Final Checks and Common Mistakes in Turabian

You've done the hard part. Your paper is written, your sources are cited, and your bibliography is in order. Now let's make sure everything is polished and ready to submit.

1. Check your formatting

If you used PERRLA, this was handled from the start. If not, check for:

• One-inch margins on every side
• One readable font, such as 12-point Times New Roman
• Body text double-spaced; footnotes, block quotes, and bibliography entries single-spaced, with a blank line between entries
• No page number on the title page, and numbers top right from page 2
• The right items on your title page, including anything your professor adds
• Subheadings styled consistently, if you used them
• A bibliography that starts on a new page

2. Proofread your writing

Read your paper slowly, or better yet, out loud, to catch awkward phrasing, grammar mistakes, and run-on sentences. A fresh set of eyes helps too. Many schools have writing centers that are a huge help when you leave yourself time to use them.

3. Double-check your footnotes

• Does every quote, paraphrase, or borrowed idea have a note?
• Is every note number superscript, after the punctuation?
• Is the first note for each source full, and every later one shortened?
• Does every quote's note include its page number?
• Are the notes numbered straight through the paper?

A missing or wrong note can turn into plagiarism, even when it was unintentional.

4. Review your bibliography

• Is every source you cited in a note in the bibliography?
• Are the entries in alphabetical order by the first author's last name?
• Is each entry inverted, with periods between the parts, not commas?
• Does every entry have a hanging indent?

The most common Turabian mistake is mixing the two forms: a bibliography entry in a footnote, or a note in the bibliography. Check one of each against Lesson 9.

5. Don't forget your professor's instructions

Sometimes your professor asks for something different from what Turabian suggests, and that's their call. Your professor's preferences always come first.

The finished paper

Here is where the course started: a complete Turabian class paper, with every one of these checks passed.

The title page, page 2 with its footnote, and the bibliography of the sample Bigfoot paper.

How PERRLA checks the paper

If you write in PERRLA, most of this is handled for you. When you're ready, click I'm Finished: PERRLA reads the whole paper, lists what it finds, and offers a one-click fix for most of it. In a Turabian paper, that includes a footnote marker in the wrong place and any bibliography entry that no note cites. It never stops you from downloading.

Congratulations: you finished Turabian 101

You've reached the end of Turabian 101. You're ready to write Turabian papers with clarity, confidence, and credibility.

One last note. If you'd rather spend your time on the writing than on the formatting, PERRLA has a 7-day free trial, with no credit card. There's a lot to know about the Turabian format, and we're here to help, as we have been since 1998.

Thanks for watching and reading, and good writing.

Quick checklist

• Formatting: margins, font, spacing, page numbers, title page, subheadings
• Proofread, out loud if you can
• Every footnote: present, after the punctuation, full first and shortened after
• Bibliography: complete, alphabetical, inverted, hanging indents
• Your professor's instructions

Related Turabian 101 lessons

• Basic page setup: margins, font, spacing, indents, and page numbers.
• Footnotes: full notes, shortened notes, and where the number goes.
• The bibliography: alphabetical order, single-spaced entries, and hanging indents.
• Welcome to Turabian 101: how the course is laid out, and the paper you'll build.
• All 18 lessons in Turabian 101