Appendix III: Citation Forms
There are many ways to format citations in notes and bibliographies. Most art historians use the Humanities version of the Chicago Manual of Style. That is the style of citation explained here, keyed to specific notes in Writing about Art. It is not difficult to cite things correctly, and it is important. Like any convention, it allows other people to understand you.
Remember: The correct forms for a note and a bibliographic entry are different.
A NOTE comes after five spaces, the number that corresponds to the number given in your text, shown EITHER as a number, then a period and two spaces OR as a superscript number space. Then comes the name of the author, the title of the publication, the place of publication, the publisher, and the date of publication are formatted as shown below. If the note takes up more than one line of text, the rest is single-spaced and flush with the left margin.
Examples of a Note:
3. Joshua C. Taylor, Learning to Look. A Handbook for the Visual Arts, 2nd ed. (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1981), 16.
OR
3 Joshua C. Taylor, Learning to Look. A Handbook for the Visual Arts, 2nd ed. (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1981), 16.
You need not give the complete citation for subsequent references to the same source. You may use the author's name comma page number period (Taylor, 35.) or, if you have used several works by the same author, a shortened title or the date of publication should be added to make it clear which one you mean (Taylor, Learning to Look, 16. OR Taylor, 1981, 16.). Some people use the abbreviation ibid. (Latin for ibidem, or "the same place") when the citation has been given in the previous note. Op. cit. (short for "opus citatum") means the work has been cited previously. Although either is fine, a shortened form is simpler and clearer.
AN ENTRY IN A BIBLIOGRAPHY is alphabeticized by the last name of the author. The first line of each entry is flush with the left margin, and subsequent lines of the same entry are single-spaced and indented. If there is more than one work by the same author, indent each one and arrange the works alphabetically by title (see Fry). The full title of a book appears on the title page. The date of publication is the year of the copyright, given on the copyright page. The name of publisher and place of publication usually appear on the title page. It also appears on the copyright page, although the publisher is not necessarily what is listed after the copyright symbol.
Example of a Bibliographic Entry:
Taylor, Joshua C. Learning to Look. A Handbook for the Visual Arts. 2nd ed. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1981.
THE BASIC FORM:
Book with one author:
Note:
Indent five spaces Number of note Period Double space First name Last name Comma Full Title Underlined or Italicized with All Major Words Capitalized Parentheses Place of publication Colon Double space Publisher Comma Date of publication End parentheses Comma Page where information cited appears Period.
EXAMPLE:
5. Robert Langbaum, The Poetry of Experience. The Dramatic Monologue in Modern Literary Tradition (New York: W.W. Norton, 1957), 6.
Bibliography:
Last name flush with left margin Comma First name period Double space Full Title Underlined or Italicized with All Major Words Capitalized Period Place of publication Colon Double space Publisher Comma Date Period
EXAMPLE:
Langbaum, Robert. The Poetry of Experience. The Dramatic Monologue in Modern Literary Tradition. New York: W.W. Norton, 1957.
Journal article with one author:
Note:
Indent five spaces Number of note Period Double space First name Last name Comma Quotation mark Full Title with All Major Words Capitalized Comma End Quotation Mark Name of Journal Capitalized and Underlined or Italicized Number of volume Parentheses Date of issue End Parentheses Colon Double space Page used for the information Period
EXAMPLE:
62. Carlo Ginzburg, “Morelli, Freud and Sherlock Holmes: Clues and Scientific Method,” History Workshop. A Journal of Socialist Historians 9 (Spring 1980): 35.
Bibliography:
Last name flush with left margin Comma First name Period Quotation mark Full Title with All Major Words Capitalized Period End Quotation Mark Name of Journal Underlined or Italicized with All Major Words Capitalized Number of volume Parentheses Date of issue End Parentheses Colon Double space Pages of the entire article Period
EXAMPLE:
Ginzburg, Carlo. “Morelli, Freud and Sherlock Holmes: Clues and Scientific Method.” History Workshop. A Journal of Socialist Historians 9 (Spring 1980): 5-36.
MODIFICATIONS OF THE FORMS FOR SPECIAL CASES:
Book with two or three authors:
The names are placed in the same order as they are on the title page of the book. In a note, two names are separated with “and” and three names are separated by comma, comma, “and.” In a bibliographic entry, the name listed first appears with the last name first, but the rest appear in their normal order, first then last name.
Book with four or more authors:
The name of the first author is followed by the abbreviation “et al.” There is a period after “al” because the word is an abbreviation for the Latin “alii.” The phrase means “and others.”
Book with an unknown author:
The title of the book is used as if it were the name of the author (e.g., the Bible).
Book with an editor as the author:
The name of the editor is followed by “ed.” and otherwise treated as if it were the name of the author.
Book with more than one editor as the author:
The names of the editors are treated as if they were the names of authors, followed by “ed.” or, in the case of several, “eds”.
Book with an author and a translator or editor:
The name of the author is given as it would be for any book. The name of the translator and/or editor is given after the title of the book, abbreviated as “trans.” or “ed.” or “trans. and ed.”
Book with more than one volume:
In notes, the order is: end parentheses after the year of publication, comma, the number of the volume, a colon, and then the page number(s). In a bibliography, the number of volumes (abbreviated as “vol.” or “vols.”) follows the title.
Standard edition of a book:
Some books have what is called a standard edition, often with scholarly notes explaining references or giving other readings of the text. If there is such an edition, you should use it when possible. Its text is authoritative and it means that everyone else can find exactly the same words you found. With the Bible, for example, often cited as book, chapter, and verse, the translation matters a good deal. Readers may look up your reference and find different words from the ones you quoted.
Revised edition:
If a book has been revised (not reprinted, but the text actually changed), you must indicate which edition you are using. It is put after the title and number of volumes (if there is more than one) as “Rev. ed.” If there are several revisions, you must give the number of the one you used.
Reprint:
If the book was published a long time ago and you are using a reprint, you should indicate that the date of publication is not the same as the one you list. Give the date of the original publication, followed by a semi-colon, “rpt.” or “reprint” and the full information about the book you used.
One section of a book:
If you are referring to a section of a book, the author of that section should be listed as the author in your notes and bibliography and the title of the section should be put in quotation marks, followed by “in” (for notes) or “In” (for a bibliography) the title of the book in which it appears. The author of the book (as opposed to the author of the section you used) appears after the title of the book.
Exhibition catalogue:
Exhibition catalogues should be identified by the abbreviation “Exh. cat.” placed after the title of the catalogue. The author is the name listed on the title page or, if there is none, the name of the museum that organized the exhibition, which will be on the copyright page.
Article in a journal with continuous page numbering for each volume:
The page numbers are listed after a colon, after the end parentheses of the date of the volume.
Article in a journal with new page numbering for each issue:
The page numbers are given last, after a colon, following the name of the journal, comma, the volume number, comma, the number of the particular issue, then the year of publication in parentheses, followed by a colon and the page numbers.
Article in a popular magazine:
The specific date of the issue is given after the underlined name of the magazine, in order of day, month, year, and then the page follows after a comma.
Article in a newspaper:
A newspaper article is treated like an article in a popular magazine, except that the section, if there is one, is listed as “sec. [whatever], p. [whatever].” The page is given with a “p.” so that there can be no confusion with the section.
Book review:
The author of the book review is treated as the author, with the title of the review in quotation marks, followed by “review of” the title of the book reviewed underlined, “by” the author of the book, and the publication information in parentheses.
Exhibition review:
The form is the same as that for a book review.
Encyclopedia entry:
The name of the encyclopedia and the edition number are followed by “s.v.”(an abbreviation of the Latin for “sub verbo,”or under this word) and then the name of the entry in quotation marks.
Internet sources:
The author and title of the material you used should be given if you can find it. The exact web address for the place you found the information should be given, followed by the date you accessed it in parentheses.
Theses and dissertations:
The name of the author comes first, then the title of the thesis or dissertation in quotation marks, followed by parentheses Ph period D period diss period comma the name of the university which awarded the degree comma year end parentheses period. For example: (Ph.D. diss., City University of New York, 1998).
Paper presented at a meeting or a performance:
The author is the presenter or performer, the title of the paper or performance is given in quotation marks, and the particular information about when and where you saw it follows in parentheses.
Film or Video:
The title comes first, in quotation marks, then as much information about the work as you have, with producer abbreviated as prod., director as dir., and minutes as min.
Personal communication:
The name of the person being cited comes first, then the nature of the communication (e.g., email or letter to the author, or conversation with the author), then the date of this communication.