There are many different citation styles that are used in academic writing. Typically your professor will let you know the preferred citation style for their class and/or your discipline. Below you will find a table of four common citation styles, followed by a list of less-common citation styles:
Citation Styles |
When to Use Them |
More Info at Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) |
Example Paper |
|---|---|---|---|
| MLA- Modern Language Association | Literature and the humanities | MLA Formatting & Style Guide | MLA Example Paper |
| APA- American Psychological Association | Psychology, Business, Criminology, Economics, Education, and Sociology |
APA Style Guide (American Psychological Association) |
APA Sample Paper |
| Chicago | Humanities, history and social sciences | Chicago Style & Formatting Guide | Chicago Sample Paper |
| Chicago-Turabian | Humanities, history, social sciences and natural sciences (often selected when people do not know which style to use) | Chicago-Turabian Style & Formatting Guide | Chicago-Turabian Sample Paper |
It is often possible to pull auto-generated citations directly from a database. Here is a tutorial video that explains how to pull a citation from OneSearch:
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