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Washington Semester Program

Research strategies and library resources to assist Washington Semester students in writing their thesis.

A Note on Citation Styles

Chicago Manual of Style is the most-commonly used style in the fields of political science and history, among others. Note that there are actually two different kinds of Chicago Style - Author-Date, which uses parenthetical citations, and Notes-Bibliography, which uses footnotes. 

You should check with your professor to confirm in which style you should submit your thesis. 

If you need to use a style other than those listed on this page, visit our Citation Help Guide for additional guidelines. 

Citation Resources

Chicago Style Examples (Notes-Bibliography) 

 

Ebook with two authors or editors

Footnote: Ronald Walters and Toni-Michelle Travis, eds., Democratic Destiny and the District of Columbia: Federal Politics and Public Policy (Lexington Books, 2010), 10, ProQuest Academic Complete. 

Bibliography: Walters, Ronald and Toni-Michelle Travis, eds. Democratic Destiny and the District of Columbia: Federal Politics and Public Policy. Lexington Books, 2010. ProQuest Academic Complete. 

Journal article from an online database

Footnote: Robert D. Manning, "Multicultural Washington, DC: The Changing Social and Economic Landscape of a Post-Industrial Metropolis," Ethnic and Racial Studies 21, no. 2 (1998): 330, SocINDEX [or DOI]

Footnote: Manning, Robert D. "Multicultural Washington, DC: The Changing Social and Economic Landscape of a Post-Industrial Metropolis." Ethnic and Racial Studies 21, no. 2 (1998): 328-355. SocINDEX [or DOI]

Newspaper article from an online database 

Footnote: Jennifer Steinhauer, "The State of the Non-State, Washington, D.C," New York Times, Oct 7, 2014, Academic Search Premier.

Bibliography: Steinhauer, Jennifer. "The State of the Non-State, Washington, D.C." New York Times, Oct 7, 2014. Academic Search Premier.

Personal (unpublished) interview, conducted in-person

Footnote: Clarence Thomas (Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States of America), in discussion with the author, November 20, 2019.

*Unpublished interviews are typically cited in footnotes, but may sometimes also be included in the bibliography as follows: 

Bibliography: Thomas, Clarence. (Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States of America), in discussion with the author. November 20, 2019. 

Chicago Style Resources

Chicago Style Examples (Author-Date) 

 

Ebook with two authors or editors

In text: (Walters and Travis 2010, 10). 

References: Walters, Ronald and Toni-Michelle Travis, eds. 2010. Democratic Destiny and the District of Columbia: Federal Politics and Public Policy. Lexington Books. ProQuest Academic Complete. 

Journal article from an online database

In text: (Manning 1998, 330). 

References: Manning, Robert D. 1998. "Multicultural Washington, DC: The Changing Social and Economic Landscape of a Post-Industrial Metropolis." Ethnic and Racial Studies 21, no. 2: 328-355. SocINDEX [or DOI]

Newspaper article from an online database 

In text: (Steinhauer 2014). 

References: Steinhauer, Jennifer. 2014. "The State of the Non-State, Washington, D.C." New York Times, Oct 7. Academic Search Premier.

Personal (unpublished) interview, conducted in-person

In text: (Clarence Thomas, discussion with author, November 20, 2019). 

*Unpublished interviews are typically cited in-text only, but each person cited must be fully identified elsewhere in the text). 

 

Chicago Style Resources

MLA Style Examples
 

Ebook with two authors or editors

An e-book—that is, a book that lacks a URL and that you use software to read on a personal device or computer—is considered a version according to the MLA Handbook’s template of core elements:

In text: (Walters and Travis 10). 

Works cited: Walters, Ronald and Toni-Michelle Travis, eds. Democratic Destiny and the District of Columbia: Federal Politics and Public Policy. E-book, Lexington Books, 2010. 

Journal article from an online database

In text: (Manning 330). 

Works cited: Manning, Robert D. "Multicultural Washington, DC: The Changing Social and Economic Landscape of a Post-Industrial Metropolis." Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 21, no. 2, 1998, pp. 328-355. SocINDEX, [URL or DOI].

Newspaper article from an online database 

In text: (Steinhauer). 

Works cited: Steinhauer, Jennifer. "The State of the Non-State, Washington, D.C." New York Times, Oct 7, 2014. Academic Search Premier, [URL].

Personal (unpublished) interview, conducted in-person

In text: (Thomas). 

Works cited: Thomas, Clarence. Personal interview. 20 Nov 2019. 

MLA Style Resources

Legal Citations (Bluebook Style)

Bluebook is the most common legal citation format in the U.S.; citation styles like Chicago, APA, etc. will also refer to Bluebook for most legal citations. Use Bluebook when citing court cases, laws, and other legal documents. 

[Key Terms]

  • REPORTER: The publication where you found the case, law, etc. There are preferred reporters for different states, courts, etc. Think about finding an article in a journal vs. the text of that article reprinted on a random website -- the journal would be the preferred "reporter." 
     
  • §: Symbol for "section" 
     
  • PINCITE: The Bluebook term for citation to a specific quote, section etc. 
         Cow v. Pyg, 297 N.E. 2d 54, 55-56 (Ill. 1964) 
         Referencing pp. 55-56 of case Cow vs. Pyg. 
     
  • SHORT FORM: Shortened version of a Bluebook citation used when you've already cited a source.
         Cow, 297 N.E. 2d at 55 
         In Cow, the court noted that....297 N.E. 2d at 56. 
         Id. at 58 (McDonald, J., concluding)

Citing a Court Case: 

Case, Report vol. name pg. (jurisdiction, court, date). 
Alexander v. Evans, 620 Cal. Rptr. 2d 12 (Ct. App. 2004) 

(Zachary Alexander vs. Thomas Evans, 2004 California Court of Appeals case, appears on pg. 12 of volume
620 of West's California Reporter, 2nd series.)
 

Citing a Federal Statute

Name, Title No. Code § (Year)
Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. §§ 1901-1963 (2012).

(Indian Child Welfare Act, Title [Volume] 25 of the United States Code, sections 1901 through 1963, using the version of the U.S. Code codified in 2012.)

4 U.S.C.A § 8 (West 2005)

(Title [Volume] 4 of the United States Code Annotated [official version of the code], section 8, 2005 edition published by West.)

Citing from Westlaw: 

For the purposes of Bluebook, a case that you find in Westlaw (or HeinOnline, or etc.) is a different 'version' than the one you find in a book, on Congress.gov, etc. Here's how we represent something found in Westlaw:

17 U.S.C.A. § 10173 (West, Westlaw through Pub L. No. 117-102).

(Title [Volume] 17 of the United States Code Annotated [unofficial version of the code], section 10173, published by West; accessed via Westlaw which at time of access was current up to Public Law 117-102.)

To find out the status/currency of Westlaw for your citation, look at the very bottom of the page you are citing.