Citing Turabian (Author-Date)

Citing Turabian (Author-Date) - Academic Integrity

The following guide is for the Author-Date version of Turabian (typically only used by the Doctor of Ministry Program at Tyndale). For any other courses requiring Turabian, your professor likely wants the "Notes-Bibliiography" style, which is the same as Chicago style. For more information on that style, please visit our guide to Citing in Chicago Style.  

Turabian is an offshoot of the Chicago Manual of Style that is typically reserved for graduate level academic work. It is primarily used at Tyndale in the Doctor of Ministry program, though it is occasionally used in other Seminary courses. Details about Turabian can be found in A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 9th edition. 

Formatting

Title Page

Turabian (Author-Date) requires a title page for all assignments. You should include the name of your school (Tyndale University), your paper’s title and subtitle, the phrase “An assignment in partial fulfilment of [Course Name]”, “Tyndale Seminary”, the name of your professor, your name, city, and due date. View a sample title page!

Page Numbers

Include page numbers centred in the footer of all pages. Do NOT number title pages, approval pages, or copyright pages. Front matter (if applicable – mainly used for final portfolios) uses lowercase Roman numerals, while the main body of your content uses Arabic numbers, with page 1 being the first page of your introduction.

Headings

Turabian (Author-Date) recommends headings in papers of six pages or longer. Your headings will remain double-spaced but with an additional single-spaced (12-pt) line before each heading. Use the heading formatting as listed below.

CHAPTER IV:
CENTRED, ALL CAPITALIZED LETTERING

Level 1: Centred, Bold, Title-Style Capitalization

Level 2: Centred, Regular Font, Title-Style Capitalization

Level 3: Flush Left, Bold, Title-Style Capitalization

Level 4: Flush Left, Regular Font, Title-Style Capitalization

        Level 5: Indented to start with paragraph. Bold, sentence-style capitalization, and end heading with a period. Do not leave additional space after the heading but go straight into your paragraph.

Font

A Turabian paper should be written in 12 pt. font, Times New Roman, and double spaced. Do NOT include extra spacing between paragraphs; instead, indent the first line of each paragraph by one half-inch.

Citation Rules and Common Sources in Turabian

Formatting In-Text Citation

Turabian uses an “author-date” citation style. This means that whenever you include a quote or paraphrase in your assignments, you must include the author’s last name, the source’s year of publication, and the page number where you got your information from.

  • Quotation Example: In many ways, true “patience hangs on our capacity to believe that God is up to something good for us in all our delays and detours” (Piper 1992, 34).
  • Paraphrase Example: In the Colossians 1 hymn, we see that character, markers, and treasures traditionally applied to wisdom in the Old Testament are now being applied to Christ (Bevere 2003, 127).

Frequently in your assignments, you may signal a quotation or paraphrasing using a signal phrase, also known as “narrative citations” (e.g., ”Author writes…” or “As Author claims,”). In that case, include the year of publication and page number in brackets immediately following the author’s name. 

  • Quotation Example: Piper (1992, 34) claims, “The strength of patience hangs on our capacity to believe that God is up to something good for us in all our delays and detours.”
  • Paraphrase Example: In the Colossians 1 hymn, Bevere (2003, 127) points out that the character, markers, and treasures applied to wisdom in the Old Testament were now being applied to Christ.

Block Quotations

For a quotation of 5 or more lines of prose in your paper, use block formatting. Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase and colon. Forgo quotation marks (except to note quotations within the quotation) and indent the quoted material 1 inch from the left margin. Block quotations should be single spaced, and page numbers go outside of the sentence.

...(Let's pretend this block quotation comes in the middle of a paragraph. Before starting the quotation, provide a contextualizing sentence like the next one.) Pentecostals recognize that there is a “paradox” in how God is depicted in Scripture, but it does not bother them: 

The absolute, immutable, changeless, timeless, impassible God is also the personal God who answers prayer and seemingly changes his mind. For Pentecostal thinking, the paradox contained in biblical descriptions of God does not pose any problems because they experience God in dynamic, personal terms as the unknowable God who in his greatness, might and majesty as Master of the universe falls outside the frame of reference of human beings, who are the works of his hands. (Nel 2017, 5)

Of course, the fact that we can never fully know God does not mean we should hold back from seeking to know Him better. (And then you would keep going with more sentences that elaborate on your quotation and continue your paragraph. Note that you do not indent the beginning of this part because it is not a new paragraph.)

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Formatting Reference List

In addition to in-text citations, Turabian also requires a Reference List. This is an alphabetized list of every source quoted and paraphrased in your assignment. In the event that you use two sources by the same author, list those sources in chronological order with the oldest entry first.

List your sources on a new page at the end of your paper with the bolded title Reference List. Double-space the entire page, start entries at the left margin, and use a hanging indent of half an inch for entries that spill onto two or more lines.

When including titles in your Reference List, use “Title-Style Capitalization.” This means that you should capitalize the first letter of all titles, the first letter of all subtitles, and any other major words in those titles (e.g., “Mission” and “Physical” but not “for” or “a”). Titles of shorter works (journal articles, chapters, etc.) should be in quotation marks. Titles of most other works (journals, databases, anthologies, etc.) should be in italics.

When citing online sources, provide a DOI number whenever possible. If there is no DOI number available, provide a Permalink or Stable URL.

NOTE: Although the Turabian manual permits the inclusion of sources into your Reference List that inspired your thoughts but were not actually cited, most Tyndale professors prefer that these sources NOT be included in your Reference List.

Reference List

Bevere, Allan R. (2003). Sharing in the Inheritance: Identity and the Moral Life in Colossians. London: Sheffield Academic Press, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=nlebk&AN=378257&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=s9775827&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_Cover.

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Authors, Editors, and Translators

Two or Three Authors

Include all authors’ names in the in-text citation and the Reference List entry.

  • Narrative Citation: Keng, Lin, and Ozarem (2017, 22) discuss “….”
  • Parenthetical Citation: "...end of quotation" (Keng, Lin, and Ozarem 2017, 27).

​Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname, Second Othername, and Third Anothername. Year. “Title of the Article.” Title of the Journal [volume] #, [issue] no. # (Other date info): pg. range. DOI number/URL.

Keng, Shao-Hsun, Chun-Hung Lin, and Peter F. Orazem. 2017. “Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality and Income Inequality.” Journal of Human Capital 11, no. 1 (Spring): 1–34.https://doi.org/10.1086/690235.

Four or More Authors

For in-text citations, give the first author’s last name followed by the acronym “et al.” For the Reference List entry, include all authors’ name if the source has 10 or fewer authors. For more than 10 authors, include the first seven names in your Reference List entry followed by “et al.” 

  • Narrative Citation:  Weber et al. (2017, 45) argues, “….”
  • Parenthetical Citation: ...end of paraphrase (Weber et al. 2017, 52).

Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname, Anothername Lastname, Thirdname  Lastname, and Onemore Lastname. Year. “Title of the Article.” Title of the Journal [volume] #, [issue] no. # (Other date info): pg. range. DOI number/URL.

Weber, Jesse N., Martin Kalbe, Kum Chuan Shim, Noémie I. Erin, Natalie C. Steinel, Lei Ma, and Daniel I. Bolnick. 2017. “Resist Globally, Infect Locally: A Transcontinental Test of Adaptation by Stickleback and Their Tapeworm Parasite.” American Naturalist 189, no. 1 (January): 43–57. https://doi.org/10.1086/689597.

Editors

In your Reference List entry, when you need to cite a book’s editor instead of author, include the abbreviation “ed./eds.” after the editor(s)’s names. The in-text citation simply uses the editor(s) name(s) as if they were the authors. 

  • Narrative Citation: As Christiansen and Ramadevi (2002, 21) claim, “….”
  • Parenthetical Citation: "...end of quotation" (Christiansen and Ramadevi 2002, 14).

​Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname, ed/eds. Year. Title of the Book. Publishing City: Publishing Company.

Christiansen, Helen and Sharon Ramadevi, eds. 2002. Reeducating the Educator: Global Perspectives on Community Building. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Translators

If you need to cite a source where there is a translator, include a separate sentence in your Reference List entry starting with “Translated by….” Do not include the translator(s)’s name(s) in the in-text citation.

  • Narrative Citation: Bonhoeffer (1978, 49) suggests, “….”
  • Parenthetical Citation: ...end of paraphrase (Bonhoeffer 1978, 58).

​Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname. Year. Title of the Book. Translated by Translator Name(s). Publishing City: Publishing Company.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 1978. Christ the Center. Translated by Edwin Robertson. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

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Books (eBooks, Chapters in a Collection)

Print Book

  • Narrative Citation: Bruce (1988, 87) clarifies this way: “….”
  • Parenthetical Citation: "...end of quotation" (Bruce 1988, 92).

Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname. Year. Title of the Book. Publishing City: Publishing Company.

Bruce, F. F. 1988. The Canon of Scripture. Downer’s Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press.

eBook

When an ebook has no page numbers/non-stable pagination, use the smallest identifiable locator instead (e.g., paragraph or chapter number, section name, etc.) in the in-text citation. Include the DOI number, URL, or eBook edition (e.g., Kindle edition, etc.) as applicable.

  • Narrative Citation: Bevere (2003, 17) writes, “….”
  • Parenthetical Citation: ...end of paraphrase (Bevere, 2003, 31).

Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname. Year. Title of the Book. Publishing City: Publishing Company. DOI#/URL.

Bevere, Allan R. 2003. Sharing in the Inheritance: Identity and the Moral Life in Colossians. London: Sheffield Academic Press, https://ezproxy.mytyndale.ca:2443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/....

Reventlow, Henning Graf. 2009. From the Old Testament to Origen. Volume 1 of History of Biblical Interpretation. Translated by Leo G. Perdue. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature. Nook edition.

Chapter/Essay in an Anthology

For in-text citations, only include the author’s name for the chapter/article/essay you are citing.

  • Narrative Citations: Binkley (2011, 156) argues, “….”
  • Parenthetical Citations: "...end of quotation" (Binkley 2011, 163).

For the Reference Entry, you can use shortened page ranges (dropping repeated numbers).

Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname. Year. “Title of the Chapter/Essay.” In Title of the Anthology, edited by Editor(s) Name(s), pg. range. Publishing City: Publishing Company.

Binkley, Cameron. 2011. “Saving Redwoods: Clubwomen and Conservation, 1900-1925.” In California Women and Politics: From the Gold Rush to the Great Depression, edited by Robert W. Cherny, Mary Ann Irwin, and Ann Marie Wilson, 151-74. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

If you reference two or more chapters/essays from the same collection, you must include a separate Reference entry for both chapters/essays.

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Class Materials (lectures, PowerPoints, etc.)

Lecture

For your in-text citations, list "personal communication" and the date of the lecture in brackets instead of year and page number. 

  • Narrative Citation: W. Kwan (personal communication, March 12, 2021) suggested his personal experiences were more than enough evidence to support his findings.
  • Parenthetical Citation: "...end of quotation" (W. Kwan, personal communication, March 12, 2021).

For your Reference List entry, in place of publication information, provide the name of the school or organization hosting the lecture.

Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname. Year. “Title of the Lecture.” Type of Address, School or organization giving the lecture, City, Date.

Webb, Bill. 2019. “Validation of Semantic Fields.” Lecture, Tyndale University, Toronto, October 1, 2019.

Lecture Notes or PowerPoints

Turabian (Author-Date) does have an official format for how to cite lectures notes or PowerPoints. As such, we recommend using the Reference List template for lectures (above) but with “Lecture Notes” or “PowerPoint” as the “Type of Address.”

For in text citations, in lieu of page numbers, provide some sort of indicator (lecture note page number, slide number, etc.) to let your reader know where you got the information from.

  • Narrative Citation: Webb (2019, slide 4) argues "...."
  • Parenthetical Citation: "...end of quotation" (Webb 2019, slide 4).

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Commentaries (Multi-volume, in a Series, on STEP Bible)

Multi-Volume Commentaries

This refers to any commentary (or other multi-volume work) that includes at least two volumes. Note that in Reference List entry, the titles for both the individual volume and the larger multivolume work are italicized.

(Please note that the templates below include the basic information that should be included when citing a multi-volume work. The Karl Barth example includes extra features (like “part #” and translator) applicable to that work only.)

  • Narrative Citation: Barth (2004, 145) states, “….”
  • Parenthetical Citation: "...end of quotation" (Barth 2004, 159).

Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname. Year. Title of the Individual Book/Volume. Vol. #, Title of the Larger Multi-Volume Work, edited by Editor(s) Name(s). Publishing City: Publishing Company.

Barth, Karl. 2004. The Doctrine of the Word of God. Vol. 1, part 2, Church Dogmatics, translated by G. T. Thomson and Harold Knight, edited by G. W. Bromiley and Thomas F Torrance. London: T&T Clarke, 2004.

Commentary in a Series (Non-Volumed)

This refers to commentaries that do not have different volumes BUT are included in a larger series of commentaries published by the same group. Note that the series title is not italicized. 

  • Narrative Citation: Enns (2000, 161) presents, “….”
  • Parenthetical Citation: ...end of paraphrase (Enns 2000, 155).

Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname. Year. Title of the Commentary. Title of the Larger Series. Edited by Editor(s) Name(s). Publication City: Publication Company.

Enns, Peter. 2000. Exodus. The NIV Application Commentary Series. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Commentary on STEP Bible

When citing a commentary found on STEP Bible, cite it like a regular commentary (including title of book and series as applicable) but also include information for the website title and the URL. Since there are no page numbers, you can drop that part of the in-text citation.  

  • Narrative Citation: Kelley and Brown (2020) explain, “….”
  • Parenthetical Citation: "...end of quotation" (Kelley and Brown 2020).

Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname. Year. Title of the Commentary. Title of the Larger Series. Publishing City: Publishing Company. Title of the Website. URL.

Kelley, Sullu and Bill Brown. 2020. 1 Samuel. John Wesley’s Notes on the Bible. Cambridge: Tyndale House. STEP Bible. https://www.stepbible.org/?q=version=Wesley|reference=1Sa.1.

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Periodicals (Journals, Newspapers, etc.)

Peer-Reviewed Journal

The example reference below assumes you are looking at an electronic journal article. Whenever possible, include a DOI (digital object identifier) number in place of a Permalink or Stable URL. If you are citing a print version of a journal article, everything is the same except no DOI number or URL is included.

  • Narrative Citation: As Janzen et al. (2017, 78) argue, “….”
  • Parenthetical Citation: "...end of quotation" (Janzen et al. 2017, 67).

Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname. Year. “Title of the Article.” Title of the Journal [volume] #, [issue] no. # (Other date info): pg. range. DOI number/URL.

Janzen, Rich, Sam Reimer, Mark Chapman, and Joanna Ochoka. 2017. “Community-Based Research and the Faith-Based Campus.” The Engaged Scholar Journal: Community Engaged Research, Training, and Learning 3, no. 1 (Spring 2017): 63-81. https://dx.doi.org/10.15402/esj.v1i1.225.

Magazine Article

For in-text citations, only include page numbers if you are using a print copy of a magazine. If you cite an online magazine, simply include the author’s last name and year in the brackets.

  • Narrative Citation: As McGinnis (2022) argues, “….”
  • Parenthetical Citation: ...end of paraphrase (McGinnis 2022).

Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname. Year. “Title of the Article.” Title of the Magazine, Month Day. URL if applicable. 

McGinnis, Kelsey Kramer. 2022. “Here I Am to Sound Check.” Christianity Today, July 22, 2022. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/july-web-only/church-volunteer....

Newspaper Article

For in-text citations, do not include page numbers for newspaper articles since page numbers can vary across editions.

  • Narrative Citation: Marguiles (2020) writes, “….”
  • Parenthetical Citation: "...end of quotation" (Marguiles 2020).

Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname. Year. “Title of the Article.” Newspaper Title. Month Day, Year. URL or Section.

Margulies, Megan. 2020. “Kids Need Superheroes Now More Than Ever.” New York Times. September 21, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/21/parenting/kids-superheroes.html.

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Reference Works (Dictionaries, Encyclopaedias, etc.)

If you are citing a reference work that is regularly updated (e.g., popular dictionaries or encyclopaedias), use “n.d.” in place of a publishing year and provide a “Retrieval date” as part of your Reference entry.

However, if you are citing a reference work that is published as a unique edition without frequent updates (e.g., A discipline-specific dictionary that publishes a new edition every five or so years), then you should use the proper publishing date and not include a “Retrieval date.”

Common Reference Works

When citing a common online reference work (e.g., popular dictionaries or encyclopaedias available online), include the name of the reference work, the term being looked up, the access date, and the URL (if applicable) in your in-text citation. Do NOT include an entry in your Reference List.

Theological Dictionaries and Other Authored-Reference Works

For more specialized reference works (i.e., concordances, Bible dictionaries, etc.), cite them like you would a normal book or online source.

For the in-text citation, use the word being defined instead of the page number. 

  • Narrative Citation: Reynolds (2013) defines "Logos" as "...."
  • Parenthetical Citation: "...end of quotation" (Reynolds 2013, "Logos")

Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname. Year. “Word Being Looked Up.” In Title of the Reference Work, edited by Editor(s) Name(s), pg. range. Publishing City: Publishing Company.

Reynolds, Benjamin E. 2013. “Logos.” In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, edited by Nicholas Perrin, Jeannine Brown, and Joel Green, 523-526. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.

Lexicon on STEP Bible

When citing a lexicon found on STEP Bible, cite it like an online theological dictionary. Make sure you include any vowel or accent markers for the word you are looking up.

  • Narrative Citation: Liddell and Scott (1999) define Agapaō this way:  “….”
  • Parenthetical Citation : "...end of quotation" (Liddell and Scott 1999).

Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname. Year. s.v. “Term you are looking up.” Publishing City: Publishing Company. Website Title. URL.

Liddell, H. G., and R. Scott. 1999. s.v. “Agapaō.” Cambridge: Tyndale House. STEPBible.  https://www.stepbible.org/?q=version=ESV|strong=G0025&options=VNHUG.

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Sacred Works

The Bible and Other Sacred Works

For in-text citations, indicate the book, chapter, and verse where you got your reference from. Use abbreviated book names (found in chapter 24.6 in A Manual for Writers) in parenthetical citations but the full name in narrative citations.

  • Narrative Citation: John writes in Revelation 12:21, “…”
  • Parenthetical Citation: ...end of paraphrase (Rev. 12:21).

NOTE: The first time you cite a translation, you must provide its abbreviated title in italics as part of your citation. For example:

  • Narrative Citation: Paul says in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (NIV).
  • Parenthetical Citation: God instructed Moses to “chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones” (Exod. 34:1 NIV).

If you only use one translation in your assignment, subsequent entries do not need to refer to the translation again.

You typically do NOT need to include sacred works in a Turabian Reference List.

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Theses, Dissertations, and Monographs

Theses and dissertations are referenced similar to books, but without a publishing company. Instead, at the end of the Reference List entry, add the university at which the project was completed and what type of document it is.

  • Narrative Citation: As Stanberry (2020, 92) writes, “….”
  • Parenthetical Citation: "...end of quotation" (Stanberry 2020, 83).

Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname. Year. “Title of the Thesis, Dissertation, or Monograph.” Type of document, University Name. Name of database if applicable. DOI number/URL/format as applicable.

Stanberry, K. O. 2020. “An Integrative Model of Spiritual Formation: Incorporating Practices from Christian Spirituality and Psychotherapy.” Research portfolio, Tyndale University. Tyndale Digital Collections. https://digitalcollections.tyndale.ca/handle/20.500.12730/162.

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Websites

The following guide lists how to cite websites in Turabian style. Please note, however, that websites are not considered scholarly sources. Therefore, they should only be used in particular contexts (e.g., when quoting a church’s mission statement or statement of faith) rather than as a foundational part of your research.

NOTE: A “webpage” is the specific page you got your information from (like a chapter in a book). A “website” is the larger domain where all the pages on that site are housed (like the book the chapter is in). Since there are no page numbers on websites, exclude that part of your in-text citations.

If there is no date listed on the website, replace that portion of the in-text citation and Reference entry with “n.d.” If the website has an organization and not human author, then use the organization’s name in the author’s name spot.

Website with Author (e.g., blog post)

  • Narrative Citation: As Carr (2016) explains, “….”
  • Parenthetical Citation: ...end of paraphrase (Carr 2016)

Sample Reference Entry: Lastname, Firstname. Year. “Title of the Webpage.” Title of the Website. URL.

Carr, A. 2016. "3 Revolutionary Women of Mathematics." Scientific American. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/3-revolutionary-women-of....

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Citing Something Someone Else Cited

Sometimes, you will find a quotation or a paraphrase in another text that perfectly fits what you want to say. Whenever possible, try to find the original source so that you can double check the accuracy and context of what the original author said. But when you can’t locate the original source, how do you cite their ideas properly?

In Turabian, you should only cite the original source (not the source you have) in your in-text citation.

  • Narrative Citation: Zukofsky (1931, 269) describes it this way: “….”
  • Parenthetical Citation: "...end of quotation" (Zukofsky 1931, 272).

For your Reference List entry, include the citation information for the original source. Then the phrase “Quoted in” followed by the citation information for the source you have.

Zukofsky, Louis. 1931. “Sincerity and Objectification.” Poetry 37 (February): 269. Quoted in Bonnie Costello. 1981. Marianne Moore: Imaginary Possessions. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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