Chicago and Alternatives
University presses follow the CMS
The University of Chicago Press maintains the Chicago
Manual of Style, originally a guide for authors published
by the university and the press staff. Today, the Chicago style is
used by many non-fiction publishers. The formatting and style guide
applies to manuscripts as well as the appearance of published works.
What would become The Chicago Manual of Style began
in the 1890s as a single sheet of typographic fundamentals, prepared
by a proofreader at the University of Chicago Press as a guide for
the University community. That sheet grew into a pamphlet, and the
pamphlet grew into a book—the first edition of the Manual
of Style, published in 1906. Nearly a century later the Manual is
in use in homes and offices around the world.
— http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/cmosfaq/about.html (May
2004)
The University of Chicago Press maintains a guide for electronic submission,
which also applies to students submitting papers from a word processor.
See the Electronic Manuscript Preparation Guide at http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/emsguide.html for
up-to-date information on the format.
General Grammar
Verb Tense
The Chicago Manual of Style is a general guide,
used across the disciplines. As a result, it tends towards agnosticism
on verb tenses and similar issues.
Formatting
Typefaces
Most academic journals and university presses using CMS prefer
12-point Courier for editing purposes, but accept Times faces as well.
Check with your editor.
Spaces and Punctuation
Use only one space for CMS manuscripts. This is
also the publication standard.
Underlining, Italics, and Quotes
Italics are favored in book publishing, and the CMS is
intended for publishers.
Citations within Text
Citation formats are specified in the APA and MLA styles.
The CMS does not specify citation formats; use the
format appropriate to the topic.
Bibliographies
Bibliographic entries should be as complete as possible
to locate an external source. In most cases, publisher names and common
journals can be abbreviated for space. Again, the CMS is
agnostic on style, which should be selected based on the standards of
each academic field.
Citation Information Order
APA: (1) Author, (2) Year, (3) Title, (4) Editor, (5) Collection, (6)
Pages, (7) City, (8) Publisher.
MLA: (1) Author, (2) Title, (3) Volume/Issue, (4) Editor, (5) Edition,
(6) Number of Volumes, (7) Place of Publucation, (8) Publisher, (9) Date,
(10) Page.