Converting Citations from Chicago to APA Style

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 24, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365

Ivan has a 35-page document that includes just over 175 footnotes. The citations in each footnote were created in Chicago style, but he just found out that he needs to convert them to APA style. Ivan wonders if there is an easy way to do this.

Getting citations in the correct style is one of the most detailed, arduous tasks involved in creating an academic paper. For instance, in the Chicago Manual of Style (eighteenth edition), the chapters comprising the rules and examples for formatting citations occupy 178 pages. That's a lot to understand and get your head around.

Because of complexity such as this, there is no automatic (aka "easy") way to do such a style conversion in Word. There are some online tools that might help, though. Ones such as CiteThisForMe.com and Scribbr.com may be helpful, but you would still need to copy and paste each Chicago citation into the tool and then paste the APA version back into the footnote. Each citation would need to go through this copy-and-paste round trip, plus you will need to double-check each converted citation to make sure nothing went awry.

Like I said, this is not an easy process. If you decide to go through the process, you may want to keep two versions of your final paper—one using Chicago citations and one using APA citations.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (5942) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Keeping Table Rows Together

When you create a table that extends beyond a single page, you may want to make sure that the information in a table row ...

Discover More

Jumping to the Start of the Next Data Entry Row

Want a quick way to jump to the end of your data entry area in a worksheet? The macro in this tip makes quick work of the ...

Discover More

Put Your Space Before or After?

When working with spacing between paragraphs, Word allows you to specify exactly how much space should be either before ...

Discover More

Discover the Power of Microsoft Office This beginner-friendly guide reveals the expert tips and strategies you need to skyrocket your productivity and use Office 365 like a pro. Mastering software like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is essential to be more efficient and advance your career. Simple lessons guide you through every step, providing the knowledge you need to get started. Check out Microsoft Office 365 For Beginners today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Differences between Deleting, Clearing, and Cutting

When getting rid of text from your document, Word allows you to delete, clear, or cut. Here are the differences between ...

Discover More

Making the 'Welcome Back' Message Consistent and Permanent

When you open a document on which you previously worked, Word displays a "Welcome back" message that can help return you ...

Discover More

Putting Character Codes to Work

If you know the character codes for some characters of interest, you can use those codes to do lots of tasks. This tip ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 2 + 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.