5.5 Author-Date Citations

Important Note: Page numbers in the following examples are not intended to reflect accurate reference information, They are for example purposes only.

Authors working in fields that favor in-text documentation may use an author-date citation system instead of a traditional notes-and-bibliography format. Author-date style keeps source references brief by placing the author’s name, year of publication, and any relevant page number in the text itself. This approach reduces the need for long citation notes, saves space, and allows notes—if used at all—to be reserved for substantive comments rather than bibliographic information.

In this system, the reference list, titled “Works Cited,” includes full publication details for every source cited in the text and only those sources. Unlike a traditional bibliography, it should not include uncited works or a selective list of recommended reading. Entries are arranged by author and date, with the year of publication placed immediately after the author’s name. Multiple works by the same author are ordered chronologically, from earliest to latest. For additional guidance, consult CMS17, §§14.21, 14.61–71.

  • A fuller discussion appears in Bogdan 2007, 91–112.
  • The point is made more cautiously elsewhere (Pasi 2014, 49).
  • Kaczynski (2010, 236–241) offers a detailed account of the period.

Two citations in the same sentence:

  • Crowley’s reception history has been treated both biographically and historically (Kaczynski 2010, 236–41; Bogdan 2007, 91–112).

When one author has more than one work in the reference list, arrange the entries by date:

  • Kaczynski, Richard. 2002. Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley. Tempe, AZ: New Falcon.
  • ———. 2010. Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley. Revised and expanded ed. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.

When an author has two or more works from the same year, arrange them alphabetically by title and distinguish them with a, b, and so on:

  • (Crowley 1983, 12)
  • (Crowley 1983b, 37)
  • Crowley, Aleister. 1983a. The Holy Books of Thelema: The Equinox III(9). Red Wheel.
  • ———. 1983b. The Law Is for All: An Extended Commentary on The Book of the Law. Edited by Israel Regardie. New Falcon Publications..

When citing multiple works by the same author together, separate references with a semicolon if page numbers are included:

  • (Crowley 1983a, 12; 1983b, 37)

If no page numbers are included, separate the dates with commas:

  • (Crowley 1983a, 1983b)