Turabian Format Help

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9th Edition · NB & Author-Date Systems

Turabian Format Help —
Citations, Footnotes &
Paper Formatting Done Right

Whether your course uses Notes-Bibliography or Author-Date, our citation experts format every footnote, bibliography entry, title page, and heading style to exact Turabian 9th edition standards — or write your paper from scratch, already formatted.

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Turabian Quick Reference
Current Edition9th Edition (2018)
Based OnChicago Manual of Style
Citation SystemsNotes-Bibliography (NB) · Author-Date (AD)
FontTimes New Roman 12pt
Margins1 inch all sides
SpacingDouble-spaced body
NB In-TextSuperscript¹ → footnote
AD In-Text(Author Year, page)
NB End ListBibliography
AD End ListReferences
Heading Levels5 levels defined
Page NumbersTop right (header)
Title PageCentred — no number
Block Quote≥ 5 lines, indent .5″
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Defining the Standard

What Is Turabian Format — and Why Does Your Course Require It?

“Turabian” is not simply a citation style — it is a comprehensive manual for student academic writing that governs everything from how you acknowledge a source to how wide your margins should be and how many spaces follow a period.

Turabian format takes its name from Kate L. Turabian, who served as dissertation secretary at the University of Chicago for nearly three decades, during which she personally reviewed and approved thousands of student theses and dissertations. Noticing the same formatting errors appearing repeatedly, she distilled the University of Chicago’s complex style guidelines into a manageable, student-focused manual. First published in 1937, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations has since been updated through nine editions — the most current being the 9th edition (2018), revised by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, William T. FitzGerald, and the University of Chicago Press editorial staff.

The relationship between Turabian and the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is direct but distinct. Turabian is essentially a student adaptation of CMOS. Where CMOS is a dense, professional reference running over 1,100 pages and covering typesetting, publishing, and editorial practice for publishers and academics, Turabian focuses specifically on student research papers, theses, and dissertations — adding practical guidance on paper structure, argumentation, and academic writing conventions that CMOS does not address. For most student purposes, Turabian and Chicago style are interchangeable, but your instructor’s use of the word “Turabian” typically means they specifically want you to follow the Manual for Writers rather than the full CMOS.

Turabian offers two parallel citation systems: the Notes-Bibliography (NB) system and the Author-Date (AD) system. These are not interchangeable — they reflect disciplinary conventions and document types. Your course syllabus or instructor will specify which system to use. Notes-Bibliography is predominantly used in the humanities (history, philosophy, theology, art history, literature), while Author-Date is used in the sciences and social sciences. If you’re uncertain which applies, use Notes-Bibliography as the default for humanities papers.

If you’re looking for Turabian format help because you’re staring at a citation that won’t cooperate, a bibliography page that looks wrong, or a whole paper that needs reformatting before submission tomorrow, you’ve come to the right place. Our citation specialists have formatted thousands of papers in both Turabian systems across every discipline and every academic level — from undergraduate history essays to doctoral dissertations. This page covers everything you need to know about Turabian formatting, and explains how our formatting and citation service can help when the manual isn’t enough.

Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (9th edition, 2018) — published by the University of Chicago Press — remains the authoritative reference for Turabian formatting, adapted for students from The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition. The two publications are designed to be used in conjunction; Turabian covers student-specific formatting requirements not addressed in the full CMOS.

Source: University of Chicago Press — A Manual for Writers, 9th Edition
9th
Current edition of Turabian’s Manual (2018)
1937
Year Kate Turabian first published the Manual
2
Parallel citation systems — Notes-Bibliography and Author-Date
Who Needs Turabian Format Help?
  • History students formatting footnotes for the first time
  • Theology and religious studies students using NB system
  • Students reformatting a paper from MLA or APA to Turabian
  • Graduate students formatting a thesis or dissertation
  • Philosophy and political science students needing AD style
  • Students confused by the difference between CMOS and Turabian
Turabian vs Other Styles
Turabian NB History, Theology, Philosophy — footnotes & bibliography
Turabian AD Social Sciences — in-text (Author Year) & reference list
APA 7th Psychology, Nursing, Education — in-text (Author, Year)
MLA 9th English, Literature, Language — in-text (Author page)
A Brief History

From Dissertation Secretary to Global Standard — The Story of Turabian

1937

First Publication

Kate L. Turabian publishes the first edition of her manual while serving as the University of Chicago’s official dissertation secretary — creating a practical guide from the rules she had enforced for decades.

1955

Widespread Adoption

By the 4th edition, Turabian’s manual had become the standard reference at hundreds of universities across North America, particularly for humanities dissertations and theses.

2007

Major Revision — 7th Ed.

The 7th edition, revised by Wayne Booth and colleagues at Chicago, significantly expanded the manual to include digital sources and align more closely with the 15th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style.

2018

9th Edition — Current

The 9th edition (2018) updates Turabian to align with CMOS 17th edition, adds expanded digital and online source guidance, and refines both the Notes-Bibliography and Author-Date systems for contemporary academic use.

Two Parallel Systems

Notes-Bibliography vs Author-Date — Understanding the Core Distinction

Turabian does not have a single citation system. It has two — and choosing the wrong one, or mixing elements from both, is one of the most common and most penalised formatting errors in student papers.

Notes-Bibliography (NB)

The traditional humanities citation system. Superscript numbers in the text direct readers to numbered footnotes (or endnotes) at the bottom of the page. All cited sources appear alphabetically in a Bibliography at the end of the paper.

Primary Disciplines
  • History — most history courses at every level
  • Theology and Religious Studies
  • Philosophy (many programs)
  • Art History and Visual Culture
  • Literature and Classics (some programs)
  • Medieval and Renaissance Studies
In-Text Marker + Footnote Example

…the policy had significant consequences for the region.³

3. John A. Smith, Colonial Policy and Its Aftermath (Chicago: University Press, 2012), 147.

Corresponding Bibliography Entry

Smith, John A. Colonial Policy and Its Aftermath. Chicago: University Press, 2012.

Author-Date (AD)

The sciences and social sciences citation system. A brief parenthetical reference — (Author Year, page) — appears directly in the text. A full References list is compiled alphabetically at the end of the paper.

Primary Disciplines
  • Political Science and International Relations
  • Sociology and Social Work
  • Economics and Business (some programs)
  • Anthropology and Archaeology
  • Geography and Environmental Studies
  • Linguistics (some programs)
In-Text Parenthetical + Reference Entry

…the findings challenged existing models of social behaviour (García 2019, 88–91).

García, María L. 2019. Social Behaviour in Urban Contexts. New York: Academic Publishers.

Multiple Authors In-Text

Two authors: (Chen and Park 2021, 34)
Three or more: (Williams et al. 2020, 112)

Which System Should You Use?

Always follow your instructor’s instructions exactly. When in doubt: if your course is in the humanities (history, philosophy, theology, art history), use Notes-Bibliography. If it’s in the sciences or social sciences, use Author-Date. Never mix elements of both systems in a single paper. Our formatting specialists can identify and apply the correct system for any assignment.

Paper Formatting Specifications

Turabian Paper Layout — Margins, Font, Spacing, Title Page & Headings

Before a single citation is formatted, the physical structure of your paper must meet Turabian’s specifications. These layout requirements are non-negotiable — and instructors notice when they’re wrong.

← 1 inch margin → Turabian Paper Layout ← 1 inch margin →
Smith 3
Page Number
The Impact of Trade Policy on Colonial Economies
A level-2 subheading would appear here
Title / Heading
The expansion of Atlantic trade networks during the seventeenth century created economic dependencies that fundamentally altered the political structures of colonial territories. Merchants operating under chartered monopolies accumulated capital at rates unprecedented in early modern history.1
These structural changes, as Harrison has argued, were not merely economic in nature but represented a systematic reorganisation of labour and land rights that would define colonial governance for the following century.2
Body Text — 12pt, double-spaced, 1″ indent

1 James E. Harrison, Commerce and Colonialism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018), 44–46.
2 Harrison, Commerce and Colonialism, 89.
Footnotes — 10pt, single-spaced

Illustrative example — not to actual scale

  • Margins All sides

    1 inch on all four sides — top, bottom, left, and right. Some institutions require a slightly larger left margin (1.25–1.5 inches) for bound theses and dissertations. Follow your specific institution’s dissertation guidelines if they differ.

  • Font 12pt recommended

    Use a readable, consistent serif typeface throughout — Times New Roman 12pt is the default and most widely accepted. Avoid switching fonts within the paper. Footnotes and endnotes are set in the same typeface at a slightly smaller size (typically 10pt).

  • Line Spacing Double throughout

    The body of the paper is double-spaced throughout. Footnotes and endnotes are single-spaced internally but double-spaced between entries. Block quotations (five lines or more) are single-spaced and indented 0.5 inches from the left margin. The bibliography is double-spaced between entries.

  • Paragraph Indent 0.5 inch first line

    The first line of every paragraph is indented 0.5 inches using the tab key or paragraph formatting — never five spaces. The first paragraph after a heading is also indented. Block quotations are indented 0.5 inches from the left margin with no additional first-line indent.

  • Page Numbering Top right header

    Arabic numerals in the upper-right header. The title page is not numbered. If you have front matter (table of contents, abstract), it uses lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii) starting from the first page after the title page. The body of the paper begins Arabic numeral 1 on the first page of text.

  • Title Page Format No page number

    The paper title appears centred, one-third down the page. Your name, course name and number, instructor’s name, and submission date are centred in the lower third. No page number appears on the title page. Some instructors specify variations — follow their rubric if it differs from this standard layout.

Turabian Heading Styles — Five Levels Defined

Most student papers use only Levels 1–3. Doctoral dissertations and thesis chapters typically require all five. Always use heading levels consecutively — do not skip from Level 1 to Level 3.

Level
Formatting Specifications
Appearance in Paper
1
Centred · Bold · Title case · Stand-alone line
The Origins of Colonial Trade Policy
2
Centred · Italic · Title case · Stand-alone line
Economic Structures and Their Consequences
3
Flush left · Bold · Title case · Stand-alone line
Merchant Networks and Capital Accumulation
4
Flush left · Italic · Title case · Stand-alone line
Regional Variations in Trade Volume
5
Indented 0.5″ · Bold · Sentence case · Ends with period · Text runs on
Local commodity variations. The range of commodities traded in Atlantic ports varied significantly by region, with sugar dominating…
Citation Format Reference

Turabian Citations by Source Type — Notes-Bibliography & Author-Date Templates

Select a source type below to see the correct Turabian format for both systems. Templates use italicised placeholders — replace each element with your source’s actual information.

ElementNotes-Bibliography FootnoteAuthor-Date In-Text + Reference
Footnote / In-text
1 Firstname Lastname, Title of Book (Place: Publisher, Year), page.
(Lastname Year, page)
Short Note (subsequent)
7 Lastname, Short Title, page.
N/A — repeat in-text
Bibliography / Reference
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place: Publisher, Year.
Lastname, Firstname. Year. Title of Book. Place: Publisher.
Two authors
Firstname Lastname and Firstname Lastname, Title
Bib: Lastname, Firstname, and Firstname Lastname. Title.
In-text: (Lastname and Lastname Year)
Ref: Lastname, Firstname, and Firstname Lastname.
Three+ authors
Footnote: First Author et al., Title
Bib: List all authors (inverted first only)
In-text: (First Author et al. Year)
Ref: List all authors
No author
Title of Book (Place: Publisher, Year)…
Title of Book. Year. Place: Publisher.
Edited volume
Firstname Lastname, ed., Title
Bib: Lastname, Firstname, ed. Title.
Lastname, Firstname, ed. Year. Title. Place: Publisher.
ElementNotes-Bibliography FootnoteAuthor-Date In-Text + Reference
Footnote / In-text
3 Firstname Lastname, “Article Title,” Journal Name Vol, no. N (Year): page.
(Lastname Year, page)
Short Note
8 Lastname, “Short Article Title,” page.
N/A — repeat in-text
Bibliography / Reference
Lastname, Firstname. “Article Title.” Journal Name Vol, no. N (Year): pages. DOI or URL.
Lastname, Firstname. Year. “Article Title.” Journal Name Vol (N): pages. DOI.
With DOI
…pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx.
…pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx.
Database access
Footnote: include URL or database name if no DOI available
Reference: same — URL or database name
ElementNotes-Bibliography FootnoteAuthor-Date In-Text + Reference
With author
5 Firstname Lastname, “Page Title,” Site Name, Month Day, Year, URL.
(Lastname Year)
Bib / Reference
Lastname, Firstname. “Page Title.” Site Name. Month Day, Year. URL.
Lastname, Firstname. Year. “Page Title.” Site Name. Month Day. URL.
No author
6 “Page Title,” Site Name, accessed Month Day, Year, URL.
(“Page Title” Year)
Accessed date
Include “accessed Month Day, Year” when no publication date is available
Same rule applies for undated content
ElementNotes-Bibliography FootnoteAuthor-Date In-Text + Reference
Footnote / In-text
2 Firstname Lastname, “Chapter Title,” in Book Title, ed. Editor Name (Place: Publisher, Year), pages.
(Chapter Author Year, page)
Bibliography / Reference
Lastname, Firstname. “Chapter Title.” In Book Title, edited by Editor Firstname Lastname, pages. Place: Publisher, Year.
Lastname, Firstname. Year. “Chapter Title.” In Book Title, edited by Editor Name, pages. Place: Publisher.
ElementNotes-Bibliography FootnoteAuthor-Date In-Text + Reference
Footnote / In-text
4 Firstname Lastname, “Title” (PhD diss., University Name, Year), page.
(Lastname Year, page)
Bibliography / Reference
Lastname, Firstname. “Title.” PhD diss., University Name, Year.
Lastname, Firstname. Year. “Title.” PhD diss., University Name.
Master’s thesis
Replace “PhD diss.” with “MA thesis” or “master’s thesis”
Same substitution applies
ElementNotes-Bibliography FootnoteAuthor-Date In-Text + Reference
Print
9 Firstname Lastname, “Article Title,” Newspaper Name, Month Day, Year, section/page.
(Lastname Year)
Online
10 Firstname Lastname, “Article Title,” Newspaper Name, Month Day, Year, URL.
(Lastname Year)
No author (editorial)
“Article Title,” Newspaper Name, Month Day, Year.
(“Newspaper Name” Year) or (“Article Title” Year)

The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) maintains comprehensive Turabian/Chicago formatting guidance aligned with the 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, including notes-bibliography and author-date citation examples for all major source types.

Source: Purdue OWL — Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition Guide
Notes-Bibliography Deep Dive

Footnotes vs Bibliography — The Critical Formatting Differences

In the Notes-Bibliography system, the same source gets cited twice — once in the footnote and once in the bibliography. But the formats are not the same. Getting them mixed up is one of the most common errors in Turabian papers.

Footnote Format

Appears at the bottom of the page; numbered sequentially

3. Sarah J. Williams, The Atlantic Economy, 1600–1800 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2020), 224.
Key features of footnote format:
Author first name first Comma-separated elements Publication info in parentheses Specific page number cited Number + period at start
Shortened Note (2nd+ citation)
7. Williams, Atlantic Economy, 315.

After the first full footnote, use: Note number · Author last name · Shortened title · Page number. Do not use ibid. in Turabian 9th edition — it is discouraged in favour of shortened notes.

Bibliography Format

Alphabetical list at the end; hanging indent

Williams, Sarah J. The Atlantic Economy, 1600–1800. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2020.
Key differences from footnote:
Last name FIRST (inverted) Period-separated elements No parentheses around pub info No specific page number Hanging indent (0.5″)
Multi-Author Bibliography Rules
Chen, David, and Maria García. Trade Networks in the Early Modern Period. Boston: Harvard University Press, 2021.

Only the first author’s name is inverted in bibliography entries. All subsequent authors are written in normal order (First Last). Separate all authors with commas; use “and” before the final author.

Quick Memory Rule

Footnotes use commas to separate elements and parentheses around publication information. Bibliography entries use periods to separate elements and no parentheses. The author’s name is First Last in footnotes but Last, First in the bibliography. These three differences account for the majority of Turabian formatting errors in student papers. For complex citation situations, our citation formatting specialists handle every source type correctly.

All Source Types Covered

Turabian Citation Templates by Source Type — With Annotated Examples

Every source type you might cite in a Turabian paper has a specific format. Expand each category below for the exact template and annotated example — for both citation systems.

NB Footnote Template — Single Author
N. Firstname Lastname, Title of Book (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), page number(s).
NB Bibliography Entry Template
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place: Publisher, Year.
Note the differences: Author name inverted. Period after author. Period after each major element — not comma. Publication data not in parentheses.
AD Reference Entry Template
Lastname, Firstname. Year. Title of Book. Place: Publisher.
In Author-Date, the publication year is placed immediately after the author’s name, separated by a period — not at the end of the entry as in the NB bibliography format.
Translated Book — NB Footnote
N. Firstname Lastname, Title, trans. Translator Firstname Lastname (Place: Publisher, Year), page.
Book with Edition — NB Footnote
N. Firstname Lastname, Title, Nth ed. (Place: Publisher, Year), page.
Edition information appears after the title, before the parenthetical publication data. Abbreviate: 2nd ed., 3rd ed., etc.
NB Footnote — Print Journal Article
N. Firstname Lastname, “Article Title,” Journal Title volume, no. issue (Year): page(s).
NB Bibliography — Online Journal with DOI
Lastname, Firstname. “Article Title.” Journal Title vol, no. issue (Year): pages. https://doi.org/xxxxxx.
When a DOI is available, always include it. DOIs are preferred over database URLs because they are stable permanent identifiers. If no DOI exists, provide the URL of the journal or database homepage — not a direct article link that may expire.
AD In-Text + Reference — Journal Article
In-text: (Lastname Year, page)

Lastname, Firstname. Year.Article Title.” Journal Title vol (issue): pages. https://doi.org/xxxxxx.
In Author-Date format, the volume and issue numbers are formatted slightly differently: the issue number appears in parentheses directly after the volume number, without “no.” preceding it — e.g., Journal Name 14 (2): 88–104.
NB Footnote — Website with Known Author and Date
N. Firstname Lastname, “Page or Article Title,” Website or Organisation Name, Month Day, Year, URL.
NB Bibliography — Website (no date, no author)
Page Title.” Website Name. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.
When no author and no publication date are available, include an access date — “Accessed Month Day, Year” — to document when you retrieved the content. This is particularly important for pages that may be updated frequently.
Institutional Website — Government or Organisation
N. “Document Title,” Agency or Organisation, Month Day, Year, URL.

Agency Name. “Document Title.” Month Day, Year. URL.
NB Footnote — Manuscript / Letter
N. Author to Recipient, Month Day, Year, Collection Name, Box/Folder info, Repository Name, Location.
Archival materials are most common in humanities papers using Notes-Bibliography. List the item description first, then work outward to the collection, repository, and location. Abbreviations for repositories can be established on first use: “National Archives (NA)” — then use the abbreviation in subsequent notes.
NB Bibliography — Archival Collection
Repository Name. Collection Name. Location.
In the bibliography, archival collections are listed by repository (holding institution), not by individual documents. Only include the collection-level entry — do not list each individual document.
NB Footnote — Film
N. Film Title, directed by Director Name (Studio, Year).
NB Footnote — Online Video (YouTube)
N. Author/Channel Name, “Video Title,” Month Day, Year, video, runtime, URL.
NB Footnote — Podcast Episode
N. “Episode Title,” Podcast Name, Month Day, Year, URL.
For social media posts, cite the author’s name as it appears on the platform, the platform (e.g., “Twitter/X,” “Instagram”), the date of the post, and a URL or archived URL. Social media posts are typically footnoted only — they are often not included in the bibliography unless they are a primary source of analysis.
NB Footnote — Published Dissertation (ProQuest etc.)
N. Firstname Lastname, “Dissertation Title” (PhD diss., University Name, Year), page.
NB Footnote — Unpublished Conference Paper
N. Firstname Lastname, “Paper Title” (paper presented at Conference Name, Location, Month Day–Day, Year).
NB Bibliography — Dissertation
Lastname, Firstname.Dissertation Title.” PhD diss., University Name, Year.
For theses accessed through ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, include the database name and document number after the year: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (Document No. XXXXXX).

Can’t Find Your Source Type?

Turabian 9th edition covers dozens more source types — including legal materials, musical scores, paintings, photographs, maps, sacred texts, and government documents. Our citation formatting specialists handle every source type correctly, including unusual and hybrid sources that don’t fit neatly into any template. If you have a difficult citation, contact our team before your deadline.

What Instructors Penalise

The 7 Most Common Turabian Formatting Mistakes — and How to Fix Each One

These errors appear in student Turabian papers with enough regularity that most instructors check for them specifically. Each is illustrated with a wrong and corrected example.

  • 1

    Using the Same Format for Footnotes and Bibliography

    Incorrect Bibliography Entry
    3. Jane Doe, A History of Modern Policy (Boston: MIT Press, 2019), 45.
    This is footnote format. Using it in the bibliography is one of the most frequently penalised Turabian errors.
    Correct Bibliography Entry
    Doe, Jane. A History of Modern Policy. Boston: MIT Press, 2019.
    Bibliography: last name first, periods between elements, no parentheses, no page number, hanging indent.
  • 2

    Using “Ibid.” in Turabian 9th Edition

    Outdated Practice
    4. Doe, History of Modern Policy, 89.
    5. Ibid., 91.
    Ibid. was standard in earlier editions but is now discouraged in Turabian 9th edition.
    Current Standard
    4. Doe, History of Modern Policy, 89.
    5. Doe, History of Modern Policy, 91.
    Use the shortened note format (Last name, Shortened title, page) for all subsequent citations of the same source.
  • 3

    Wrong Page Number Format in Footnotes

    Incorrect
    6. Chen, Pacific Trade Networks, pp. 112–113.
    Do not use “pp.” or “p.” before page numbers in Turabian footnotes. Also note: use an en-dash (–) between page ranges, not a hyphen (-).
    Correct
    6. Chen, Pacific Trade Networks, 112–13.
    Use condensed page ranges: 112–13 (not 112–113). Omit repeated digits: 245–48 (not 245–248). Use an en-dash, not a hyphen.
  • 4

    Placing the Footnote Number Before the Punctuation

    Incorrect Placement
    The treaty failed to prevent further conflict4, which led historians to question its intentions.
    The superscript note number must come after the punctuation mark, not before it.
    Correct Placement
    The treaty failed to prevent further conflict,4 which led historians to question its intentions.
    Footnote superscripts follow commas, periods, and other punctuation. The only exception: a dash, where the note number precedes the dash.
  • 5

    Formatting All Source Titles the Same Way

    Incorrect
    Harrison, Commerce and Colonialism, chap. The Merchant’s Role.

    Williams, “The Atlantic Economy.”
    Chapter titles in books and article titles in journals should be in quotation marks, not italicised. Books and journals are italicised.
    Correct
    Harrison, Commerce and Colonialism, chap. 3, “The Merchant’s Role.”

    Williams, “The Atlantic Economy,” Journal of Economic History.
    Rule: italicise books, journals, films, albums, websites. Use “quotation marks” for articles, chapters, episodes, songs, and shorter works.
  • 6

    Incorrect Author-Date In-Text Citation Format

    Incorrect (APA Format Used)
    …reinforced existing social hierarchies (García, 2019, p. 88).
    This is APA format, not Turabian Author-Date. Common error when students confuse the two systems.
    Correct Turabian AD
    …reinforced existing social hierarchies (García 2019, 88).
    Turabian Author-Date: no comma between author and year. No “p.” before page number. The parenthetical is (Author Year, page) — simple and clean.
  • 7

    Not Using Hanging Indents in the Bibliography

    No Hanging Indent
    Doe, Jane. A History of Modern Policy. Boston: MIT Press, 2019.
    When the entry wraps to a second line, both lines appear flush left — no hanging indent visible.
    Correct Hanging Indent
    Doe, Jane. A History of Modern Policy. Boston: MIT         Press, 2019.
    The first line is flush left; all continuation lines indent 0.5 inches. Set this in Word using Format → Paragraph → Indentation → Special → Hanging → 0.5″.
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Turabian Format Help — What Does It Cost?

Whether you need an existing paper reformatted, citations corrected, or a full Turabian research paper written from scratch — pricing is based on scope, level, and deadline. Every tier includes a plagiarism report and free revisions.

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You’ve written the paper — we reformat it to exact Turabian specifications and correct all citation errors.
  • Footnote & bibliography reformatting
  • Title page setup to Turabian standard
  • Margins, font, spacing, headings
  • Page number placement corrected
  • 14-day free revision window
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Research paper written from scratch with complete Turabian formatting — citations, footnotes, bibliography, and layout included.
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per page — starting price
Thesis & Dissertation Formatting
Full Turabian thesis or dissertation formatting — all front matter, chapter headings, notes, bibliography, and appendices.
  • Table of contents & front matter
  • Chapter-level heading structures
  • Full notes & bibliography formatting
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Whether you need an existing paper reformatted or a new Turabian paper written from scratch, the process is the same four steps — most orders are assigned to a specialist within 30 minutes.

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Upload your assignment, rubric, or existing draft. Specify your Turabian system (NB or AD), academic level, page count, deadline, and any specific instructor requirements or deviations from the standard.

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Your Questions Answered

Turabian Format Help — Frequently Asked Questions

The questions students most often ask before ordering Turabian formatting assistance — answered clearly, without jargon.

Turabian and Chicago style share the same citation logic — both descend from the University of Chicago’s style conventions. The key difference is scope and audience. The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is a comprehensive professional reference covering publishing, typesetting, and editorial practice across hundreds of pages. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (now in its 9th edition, 2018) adapts CMOS specifically for student papers and dissertations, adding guidance on research and writing that the full CMOS doesn’t address. When your instructor says “Turabian,” they mean the Manual for Writers; when they say “Chicago,” they typically mean the same underlying style but may be referring to the full CMOS. In practice, the citation formats are nearly identical — but follow the 9th edition of Turabian if that is specifically required. Our formatting specialists are fluent in both and will apply the correct standard.

Yes — this is one of our most commonly requested formatting services. Upload your existing paper and specify which Turabian system your course requires (Notes-Bibliography or Author-Date). Your formatting specialist will convert all in-text citations or footnotes to the correct Turabian format, construct the bibliography or reference list from scratch, reformat the title page and heading styles, and ensure margins, spacing, and page numbering all meet Turabian 9th edition specifications. Reformatting an existing paper is typically faster and less expensive than writing a new paper — most reformatting orders fall in the 12–24 hour turnaround window. See our formatting and citation service for the full scope of what’s included, and our editing and proofreading service if you need content corrections alongside the formatting changes.

It depends on which Turabian system you’re using. Notes-Bibliography (NB) uses footnotes (at the bottom of each page) or endnotes (at the end of the paper) — numbered with superscript numerals in the text that correspond to full citations in the notes. NB does not use in-text parenthetical citations in the body of the paper. Author-Date (AD) uses parenthetical in-text citations — (Author Year, page) — exactly like a simplified APA or Harvard system, with a full References list at the end. Some instructors permit endnotes rather than footnotes in the NB system — check your rubric or ask your instructor. Our formatting specialists implement whichever approach your assignment requires.

Turabian is used most heavily in the humanities and some social sciences. The Notes-Bibliography system is standard in History (at virtually every academic level), Theology and Religious Studies, Philosophy, Art History, Medieval Studies, and some Literature programs. The Author-Date system is used in Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, Economics (some programs), and Linguistics. If you’re uncertain which system your paper requires, check your course syllabus — instructors almost always specify. Our team handles Turabian for all these disciplines and more. For history students, our history assignment writing service has specialists who use Turabian NB daily. For political science, our political science assignment help team covers Turabian AD fluently.

Turabian uses block quotations (also called extract quotations) for prose passages of five or more lines and poetry of two or more lines. Block quotations are formatted as follows: start on a new line without opening quotation marks; indent the entire quotation 0.5 inches from the left margin; single-space the block quotation (even though the rest of the paper is double-spaced); do not add additional space above or below the block; omit the closing quotation mark; place the footnote number (NB) or parenthetical citation (AD) at the end of the quotation, after the final punctuation mark. Shorter prose passages (under five lines) are incorporated within the regular text in double quotation marks and cited in the normal footnote or parenthetical manner. Accurate block quotation formatting matters because it affects your page count, your word count calculation, and your instructor’s perception of your attention to detail.

For formatting an existing paper, turnaround is typically 6–12 hours for papers up to 15 pages. Longer thesis or dissertation chapters may require 24–48 hours for careful formatting throughout. For writing a new Turabian research paper from scratch, standard turnaround is 24–48 hours for a 5–10 page paper. Graduate-level papers (15–30 pages) typically take 48–72 hours. Rush delivery from 3 hours is available for short assignments; rush formatting from 6 hours for papers under 15 pages. A 20–50% rush premium applies and is shown before payment. For urgent requests, contact our support team via live chat immediately after ordering to flag the assignment as urgent and minimise assignment time. For more on urgent deadlines, read about our same-day writing service.

Yes. Our formatting specialists regularly handle unusual source types that don’t fit neatly into the standard templates. Turabian 9th edition covers: archival and manuscript sources, government documents (federal and state), legal materials (court cases, statutes, regulations), sacred and classical texts (Bible, Quran, Talmud, classical Greek and Latin works), musical scores and recordings, paintings and works of visual art, maps and cartographic materials, personal communications (letters, emails, interviews), social media posts, and more. For sacred texts, Turabian follows a particular citation logic — chapter and verse replace page numbers, and the version or edition of the text is typically cited at first mention and may not require a bibliography entry. Archival citation formats depend on the type of collection and the repository. Our team handles all of these consistently and correctly. Contact us with your specific source types before ordering if you’re unsure.

Yes — writing Turabian-formatted research papers from scratch is one of our most requested services. Our team includes history specialists, philosophy academics, theology writers, art history experts, and political science researchers who use Turabian daily in their own scholarly work. A paper ordered through our research paper writing service comes fully formatted in Turabian from the title page to the final bibliography entry — you don’t need to do any formatting at all. For historical research papers specifically, our history assignment writing service covers primary and secondary source research, historiographical analysis, and correct Turabian NB citation throughout. For graduate-level thesis chapters, our dissertation writing service handles full Turabian compliance at doctoral level.

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