Style Guides
When your professor tells you she wants your paper written in MLA
style, what does that mean? And then you get to your sociology class,
and that professor says he expects your paper to be formatted according
to APA style, and you feel even more lost. Never mind that your
anthropology professor is asking that your paper be formatted using
Chicago style. Are you lost yet? What do they mean?
When a professor instructs you to write your paper in this style or
that style, she's asking you to adhere to a particular format that
provides rules and guidance on how to physically arrange the paper, how
to insert footnotes or endnotes, how to cite resources, and how to
document resources you've used in your paper. There are several
different style guides available, but the three most common are MLA,
APA, and Chicago. They refer, respectively, to The Modern Language
Association Style Manual & Guide to Scholarly Publishing, The
American Psychological Association Publication Manual, and The Chicago
Manual of Style. This page is intended to help you navigate the most
common citation formats in these styles. If you have more in-depth
questions regarding how to format your paper, please check out the
links at the bottom of the page, which will lead you to additional
resources. Also, the Library has copies of the most up-to-date versions
of these guides. Check the catalog for their availability!
A note about citations: though they may vary in arrangement, they
all include the same basic information: author; title of the resource;
and date of publication. Books include place of publication; periodical
materials, such as journal articles, will include volume and issue
number, but not a place of publication. Electronic resources will be
cited differently, depending on the style guide you're using. And don't
forget about The Write
Place, the English department's writing center, where you can get
help with your papers!