The Chicago Manual of Style

The Chicago Manual of Style The Chicago Manual of Style is the venerable, time-tested guide to style, usage, and grammar. Other improvements are independent of technological change.

Indispensable for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the editorial canon with sound, definitive advice. 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. 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.

Commas, like people and ducks, are often found in pairs. Read all about it in our latest post—which includes links to fi...
06/10/2025

Commas, like people and ducks, are often found in pairs. Read all about it in our latest post—which includes links to five related posts, all newly updated. Only at CMOS Shop Talk.

Commas, like the two in this sentence, often come in pairs. When they do, they’re usually acting like miniature parentheses. In fact, whenever you’re tempted to omit the second of two commas, convert them both to parentheses; if your text still works as intended, keep that second comma.

Q. Should a unit with a fraction like “1/4” be singular or plural?Q. How would Chicago style the AI company name “io”?Q....
06/03/2025

Q. Should a unit with a fraction like “1/4” be singular or plural?
Q. How would Chicago style the AI company name “io”?
Q. Why is “due process clause” lowercase in Chicago style?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the June Q&A at CMOS Online. https://cmos.style/QandA

What can a book review teach us about automated source citations (and AI)? This updated post explores some of the limits...
05/20/2025

What can a book review teach us about automated source citations (and AI)? This updated post explores some of the limits of automation—and the benefits of editorial intervention—only at CMOS Shop Talk.

Chicago-style source citations are designed to be both concise and informative. Ideally, readers should be able to tell what a citation refers to despite its abbreviated nature.

Q. Should Winston-Salem be spelled with an en dash?Q. Is it “dogs have a tail” or “dogs have tails”?Q. Why is Southern C...
05/06/2025

Q. Should Winston-Salem be spelled with an en dash?
Q. Is it “dogs have a tail” or “dogs have tails”?
Q. Why is Southern California capped but not western Arizona?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the May Q&A at CMOS Online. https://cmos.style/QandA

Find it. Write it. Cite it. The Chicago Manual of Style Online is the venerable, time-tested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. ¶ It is the indispensable reference for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the edi...

It’s often mistaken for a hyphen, but editors know the difference. The subtle but powerful en dash is the subject of thi...
04/15/2025

It’s often mistaken for a hyphen, but editors know the difference. The subtle but powerful en dash is the subject of this newly updated post at CMOS Shop Talk.

An en dash can function either as a strong hyphen or as an ordinary dash. As a strong hyphen, it can connect numbers or words. As an ordinary dash it’s nothing special.

Q. Can you omit a person’s middle initial in running text?Q. Should the word “than” be capitalized in a title?Q. Can “et...
04/01/2025

Q. Can you omit a person’s middle initial in running text?
Q. Should the word “than” be capitalized in a title?
Q. Can “et al.” stand for just one person?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the April Q&A at CMOS Online. https://cmos.style/QandA

Find it. Write it. Cite it. The Chicago Manual of Style Online is the venerable, time-tested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. ¶ It is the indispensable reference for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the edi...

Sometimes a “the” at the beginning of a proper noun is capitalized—and sometimes it’s not. Read all about it (including ...
03/18/2025

Sometimes a “the” at the beginning of a proper noun is capitalized—and sometimes it’s not. Read all about it (including updates relative to the 18th edition), only at CMOS Shop Talk.

A “the” at the beginning of a word or phrase that would normally be capitalized—including the name of an organization or the title of a work—presents a dilemma. When is the “the” capitalized? In Chicago style, the answer comes down to a few rules that can help you decide in each case.

Congratulations on the NYC Premiere, Ellen Jovin and Brandt Johnson!
03/10/2025

Congratulations on the NYC Premiere, Ellen Jovin and Brandt Johnson!

“Rebel With a Clause” celebrates the improbable cross-country journey of a woman who gently imparts grammar rules to strangers.

Q. What is Chicago style for elongated words?Q. Which is preferred, (n + 1)st or (n + 1)th?Q. How should we cite website...
03/04/2025

Q. What is Chicago style for elongated words?
Q. Which is preferred, (n + 1)st or (n + 1)th?
Q. How should we cite website content that has been removed?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the March Q&A at CMOS Online.

Find it. Write it. Cite it. The Chicago Manual of Style Online is the venerable, time-tested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. ¶ It is the indispensable reference for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the edi...

There’s a new Grammar Table documentary! Join us as Brandt Johnson and Ellen Jovin talk about their “grammarous” adventu...
02/25/2025

There’s a new Grammar Table documentary! Join us as Brandt Johnson and Ellen Jovin talk about their “grammarous” adventures in filmmaking, only at CMOS Shop Talk.

Rebel with a Clause follows the adventures of Ellen’s Grammar Table and will have its New York City premiere on March 4 at the SVA Theatre in Manhattan. A book with the same title was published in 2022. The film is the subject of this exclusive interview with Shop Talk editor Russell Harper.

Q. Do you have any guidance on the recent name changes for the Gulf of Mexico and Denali?Q. How would I spell out number...
02/04/2025

Q. Do you have any guidance on the recent name changes for the Gulf of Mexico and Denali?
Q. How would I spell out numbers to the right of the decimal point?
Q. Can I cite a chapter from a multiauthor book in a reference list in that same book?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the February Q&A at CMOS Online. https://cmos.style/QandA

Find it. Write it. Cite it. The Chicago Manual of Style Online is the venerable, time-tested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. ¶ It is the indispensable reference for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the edi...

Are you ready for a Weekend Workout? Take our first quiz, “Chicago Style Workout 1: Series and the Serial Comma”—now upd...
01/31/2025

Are you ready for a Weekend Workout? Take our first quiz, “Chicago Style Workout 1: Series and the Serial Comma”—now updated for the 18th edition. Only at CMOS Shop Talk.

This workout is the first in a series of dozens of workouts at Shop Talk, each of which has now been updated to refer and link to the 18th edition of CMOS. Whether you’re a beginner or an old pro, these interactive quizzes should help you build and maintain your editorial muscles.

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