Skip to Main Content
chat now!

Turabian 9 Author-Date Style

A reference list is the list of all resources cited in your paper.  In section 18.2.2 Turabian does indicate that some sources such as the Bible, newspaper articles, reviews, and television and radio programs may be cited only in parenthetical citations unless the work is critical to your argument. Always consult with your professor.  

18.2 Arranging Reference Lists

18.2.1 Arranging Your Reference List

  • Reference List entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the author or editor. 
  • When utilizing more than one work by the same individual, list the items chronologically by publication date.
  • For each item after the first by the same individual, replace the author's last name with a 3-em dash.  According to section 21.7.3, 6 hyphens are the equivalent of a 3-em dash.  When needed, place a comma and the appropriate abbreviation such as ed., after the dash.
  • When using both items written, edited, or translated by an individual and items coauthored or coedited by the same individual, list items coauthored or coedited after all other items.
  • If you have more than one item published in the same year by an author or group of authors, list the items in alphabetical order by title and add the letters a, b, etc. after the date to distinguish the items.  Use the date and letter combination in your parenthetical citation for these items.
  • Items without a named author are alphabetized by the first word of the title omitting initial articles (a, an, the).

Formatting Reference List

Heading

  • Center and bold the word Reference List at the top of the first page as indicated by section A.1.5. 
  • Do not repeat this heading on additional pages.
  • Leave two blank lines before the first item in the reference list.

Spacing and Indentation:

  • A reference list should be single-spaced with a blank line between entries.
  • Reference list entries utilize hanging indentation as shown in the example below. The first line of each reference list entry is not indented and begins at the far left margin. Each subsequent line is indented a tab or 5 spaces like a paragraph.

Example of proper hanging indent.

  • Turabian recommends utilizing the tab key rather than the space bar to achieve consistent alignment.