Chicago review citations use the reviewer as author, add “review of Work” after the title, then give the source, date, and pages or URL/DOI.
Citing A Review In Chicago Style: Quick Patterns
Chicago offers two systems. Notes and Bibliography uses footnotes with a matching bibliography. Author-Date uses parenthetical citations with a reference list. Pick what your assignment or journal requires and keep the parts in the same order every time.
For clarity, skim the official samples for notes and bibliography, and see periodical rules on Purdue OWL. Those links explain punctuation, dates, and where italics or quotes apply.
| Review Type | Notes & Bibliography (NB) | Author-Date (AD) |
|---|---|---|
| Journal review | Reviewer. “Title of review.” Review of Work, by Author. Journal volume, no. issue (Year): pages. DOI or URL. | Reviewer. Year. “Title of review.” Review of Work, by Author. Journal volume (issue): pages. DOI or URL. |
| Magazine review | Reviewer. “Title of review.” Review of Work, by Author. Magazine, Month day, Year. URL if online. | Reviewer. Year. “Title of review.” Review of Work, by Author. Magazine, Month day. URL if online. |
| Newspaper review | Reviewer. “Title of review.” Review of Work, by Author. Newspaper, Month day, Year. URL if online. | Reviewer. Year. “Title of review.” Review of Work, by Author. Newspaper, Month day. URL. |
| Web-only review | Reviewer. “Title of review.” Review of Work, by Author. Site Name, Month day, Year. URL. Access date if needed. | Reviewer. Year. “Title of review.” Review of Work, by Author. Site Name, Month day. URL. Access date if needed. |
| No review title | Reviewer. Review of Work, by Author. Source details as above. | Reviewer. Year. Review of Work, by Author. Source details as above. |
| Film, music, stage | Use “review of Film/Album/Performance,” then list director or performers as you would for the work. | Same wording; keep AD date and source layout. |
Notes And Bibliography: Review Citations That Work
Footnotes give readers the full path the first time, then a shorter note later. In the bibliography, invert the reviewer’s name and repeat the core details. Use headline-style caps for titles, italicize the periodical, and place the review’s own title in quotation marks. Add a DOI when you have one; otherwise link to a stable URL.
Book Review In A Journal
Note (first):
1. Jordan Alvarez, “Tension In The Margins,” review of Lines Of Flight, by Maira Chen, Journal of Modern Letters 42, no. 2 (2024): 115–118, https://doi.org/10.1080/0123.4567.Short note:
2. Alvarez, “Tension In The Margins,” 117.Bibliography:
Alvarez, Jordan. “Tension In The Margins.” Review of Lines Of Flight, by Maira Chen. Journal of Modern Letters 42, no. 2 (2024): 115–118. https://doi.org/10.1080/0123.4567.
Newspaper Or Magazine Review
Note (first):
3. Priya Dutta, “A Fresh Take On A Classic,” review of The Silent City, by Owen Hale, City Review, March 12, 2025, https://www.cityreview.example/reviews/silent-city.Short note:
4. Dutta, “A Fresh Take On A Classic.”Bibliography:
Dutta, Priya. “A Fresh Take On A Classic.” Review of The Silent City, by Owen Hale. City Review, March 12, 2025. https://www.cityreview.example/reviews/silent-city.
Web-Only Review
Note (first):
5. Malcolm Reid, “Breaking Form, Finding Voice,” review of After The Echo, by Salma Noor, VerseHub, July 8, 2025, https://versehub.example/reid-after-the-echo.Short note:
6. Reid, “Breaking Form, Finding Voice.”Bibliography:
Reid, Malcolm. “Breaking Form, Finding Voice.” Review of After The Echo, by Salma Noor. VerseHub, July 8, 2025. https://versehub.example/reid-after-the-echo.
Shortened Notes After The First
After the first full note, use the reviewer’s last name, a shortened title, and a page if relevant. Avoid ibid. unless your instructor asks for it.
If The Review Has No Title
Drop the quotation marks and start the entry as “Reviewer, review of Work …” The rest of the pattern stays the same.
Author-Date: Review Citations Made Simple
The in-text citation shows the reviewer’s last name and year, plus a page number for a journal review. The reference list entry mirrors the NB parts but starts with the year. Keep punctuation tight and consistent.
Journal Review
In-text:
(Alvarez 2024, 117)Reference list:
Alvarez, Jordan. 2024. “Tension In The Margins.” Review of Lines Of Flight, by Maira Chen. Journal of Modern Letters 42 (2): 115–118. https://doi.org/10.1080/0123.4567.
Newspaper Or Magazine Review
In-text:
(Dutta 2025)Reference list:
Dutta, Priya. 2025. “A Fresh Take On A Classic.” Review of The Silent City, by Owen Hale. City Review, March 12. https://www.cityreview.example/reviews/silent-city.
Web-Only Review
In-text:
(Reid 2025)Reference list:
Reid, Malcolm. 2025. “Breaking Form, Finding Voice.” Review of After The Echo, by Salma Noor. VerseHub, July 8. https://versehub.example/reid-after-the-echo.
In-Text Variants
- Two reviewers: (Lopez and Singh 2023, 44). Three or more: (Lopez et al. 2023, 44).
- No date on a web review: use n.d. and add an access date in the reference list.
- Multiple reviews by the same person in one year: add letters: 2025a, 2025b.
Formatting Details That Save You Rewrites
Use headline-style caps for the review title and the work under review. Put the review title in quotation marks. Italicize the journal, magazine, or newspaper; include volume and issue for journals and use an en dash for ranges. Keep Month day, Year for newspapers and magazines. If a DOI is present, prefer it over a long URL. For online pieces without a clear year, place n.d. in the year slot and include an access date.
Name order flips only in the bibliography or reference list: “Alvarez, Jordan.” In notes or in-text citations, write “Jordan Alvarez.” If the review is anonymous, start with the review title or with “review of Work …” and move on to the source. If the review is about a film, album, or stage work, list the creator most readers identify with the piece (director, performer, or composer) after “review of …”
| Situation | What To Record | Example Stub |
|---|---|---|
| Untitled review | Begin with “Review of Work …” | “Review of Harbor Lights, by Mina Rao.” |
| Translated work | Add translator after the author of the work | “review of Glass River, by L. Park, trans. Hana Yi.” |
| Streaming-only film | Use platform as the source if no journalistic outlet | “CineScope, August 2, 2025.” |
| Advance online review | Include “online ahead of print” if the journal gives it | Poetics Quarterly 19 (online ahead of print, 2025). |
| No page range | Omit pages; keep the rest | Newspaper and many web reviews skip pages. |
| Multiple works in one review | List the first work; add “and others” | “review of North Star and others …” |
Common Mistakes And Fast Fixes
- Forgetting the words “review of” before the work being reviewed. That phrase signals the genre and keeps your entry clear.
- Mixing title styles. Keep the review title in quotes and the periodical in italics; keep the work under review in italics.
- Leaving out the subject of the review. Readers need to see the author or creator of the work after the phrase “review of …”
- Dropping page ranges for journal reviews. Add them when they exist; use an en dash.
- Swapping the order of month and day. Chicago uses Month day, Year for newspapers and magazines.
- Using a URL when a DOI is available. Pick the DOI, since it’s stable.
Quick Checks Before You Submit
- System check: NB uses footnotes; AD uses parenthetical cites.
- Name order: normal in notes and in-text; inverted in the final list.
- Titles: headline-style caps; review title in quotes; periodical in italics.
- Dates: Year for AD references; Month day, Year for news and magazines.
- Links: DOI first; otherwise a stable URL. Add an access date only when the year is missing.
- Short notes: last name + shortened title + page.
Mini Templates You Can Copy
NB — Journal:
Reviewer, “Title,” review of Work, by Author, Journal volume, no. issue (Year): pages, DOI/URL.NB — Newspaper/Magazine:
Reviewer, “Title,” review of Work, by Author, Newspaper/Magazine, Month day, Year, URL.AD — Journal:
Reviewer. Year. “Title.” Review of Work, by Author. Journal volume (issue): pages. DOI/URL.AD — Newspaper/Magazine:
Reviewer. Year. “Title.” Review of Work, by Author. Newspaper/Magazine, Month day. URL.
Film, Music, And Stage Reviews
When the piece under review is a film, album, or performance, list the creator after “review of.” For a film, use the director; for an album, the performing artist or composer; for a play, the playwright or director.
NB — Film in a magazine:
Leah Ortiz, “Light, Shadow, Memory,” review of River Roads, directed by Imani Cole, Screen Weekly, May 5, 2025, https://screenweekly.example/river-roads.AD — Album on a website:
Ortiz, Leah. 2025. “Light, Shadow, Memory.” Review of Blue Rooms, by The Tenders. SoundLog, May 5. https://soundlog.example/reviews/blue-rooms.
Where To Place Reviews In Your List
Most papers list reviews in the final bibliography. Some instructors prefer notes only for news or magazine reviews. If a list entry is required, write it and match your in-text or note form to the same source.
Gathering The Right Pieces From A Review Page
Record five things: reviewer name; review title; the phrase “review of Work” plus the creator; the container (journal, news site, magazine, or platform); and the date. For journals, add volume, issue, and pages. If both a DOI and a long link appear, pick the DOI. If no year is shown on a web page, use n.d. in AD and add an access date.