Chicago (author-date) · Blog Post
How to cite a blog post in Chicago (author-date)
A blog-post citation credits a dated post on a personal or organisational blog. The classic mistakes are treating the blog name as the post title, and leaning on a blog for claims that peer-reviewed literature should carry in a thesis.
Worked example · Chicago (author-date)
Lovelace, Ada. 2025. “What Examiners Actually Check First.” The Example Research Blog, August 14. https://www.example.org/blog/what-examiners-check.
Rendered with the official Chicago (author-date) style file from a placeholder source (reserved example DOI and domain), so the format is exactly what the style produces. In text: Author-date in-text citations, for example (Author 2021), with a reference list.
What to collect before you cite a blog post
- The post author (a person or the organisation)
- The post title
- The blog name
- The post date
- The URL, plus the date you read it
Have a DOI? Generate the reference instantly
Journal articles, many books and reports carry a DOI. Paste it and get the Chicago (author-date) entry from the same engine that produced the example above.
Citing a whole thesis, not one source?
CiteDash keeps your bibliography in Chicago (author-date) automatically, verifies every citation against a real paper, and compiles to DOCX, PDF or LaTeX.
Citing a blog post in Chicago (author-date): FAQ
Can I cite a blog post in a thesis?
Yes, for what it is: expert commentary, primary evidence of a debate, or technical documentation. For empirical claims, examiners expect the peer-reviewed source behind the post.
The blog has no visible author. Who do I credit?
The organisation that runs the blog, and if there is truly no author, most styles move the post title into the author slot.
The post was updated after I read it. Which date applies?
Cite the version you used with your access date. If a later update changes something you rely on, re-read it and cite the updated date instead.
What does the in-text citation look like in Chicago (author-date)?
Author-date in-text citations, for example (Author 2021), with a reference list.
Is the example on this page hand-written?
No. It is rendered by the same citation engine and official CSL style file CiteDash uses for full thesis bibliographies, from a clearly-marked placeholder source, and a test re-renders it on every release so the page can never drift from the engine.