FraankChaver
New member
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2026
- Messages
- 6
I'm a fifth-year senior (don't judge, I took a gap year 
) finishing up my history honors thesis on women in the French Resistance during WWII. It's been the most challenging and rewarding experience of my entire academic life.
And at the center of it all? The Chicago style writing.
I have to say, when I started this project a year ago, I was terrified of the citation load. My thesis is going to be about 50 pages with over 150 sources. The thought of manually formatting all those footnotes and bibliography entries gave me actual nightmares.
But here's the positive plot twist: the Chicago style writing has become my best friend. Seriously!
Because the footnotes are so detailed, I can have conversations with my readers in the margins. Like, I'll be writing about a controversial event, and I can add a footnote that says, "Smith argues X, but Jones disagrees, and here's why I side with Smith." It's like having a secret second layer to my paper!
And the bibliography? It's become a source of pride. Every time I add a new archival document or a rare book, I feel like I'm building something important. This list represents months of work in libraries and archives. It's the foundation of my entire argument.
I'm now in the final editing stages, and looking at my perfectly formatted Chicago style bibliography brings me genuine joy. It's proof that I did the work, that I engaged with the scholars who came before me, and that I'm ready to join the conversation.
) finishing up my history honors thesis on women in the French Resistance during WWII. It's been the most challenging and rewarding experience of my entire academic life.And at the center of it all? The Chicago style writing.
I have to say, when I started this project a year ago, I was terrified of the citation load. My thesis is going to be about 50 pages with over 150 sources. The thought of manually formatting all those footnotes and bibliography entries gave me actual nightmares.
But here's the positive plot twist: the Chicago style writing has become my best friend. Seriously!
Because the footnotes are so detailed, I can have conversations with my readers in the margins. Like, I'll be writing about a controversial event, and I can add a footnote that says, "Smith argues X, but Jones disagrees, and here's why I side with Smith." It's like having a secret second layer to my paper!
And the bibliography? It's become a source of pride. Every time I add a new archival document or a rare book, I feel like I'm building something important. This list represents months of work in libraries and archives. It's the foundation of my entire argument.
I'm now in the final editing stages, and looking at my perfectly formatted Chicago style bibliography brings me genuine joy. It's proof that I did the work, that I engaged with the scholars who came before me, and that I'm ready to join the conversation.
