This page provides resources to assist with citing and referencing sources in Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) 17th ed., author-date format.
For the purpose of this guide, the manual will be referred to as CMOS 17.
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The Chicago Manual of Style (Author- Date) is the citation style which the UWI Thesis Guide states should be used by students in the Faculty of Engineering.
Please note that the guidance provided by The UWI Thesis Guide (formatting, layout etc.) takes precedence over that offered by CMOS.
The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition by
Technologies may change, but the need for clear and accurate communication never goes out of style. That is why for more than one hundred years The Chicago Manual of Style has remained the definitive guide for anyone who works with words. In the seven years since the previous edition debuted, we have seen an extraordinary evolution in the way we create and share knowledge. This seventeenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style has been prepared with an eye toward how we find, create, and cite information that readers are as likely to access from their pockets as from a bookshelf. It offers updated guidelines on electronic workflows and publication formats, tools for PDF annotation and citation management, web accessibility standards, and effective use of metadata, abstracts, and keywords. It recognizes the needs of those who are self-publishing or following open access or Creative Commons publishing models. The citation chapters reflect the ever-expanding universe of electronic sources--including social media posts and comments, private messages, and app content--and also offer updated guidelines on such issues as DOIs, time stamps, and e-book locators. Other improvements are independent of technological change. The chapter on grammar and usage includes an expanded glossary of problematic words and phrases and a new section on syntax as well as updated guidance on gender-neutral pronouns and bias-free language. Key sections on punctuation and basic citation style have been reorganized and clarified. To facilitate navigation, headings and paragraph titles have been revised and clarified throughout. And the bibliography has been updated and expanded to include the latest and best resources available. This edition continues to reflect expert insights gathered from Chicago's own staff and from an advisory board of publishing experts from across the profession. It also includes suggestions inspired by emails, calls, and even tweets from readers. No matter how much the means of communication change, The Chicago Manual of Style remains the ultimate resource for those who care about getting the details right.
Chapter Contents / Source Citations: An Overview
This chapter describes the first of Chicago’s two systems of source citation, which uses notes, whether footnotes or endnotes or both, usually together with a bibliography. The notes allow space for unusual types of sources as well as for commentary on the sources cited, making this system extremely flexible. Because of this flexibility, the notes and bibliography system is preferred by many writers in literature, history, and the arts. Chicago’s other system—which uses parenthetical author-date references and a corresponding reference list as described in chapter 15—is nearly identical in content but differs in form. The author-date system is preferred for many publications in the sciences and social sciences but may be adapted for any work, sometimes with the addition of footnotes or endnotes. For journals, the choice between systems is likely to have been made long ago; anyone writing for a journal should consult the specific journal’s instructions to authors (and see 14.3).
Faculty of Engineering uses the Author - Date System of citation.
This is the referencing style which the UWI Thesis Guide states should be used by students in the following Faculties:
All new students should use the 17th ed. Continuing students who have almost completed their thesis and near submission may submit in the 16th ed. If you have now commenced writing, do use the 17th ed. If you are at a point where you are unsure which edition to use, kindly consult your librarian for verification.
Please note that the guidance provided by the UWI Thesis Guide (formatting, layout) takes precedence over that offered by CMOS.
