Chicago Style of Footnotes (HELP!!!) | Golden Skate

Chicago Style of Footnotes (HELP!!!)

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
I'm writing a two page paper for history and I have no idea if I am doing the footnotes thing right. My professor wants the "Chicago style footnotes" in order to give credit to the references we use.

Now I don't have a book on this (I gave up after the 10th professor was using another style that I had no idea what it was about - seriously the most annoying part of school, I think they're all just working for different book publishers and get a kick back for every student dumb enough to buy textbooks they'll never use again! /rant)

Anyway I don't have a book, but I have looked it up online, but it seems that I can't find my answer. I want to reference a part of the President's Speech hours after the Shuttle Columbia blew apart on reentry. I found a copy of said speech on the White House website, which I am pretty sure means it's not only legit but it is perfectly accurate (save for not having that Texas drawl I love so much lol)

anyway! lol I am totally ADD today, I am not sure I cited it correctly in the footnotes. I couldn't find a way to cite a speech so I went with their internet citing 'rule'... but I'm not sure I got it...
is this right?
1President George W. Bush, “President Addresses Nation on Space Shuttle Columbia Tragedy,” The White House, February 1 2003, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030201-2.html , accessed on September 1 2007

also... if I am citing using footnotes do I still have to do a bibliography or cite in text? I assume I don't have to cite in text because the footnotes are on the same page.

Also do I have to start the quote with a "President Bush said in his speech Feb. 1, 2007 'quote part of speech here'" or something similar, or can I just use teh quote without leading or following it with his name? (if that even makes sense)

I totally am overstressing on this lol and I know it, but Ireally want to make this a good paper (and as of right now I've got... 2 sentences... and it's due Wednesday lol)
 

childfreegirl

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 6, 2004
I'm sorry I don't have an answer Toni. I've never even heard of the Chicago style. As for the "Bush said...", I don't know if this would have something to do with this style or not. I think that if you start out with the quote as the first sentace of your paper you could do something like the quote then "These were the words of the president on such and such date after the space shuttle disaster". Good luck!
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
yes it is teh very first line of my paper. it's a pretty significant line as applied to the subject of teh paper... and well... yeah...

I dunno this is frustrating. I'd much rather write creatively or technically than academically...
 

ToePick

Rinkside
Joined
Jun 29, 2005
1George W. Bush, “President Addresses Nation on Space Shuttle Columbia Tragedy,” The White House, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...0030201-2.html (accessed on September 1, 2007).

I think this is what it should look like, making sure that the url is complete and is not a hyperlink. I'm usually a lurker, but since I think citations are fun (sick, I know), I thought I could help out. Unfortunately, I don't have my actual copy of Chicago handy (I think it's packed up somewhere), but I think that's ok based on what I see online and what I have from my old copy of A Pocket Style Manual.

As a side note, I know you said you were sick of buying reference books for professors, but I think both of these are great investments. Chicago, in addition to having citation rules, has the answer to lots of questions, even really esoteric ones, about usage, grammar, etc. Pocket Style has abridged MLA, APA and Chicago rules, as well as some style tips. I would suggest this volume, in particular, to anyone who is starting college (or even high school!) and wants something that will help with the frustration of style-jumping that Toni described. We had to buy it for Freshman English and I have turned to it 1000 times since then.

My constant hint for citations is that their main purpose is allowing the reader to access what you have accessed, for a variety of reasons. As long as you have made a reasonable attempt to follow the guidelines and provide all the necessary information, only a real stickler will get upset by imperfect footnotes (at least in my experience), particularly with unusual sorts of citations (like a Presidential speech that was reprinted on the internet ;) ). You said this is your first paper for the class, so I think you'll be ok.

Since you are using footnotes, you do not need to use in-text citations. For formal papers, you would generally include both your footnotes and a bibliography (which might also include works you consulted or that informed your work, but to which you did not cite). However, since this is a short paper, it might not be necessary. I would suggest emailing your professor or TA, if you have one, and asking. When in doubt, include it anyway (better safe than sorry ;)).

Whether you introduce your quote with a signal phrase is totally a matter of style and context. Since it sounds like you are using it as an introductory quote for your paper (sort of like you sometimes see as the first page in a novel), I wouldn't use one. Instead, single space it and inset it for emphasis. That's what I have done when using that technique in the past.

BTW, Toni, I got my B.A. in history and, like I say, I love citations (even if I don't have my full range of tools handy). If you have any more questions, I'll keep an eye on this thread for the next few days. :)
 
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Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
what makes citing so difficult is the advance of the internet... that's a main source for everyone these days, and they still haven't found the best way to work it into papers... so the styles are less than... solid lol

that and everyone who's anyone has their own stupid idea on how it should be done, so each prof is able to pick which ever style they want... which is so stupidly frustrating...

*back to paper*
 

googleplex

Spectator
Joined
Jan 14, 2007
Like ToePick I usually lurk but saw citation and decided to post. Unlike ToePick I don't like citations but have gotten familiar with Chicago being a history major. :)ToePick is exactly right in their answer so you should be good.

You may check with the history department and see if they have a style manual that they go by. The university I attend does, it costs around two dollars, but has every citation you'd ever need to know for Chicago. At least if a Professor docks your grade you could point to the department manual as a guide. The only other place I would suggest is the following website:

http://citationmachine.net/index.php?callstyle=10&all=

You may have already used this I'm not sure. It has been a life saver for the history papers I've had to write. Hope this helps and good luck with your paper. :)

Also well done ToePick, if someone like you had been in the histroy help center Chicago and Turabian would have been much easier.. :)
 
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