Formatting Basics: How Do You Cite A Dissertation In The Chicago Style?


Learning to format is one of the many challenges that comes when you do my dissertation for the first time. If you do not know how to cite your sources in the Chicago style, there are plenty of places you can turn to find the information that you need. It is vital that you properly cite your dissertation correctly so you are not accused of plagiarism. Here are some basics:

  • Get a manual
  • When you are using the Chicago style, you should invest in a manual. This way, you can see exactly what to do in every citation situation that you encounter. The manual will have examples you can use to make sure that you have done everything correctly.

  • Know about the page styling
  • This particular style has requirements that need to be followed on every page. The requirements include standards for margins, typeface, font size, and spacing. In most cases, the margins need to be set between 1” and 1.5”. The typeface needs to be a style that is easy to read, like the ones that you usually see in books and articles. The font needs to be between 10 and 12. In most cases, the text will be double-spaced with the only exceptions being for long blocked quotes, which require special arrangement. The styling also includes information on page numbers, which should be Arabic numerals and they should be placed in the header of page one.

  • Organize the paper appropriately
  • Each paper needs to have distinctive sections. The Title Page needs to be specially arranged. After this page, the main paper fills the pages. There are requirements for the way that titles are used in the main paper. The next section after the main paper is the references section, which is where you include your sources. Then, the footnotes section is included. Each section needs to have an appropriately formatted header and there are requirements for different characters like the ampersand and superscripted numbers.

  • Understand How to Use Tables and Figures
  • If you include these in your project, you need to be sure to follow the rules, too. Each table or figure that you use needs to immediately follow the paragraph that discussed it so the reader is not confused about the facts you provided. There are also rules about referring to tables and figures that should also be closely followed to prevent any confusion.