

Some Differences to Be Aware Of

Formatting a paper in the Turabian style differs a little from the Chicago style in the way in-text citations, endnotes, footnotes and bibliographies are dealt with.

Citing from Books

The following fictional citation is the recommended method for including endnotes or footnotes in a paper:

Peter K. Jones, A Style Manual for Writing Term Papers, Thesis Papers, and Dissertations: Chicago Citation Style for Researchers and Students, 4th ed. (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2004), viii.

Here is the same citation, as it would appear in-text:

Peter Jones was a full-time dissertation writing secretary (Jones 2004, viii).

This is how this reference should appear in a bibliography:

Jones, Peter K. A Style Manual for Writing Term Papers, Thesis Papers, and Dissertations: Chicago Citation Style for Researchers and Students. 4th ed. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2004.

NB: The author’s name is not followed by a comma, brackets are not used, and page numbers are not listed since, clearly, a source entry in a bibliography is different from a reference citation.

Citing Articles from Journal

If you use a journal article in a research paper, then your endnote or footnote should appear as shown in the following fictional example:

Snowy Christmases and Sunshine-Filled Easters, “Vacations, Celebrations, and Traditions: A Historical Study of Multi-Cultural Customs,” The Journal of Cultural Behaviors 16, No. 7 (June 2001): 457.

Your in-text citation should look like this:

(Christmases and Easters 2001, 457)

The bibliography entry should appear as follows:

Christmases, Snowy and Easters, Sunshine-Filled. “Vacations, Celebrations, and Traditions: A Historical Study of Multi-Cultural Customs.” The Journal of Cultural Behavior 16, No. 7 (June 2001): 457-61. 

Does this still seem confusing? Please note how the name order has been reversed, periods substituted in place of commas, and full-page range used for the bibliography entry.

Citing from Websites

Because online sources are now frequently used in papers, the following is a fictional example of how to cite material from a website in an endnote or footnote:

Pierre M. Benoit, “Polar Existence,” The Artic Encyclopedia, http://www.thearticcyclopedia.com (accessed May 4, 2010).

To cite in-text:

(Benoit)

Bibliography entry:

Benoit, Pierre M. “Polar Existence.” The Artic Encyclopedia. http://www.thearticencyclopedia.com (accessed May 4, 2010).

See also: “Vancouver referencing system”

There is quite a lot of information available on the Turabian formatting style

There are several sources available offering tips and advice on the Turabian writing style. EssaysService.com has produced a detailed guide to creating a Turabian-style bibliography to demonstrate exactly how to cite different sources in this style.

Formatting Guides are Designed to Help

Bear in mind that style manuals and guides are created to help writers. Their aim is to ensure academic texts are written in an easy-to-follow and consistent manner. By adhering to the rules, you will end up with a flawless and professionally written paper. If in doubt, the editors at EssaysService.com will be happy to go through your written work and check it for style.