So You Cited Yourself...But Not Yourself, Your Source! A Guide to Chicago Multi-Sourcing (Without the Tears)
Ah, Chicago. The land of footnotes and parenthetical citations, a writer's playground...until you hit a wall. You've found this amazing source, a veritable goldmine of information, and now you need to cite it repeatedly throughout your masterpiece. But wait! Do you write out the entire citation every single time? Negative, my friend! There's a way to navigate this scholarly labyrinth without turning into a citation-writing robot.
Round One: Introducing Your Source with a Flourish (and All the Trimmings)
The first time you use a source, it's like throwing a fancy dinner party. You gotta introduce your guest with all the pomp and circumstance, right? So, for a book, that means the full monty:
- Author's Last Name, First Name Middle Name. "Title of the Book in Italics". Publisher, Year. Page number(s).
For example:
- Smith, John Henry. The Totally Legit Guide to Citations. Acme Publishing, 2023. 42.
Easy enough, right? Now, on to the fun part...
Round Two: Subsequent Citations - Shortcut City!
Imagine inviting your fancy dinner guest back for a casual barbecue. You don't need the whole introduction again, do you? Same goes for citations! Here's how to keep things breezy:
- Shortened Author Last Name, Shortened Title (minus articles like "a" or "the"), Page number(s).
For instance, if you continue citing John Henry Smith's book:
- Smith, Legit Guide, 45.
Pro Tip 1: If you're citing the same source multiple times in a row, you can even ditch the title after the first shortened citation. Just keep those page numbers handy!
- Smith, 47.
Pro Tip 2: Feeling spicy? Chicago used to allow "ibid" (Latin for "in the same place") for consecutive citations. It's still technically understood by some, but the new hotness is the shortened form. Play it safe and stick with that!
But Wait, There's More! (Because Chicago Loves Options)
Let's say you're rocking the author-date system in Chicago (parenthetical citations in text). Here, subsequent citations are even simpler. Just repeat the author and year you used the first time, adding any new page numbers:
- (Smith 2023, 42) (First citation)
- (Smith 2023, 47) (Subsequent citation)
See? A breeze!
So there you have it! Now you can keep your citations in check without losing your mind (or your sense of humor) Remember, referencing your sources is about giving credit where credit is due, not about turning yourself into a citation-generating machine. Now go forth and conquer that research paper, my friend!
