Turabian Style Works Cited: Which List to Use

Turabian style has no list called “Works Cited.” Turabian’s own term is a bibliography when you cite with footnotes or endnotes (notes-bibliography style) and a reference list when you cite with (Author Year) in the text (author-date style). When an instructor asks for a Turabian “works cited” page, they almost always mean one of those two, so the first job is to find out which. This guide covers the 9th edition (2018), as of 2026-10, and shows how to format the list, what belongs in it and what to leave out.

Is there a works cited page in Turabian?

No. “Works Cited” is the label of the list in MLA style (see MLA works cited format). The Turabian guides from Memorial University Libraries and George Fox University use the word “bibliography” for the list that goes with notes, and the Union University and Trinity University guides call the author-date end list a reference list. If your instructor wrote “works cited,” ask whether they want the notes-bibliography bibliography or the author-date reference list. The quick test: if your paper shows superscript note numbers, you need a bibliography; if it shows (Author Year) in the text, you need a reference list.

Bibliography or reference list: which do you need?

What your text shows	Turabian system	Name of the end list
Superscript numbers pointing to footnotes or endnotes	Notes-bibliography	Bibliography
(Author Year) in parentheses	Author-date	Reference list

Both lists sit at the end of the paper. The notes-bibliography bibliography and the in-note citations hold the same information and differ in the order of the elements and the punctuation. In the author-date reference list the year follows the author’s name. For how the in-text half of the author-date system works, see Turabian in-text citation (author-date). The rest of this page concentrates on the notes-bibliography bibliography, because the Memorial University and George Fox University quick guides document that format in detail.

How to format a Turabian bibliography

List the full set of works used to write the paper. Memorial University’s quick guide says the bibliography is the full list of works used, and that it may include works you consulted but did not cite.
Arrange entries alphabetically by the author’s name.
Use a hanging indent. The first line of each entry is flush left and the following lines are indented 0.5 inch (George Fox University guide).
Single-space each entry and leave a blank line between entries. Some instructors want double spacing throughout, so follow your instructor’s instruction if it differs.
Invert only the first author’s name. The first author is written “Lastname, Firstname”; later authors are written “Firstname Lastname.”
Check how many authors your bibliography should list. For a source with four or more authors, the note names the first author followed by “et al.”; Memorial University’s guide says to include all authors in the bibliography entry, so confirm the limit with your instructor or the current Manual before shortening a long author list. See et al. citation rules for how this differs across styles.
Prefer a DOI to a URL when the source has one, written as a full https://doi.org/ link.

A short annotated example

These entries follow the examples in the Memorial University quick guide (9th edition). The labels after each entry say what to notice.

Book with an editor in place of an author

Robinson, Francis, ed. Cambridge Illustrated History of the Islamic World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

“ed.” follows the editor’s name where an author’s name would go.
The pattern is Lastname, Firstname. Title. City: Publisher, Year.

Journal article with a DOI

Pepin, Pierre, Eugene Colbourne, and Gary Maillet. “Seasonal Patterns in Zooplankton Community Structure on the Newfoundland and Labrador Shelf.” Progress in Oceanography 91, no. 3 (2011): 273-285. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2011.01.003.

Only the first author is inverted; the other two are written “Eugene Colbourne,” “Gary Maillet.”
The pattern is Author. “Article Title.” Journal Title Volume, no. Issue (Year): page range. DOI.

Chapter in an edited book

Vietmeyer, Noel. “Forgotten Roots of the Incas.” In Chilies to Chocolate: Food the Americas Gave the World, edited by Nelson Foster and Linda S. Cordell, 95-117. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1992.

Print magazine article

Schapiro, Mark. “New Power for ‘Old Europe’.” Nation, December 27, 2004.

A magazine is cited by date, and the bibliography entry leaves out the page range.

Two more pattern rules from the same guides: a later edition is shown after the title as “2nd ed.”, and a book entry is built as Lastname, Firstname. Title of Source. City: Publisher, Year. For book-specific variations, see Turabian book citation.

What to include and what to leave out

The Memorial University guide, quoting Turabian, does not treat every source type alike:

Source type	In the bibliography?
Books and journal articles	Yes
Newspaper articles, news-site articles, websites, blog posts	Only if critical to your argument or frequently cited
Social media posts and YouTube videos	No; cite them in notes only
Well-known dictionaries and encyclopedias	Not required
Works consulted but not cited	May be included

For online sources, if the page could be revised or has no publication date, include an access date. If a web page has no author, the entry begins with the page title.

Common mistakes

Headed “Works Cited” without asking which system is required. The label belongs to MLA; Turabian uses bibliography or reference list.
Mixing the two systems. A paper with numbered notes does not take an author-date reference list, and the reverse.
Using “et al.” in a bibliography entry with four or more authors. The note may shorten; follow the author-list rule your instructor or the current Manual sets (Memorial University’s guide says to include all authors).
Inverting every author’s name. Only the first author is written Lastname, Firstname.
Adding a page range to a print magazine entry. The Turabian example cites it by date only.
Listing every web page and social media post. Social media posts and videos belong in notes only.
Leaving out an access date for an undated or revisable web source.
Following an older edition’s examples. Check that the guide you copy from says it covers the 9th edition.

Checklist

I confirmed with my instructor whether I need a bibliography (notes) or a reference list (author-date).
The list is at the end of the paper and alphabetical by author.
Entries use a 0.5 inch hanging indent, single spacing and a blank line between entries.
Only the first author’s name is inverted, and the author list follows the rule your instructor or the Manual sets.
DOIs are given as https://doi.org/ links where they exist.
Web sources without a date carry an access date.
Social media posts and videos appear in notes, not in the bibliography.

Frequently asked questions

Is “works cited” the same as a bibliography in Turabian?

Not exactly. Turabian’s notes-bibliography system calls the end list a bibliography, and its author-date system calls it a reference list. “Works Cited” is the MLA label. A bibliography can also include works you consulted but did not cite. For the general term, see the bibliography entry.

How do I format a Turabian works cited page?

Decide which Turabian list you need, then put it at the end of the paper in alphabetical order with a 0.5 inch hanging indent, single-spaced entries and a blank line between them. The steps above give the details.

Does the year come after the author in the list?

In the author-date reference list, yes; the year follows the author’s name (Union University and Trinity University guides). In the notes-bibliography bibliography, the year comes at the end of the publication details, as in the examples above.

Which edition should I follow?

The current edition is the 9th (2018), as of 2026-10. Compare citation systems at a higher level in citation styles and referencing formats.

Sources

Memorial University Libraries, “Turabian (9th edition) Notes-Bibliography Style Quick Guide” (updated 2021), checked 2026-10-29: https://lib-vee.library.mun.ca/media/MUNLibrary/pdf/Turabian-Notes-Bibliography-Quick-Guide-9th-ed.pdf
George Fox University Academic Resource Center, “Turabian 9th ed. Style Guide, Notes-Bibliography Style” (updated September 22, 2021), checked 2026-10-29: https://www.georgefox.edu/arc/resources/turabian-9th-ed-guide.pdf
Union University library guide, “Turabian: Citing” (9th edition; bibliography or reference page at the end of the paper), checked 2026-10-29: https://guides.uu.edu/turabian/citing
Union University library guide, “Author-Date citations” (9th edition), checked 2026-10-29: https://guides.uu.edu/turabian/citing/author
Trinity University library, “Turabian Style Citations (Author-Date Style)” (9th edition), checked 2026-10-29: https://lib.trinity.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Turabian-9th-ed-Author-Date_rev.pdf