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Citation Guides for Engineers

Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

Chicago offers two systems of citation—Notes and Bibliography (NB) and Author–Date. Engineering disciplines generally prefer the Author–Date style, especially in technical or scientific writing.

In-Text Citation Format (Author–Date)

Use parenthetical citations in the body of the text:

  • Format: (Author Last Name Year, Page)
  • Example: (Smith and Zhang 2020, 215)

For sources without page numbers, you may omit the page reference.

Reference List Format

At the end of your document, include a References section listing all cited works in alphabetical order by author’s last name. Use a hanging indent.

Example of a hanging indent

Example of a hanging indent. 

Common Examples

In-text: (Kumar and Singh 2021)


Reference:
Kumar, Rahul, and Meera Singh. 2021. “Thermal Modeling of Composite Materials in High-Load Applications.” Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science 235 (8): 1267–1279. https://doi.org/10.1177/0954406220984123.

In-text: (Lopez and Chen 2022)
 

Reference:
Lopez, Ana, and Tao Chen. 2022. “Seismic Retrofitting of Bridges Using Smart Materials.” In Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Structural Engineering, 412–419. Chicago, IL: ASCE.

In-text: (Kumar and Singh 2021)
 

Reference:
Kumar, Rahul, and Meera Singh. 2021. “Thermal Modeling of Composite Materials in High-Load Applications.” Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science 235 (8): 1267–1279. https://doi.org/10.1177/0954406220984123.

In-text: (Johnson 2018)
 

Reference:
Johnson, Emily R. 2018. Wind Turbine Blade with Integrated Load Sensor. U.S. Patent 9,999,888, filed January 5, 2016, and issued March 20, 2018.

More details on citing patents on the Patent Information library guide.

In-text: (U.S. Department of Transportation 2020)
 

Reference:
U.S. Department of Transportation. 2020. Bridge Condition Report: National Summary 2019–2020. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/report.pdf.

In-text: (Nguyen 2021)


Reference:
Nguyen, Lan T. 2021. “Numerical Simulation of Coastal Erosion under Extreme Weather Conditions.” PhD diss., University of California, Davis.

In-text: (American Concrete Institute 2023)
 

Reference:
American Concrete Institute. 2023. “Concrete Standards and Codes.” Accessed March 5, 2025. https://www.concrete.org/standards.