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Theological Turabian Citation Guide

About Turabian Style

Turabian styles are slightly modified from those presented in The Chicago Manual Of Style in order to serve the needs of student writers.  The format of citations in the Chicago style may be followed if care is taken to standardize the font of footnote and endnote numbers.

How did Kate Turabian, a typist who never graduated from college, become responsible for approving the format of every dissertation at the prestigious University of Chicago?  See this tribute.

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The Turabian Style Manual

Citing correctly and consistently is a challenge.  Why bother?

  1. Acknowledge the contributions of other authors.
  2. Avoid plagiarism. Per the AMBS academic integrity policy, poor or missing citations can result in failing the assignment, the course, and even dismissal from academic programs.
  3. Demonstrate that you know the significant writings on this topic.
  4. Direct the reader to additional information.
  5. Encourage others to do further research on the topic.

Whether you use a direct quotation in your paper or rephrase someone else's idea, you should cite works from which you have drawn inspiration.  These may be texts, images, interviews or media. Keep a record of citations as you are working so you don't have to go back later and search for them. 

There are two basic forms of citation in Chicago / Turabian.

  1. Notes and Bibligraphy Style
  2. Author - Date Style

At AMBS, most professors require the use of the Notes and Bibliography style and specify footnotes at the bottom of each page rather than endnotes.

This guide assumes the use of footnotes. Please check in with your professor if you plan to use an alternative citation format to Turabian footnotes.

How to Cite in Turabian

First, determine what type of item you are citing.
 

Book Image Article Image Bible Image Website Image
Book Article Scripture Websites, Blogs, & Social Media Interviews

Using a library database?

Number OneMost databases have citation tools built into them that will help you cite things properly. However, you should ALWAYS double-check citations for accuracy. Here are a few of the most common issues with database citations.

 

Number TwoCitations are only as good as the information in the database. Oftentimes, when article information is entered into a database, the name of the author appears in all caps. Then, when the databases makes a citation for you, it leaves the author(s) name(s)  this way. No citation style uses all caps, so the author(s) name(s) must be fixed manually.

 

Number ThreeDepending on the method you use to copy and paste the citation, sometimes the italics used in the citation do not copy over. Make sure to add italics into your citation in the necessary places.

Guide Credits

Special thanks to Ruth Szpunar, PALNI's Information Fluency Coordinator, for her work on this guide!