Cite a book chapter in Chicago (author-date)
Book chapters are easy to miscite because the person who wrote the chapter is not always the person who edited the book. In Chicago (author-date) (17th ed.), the chapter author starts the entry, the chapter title stays separate from the edited collection, and the editor appears after "In." Page ranges matter because readers need to find the chapter inside the larger volume.
Chicago (author-date) rules for a book chapter
- Chapter author comes first, even when the book has separate editors.
- Chapter title is plain text or in quotes; the edited book title is italicized.
- Introduce the editor block with In before the book title.
- Include the chapter page range so readers can find it within the book.
- Publisher appears after the book title and page range.
- Use ed. before the editor name in the edited-book container.
Worked example
Chicago (author-date) · book chapterA real book chapter formatted using the Chicago (author-date) rules above.
Hall, Stuart. 1980. "Encoding/decoding." Culture, Media, Language: Working Papers in Cultural Studies, 1972-79.
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