Chicago / Turabian Format Checker for Word

What “Chicago/Turabian format” means for your document layout

Turabian — the student-and-thesis adaptation of the Chicago Manual of Style — prescribes a clear document layout for coursework, theses and dissertations: a readable body font such as Times New Roman 12pt, double line spacing throughout the main text, one-inch margins on all four sides, and a half-inch first-line indent on body paragraphs. Subheadings follow a flexible five-level system; the first level is conventionally centered and bold. When any of these drift from the standard, a paper can be marked down for formatting even when the argument is strong.

These details are easy to lose. Pasting text from a browser or a co-author's file carries its own font and spacing along with it; switching templates between chapters resets the indent; a single accepted tracked change can flip a paragraph from double to single spacing. Checking every paragraph by eye against the Turabian manual is slow and still misses subtle mismatches like a 1.15× line height that should be 2×.

What DocxShuttle's Chicago checker does — and doesn't — check

DocxShuttle is a formatting checker. It compares the visual layout of your document against Turabian thesis rules and reports every paragraph that differs. It is not a citation validator: it does not read, parse or judge your footnotes, endnotes, in-text citations or bibliography entries. What it does check:

• Body font and size — Times New Roman 12pt by default (upload a custom template for another required font)
• Line spacing — double (2×) in the main text, flagging single or 1.5× paragraphs
• Page margins — one inch (2.54cm) on all sides
• First-line indent — half an inch on body paragraphs, catching tabs or missing indents
• Level-1 heading — centered and bold (deeper subheads are checked for font, size and spacing only, since Turabian's subhead levels vary)
• Bibliography font and size — Times New Roman 12pt (line spacing is not enforced here, because a Turabian bibliography is single-spaced within each entry; the hanging indent is not checked)

How to check Chicago/Turabian formatting with DocxShuttle

1. Open the check page. Select the built-in “Chicago / Turabian” template. If your department has a house style, upload their .docx as a custom template instead.
2. Upload your paper. Drag your .docx into the document area.
3. Click “Run Check”. DocxShuttle parses both files in your browser and compares font, size, line height, indentation, alignment and margins for every paragraph.
4. Fix the issues. Each finding shows the expected value, the actual value and a suggestion. Apply the changes in Word and re-run to confirm.

The built-in Chicago / Turabian template at a glance

Body text

Times New Roman 12pt, double line spacing, left-aligned, with a 0.5-inch first-line indent.

Headings

Level 1 centered and bold, 12pt Times New Roman, double-spaced. Lower subheads are checked for font, size and spacing only — Turabian's deeper heading levels vary between bold, italic, centered and flush-left, so their weight and alignment are not enforced.

Page setup

One-inch (2.54cm) margins on all four sides.

If your program requires a wider binding margin or a specific subhead style, upload a short sample .docx in that style as a custom template and DocxShuttle will check your paper against it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Chicago/Turabian format checker actually check?

DocxShuttle checks your document's layout against Chicago/Turabian thesis conventions: body font and size (Times New Roman 12pt by default), double line spacing, 1-inch page margins, a 0.5-inch first-line indent on body paragraphs, and the Level-1 heading being centered and bold. It reports every paragraph that differs, with the expected value and a fix suggestion.

Does it check my footnotes, citations or bibliography entries?

No. DocxShuttle is a formatting checker, not a citation validator. It does not read, parse or judge the wording, order or punctuation of your notes, in-text citations or bibliography entries. It checks visual formatting only — fonts, sizes, spacing, margins and heading layout. Note that a Turabian bibliography is single-spaced within each entry, so the checker verifies its font and size but does not enforce a line-spacing value there.

What's the difference between Chicago and Turabian?

Turabian is the student-and-thesis adaptation of the Chicago Manual of Style — same core style, written for coursework, theses and dissertations. For document layout (font, spacing, margins, indent) they align, which is what this checker verifies. The built-in template follows the common Turabian thesis layout: Times New Roman 12pt, double-spaced, 1-inch margins.

How does it handle Turabian's multi-level subheadings?

Turabian's five-level subhead system is deliberately flexible — levels vary between bold, italic, centered and flush-left. The built-in template only enforces the one unambiguous convention (Level 1 centered and bold) and checks deeper subheads for font, size and double spacing only, not weight or alignment. If your department has a strict heading style, upload a short .docx in that style as a custom template and DocxShuttle will check against it instead.

Is my document uploaded anywhere?

No. Your document never leaves your browser. All parsing happens locally in your browser's JavaScript runtime using JSZip and fast-xml-parser. DocxShuttle has no backend server — it's a static site. Nothing is logged, tracked or stored.