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Citations
For citations, as with most other styling decisions, we follow the Chicago Manual of Style (18th edition), and specifically its author-date referencing system.
Formatting these references is done automatically, by saving references in one or more .bib files in the project, calling on \usepackage{biblatex-chicago} in variantex.sty with the [authordate] option, and using the relevant BibLaTeX commands in the text.
As a result, this page is not so much concerned with how to format the reference, but rather with which commands to use, how to optimally encode all the relevant information in the .bib file, how to format the punctuation surrounding the citation in question, etc.
Below, you will find a quick reference to the most common LaTeX commands and environments we use.
Important
As per general academic practice, any direct citation used in a contribution should always be accompanied by a reference that points to a full bibliographic reference in the contribution’s bibliography.
Especially for direct citations, these references should always include a precise locator where possible.
In most cases, this locator will be a page number, but when the source document does not have page numbers, other locators can be used.
For example: (Dillen 2025, para. 7) for ‘paragraph 7’; or (Pereira 2025, § 2.4) for ‘section 2.4’.
If the source material does not have any relevant locators (for example, when the citation is quoted from a single web page with very little text on it), indicate this in the reference by using the abbreviation n.p. (‘no page number’).
For example: (Rosignoli 2025, n.p.).
Note
When the source material is referred to by means of a paraphrase rather than a direct quotation, precise locators are not strictly necessary. They are, however, still greatly appreciated — especially when the paraphrased argument can be located in a particular section or page of a larger source.
In most cases, we use the \parencite{} command to generate parenthetical references.
The key of the reference goes inside the curly brackets {}, locators (e.g. page numbers) go in the preceding option in square brackets []. For example, the following command outputs (Morna 1982, 22):
\parencite[22]{morna_poesia_1982}
(From: Defenu 2024)
To add text that comes before the reference, inside the parenthesis, use the command with two options; as in \parencite[pre][post]{key}. For example, the following command outputs: (qtd. in Van Hulle 2019, 15):
\parencite[qtd. in][15]{van_hulle_towards_2019}
(Simplified version of a case taken from Beloborodova and Van Hulle 2024)
It is also possible to reference multiple works in the same parenthesis. For example, the following command outputs: (Hayes 1996; Van Waes 2003):
\parencite{hayes_new_1996,van_waes_writing_2003}
(From: Beloborodova and Van Hulle 2024)
For a quick reference of all the commands we would be able to use, see the BibLaTeX Cheat Sheet.
It is possible to reference multiple works that each require their own page numbers (or other pre- or post-notes). To do so, we use \parencites{}, which basically chains the contents of multiple \parencite commands together.
For example, the following command outputs: (see e.g., Creasy 2017, 563; Mackinnon 2020; McRae 2016, 59)
\parencites[see e.g.,][563]{creasy_complete_2017}{mackinnon_aesthetic_2020}[59]{mcrae_review_2016}
(From: Levina 2025)
Especially in the footnotes, the reference sometimes becomes part of the text itself. Think, for example, of footnotes that suggest further reading, such as: "See e.g., [SOURCE]". For these references, the author's name is taken out of the parenthesis, by using \textcite{} instead of parencite{}. For example:
See also \textcite[121--125, 612--636]{foscolo_dalle_1994}.
Will output:
See also Foscolo (1994, 121–125, 612–636).
(From: Vagata 2025)
Like with \parencite{} vs. \parencites{}, we can use \textcites{} to produce more complex \textcite{} commands, to chain together multiple references, each with their own [pre] and [post] notes. For example:
See, for example: \textcites[64-79]{eggert_work_2019}[75-92]{shillingsburg_scholarly_1986}[159]{bushell_text_2009}.
Will output:
See, for example: Eggert (2019, 64–79), Shillingsburg (1986, 75–92), and Bushell (2009, 159).
(From: Gervyte 2025)
We use double quotation marks for quotes, and single quotations marks for quotes-within-quotes and the like.
In LaTeX, quotation marks are rendered by using one or two backticks (``) at the start of the quote, and one or two single quotation marks (‘’) at the end.
So for example:
This sentence ``contains a quote’’ in the middle of the sentence.
When the citation ends the sentence, place the full stop outside of the quotation marks like so:
This sentence contains a quote ``at the end of the sentence’’.
Note that in most cases, this awkward construction can be easily avoided through the strategic placement of the reference (which, as the General information about citations explains, is required for citations. For example:
This sentence contains a quote ``at the end of the sentence’’ \parencite[pagenr]{KEY}.
This will render as follows:
This sentence contains a quote “at the end of the sentence” (author year, pagenr).
Quotations that are longer than five lines or prose (or three lines of verse, or include paragraph or stanza breaks) should be formatted as block quotes.
We do this by using the \begin{quote} environment.
The reference to the quote is always mentioned at the end of the {quote} environment, using an embedded \begin{flushright} environment to align the reference to the right.
For example:
\begin{quote}
The Multi-Line quotation.
\begin{flushright}
\parencite[PAGENR]{KEY}
\end{flushright}
\end{quote}
Sometimes you want to treat a block quote like a figure.
For example when you want to prevent it from spilling over to the next page, and/or when you want to be able to give it a \caption{}.
A use case here would be, for example, when you’re quoting an entire poem.
In those cases, you can just wrap a \begin{figure} and \end{figure} around your quote:
\begin{figure}
\begin{quote}
The Poem.
\begin{flushright}
\parencite[PAGENR]{KEY}
\end{flushright}
\end{quote}
\caption
\end{figure}
This will preserve all of the regular block quote formatting, while preventing the quote from breaking up and bleeding into the next page.
Caution
You should be aware, however, this approach may bring up new issues with any footnotes you might want to attach to your quote. For more information on how to deal with footnotes inside a figure or table, check out the guidelines for Basic Formatting.
Caution
Sometimes, BibLaTeX automatically skips author-date (e.g. only printing the page number) because it comes from the same source as the previous reference.
This is great when both references are close together, but sometimes they are further apart (perhaps even belonging to a previous section).
This can be fixed by using the \mancite command.
For example, the default behaviour would mean that
This ``is a quote’’ \parencite[1]{dillen_variantex_2024}, and ``this quote comes from the same source'' \parencite[2]{dillen_variantex_2024}.
would output as:
This “is a quote” (Dillen 2024, 1), and “this quote comes from the same source” (2).
To stop this behaviour, you can use:
This ``is a quote’’ \parencite[1]{dillen_variantex_2024}, and ``this quote comes from the same source'' \mancite\parencite[2]{dillen_variantex_2024}.
Which would output as:
This “is a quote” (Dillen 2024, 1), and “this quote comes from the same source” (Dillen 2024, 2).
For an example of the default behaviour, see line 58 in Neyt 2025, which outputs as:
counterpart, creative recurrence (92): a genetic approach
For an example of the adjusted behaviour, see line 83 in Johansson 2025, which outputs as:
dossier de pièces ordonnées et significatives” (de Biasi 2011, 69).
Here, repeating the full reference with \mancite is especially relevant, because the repeated reference is placed in a footnote, and therefore separated from the paragraph that has the full reference in it.