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Citation Styles & Tools

What your citation looks like depends on the style that your academic discipline follows. If you don't know where to start (and if your instructor hasn't specified a style guide to follow), read through the overview of common citation styles.

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Why Are Citations Important?

Citations are for transparency and access. Academic papers are conversations between multiple authors and responsible scholarship dictates that we properly credit scholars with their work when it is mentioned.

In addition to proving that you've done your due diligence as an academic, citations let readers know what you've read and where they can access a source you've used.

APA Style (American Psychological Association)

Used primarily in Education, Behavioral Sciences, and Social Sciences.

  • This style supports disciplines that emphasizes the date in publication. In APA Style, the date directly follows the author's name.
  • Uses parenthetical in-text citations. Sources are compiled on a "References" page.

Chicago (also known as Turabian) Citation Style

Notes and bibliography systems

  • Used in some Humanities disciplines (including History, Literature, and the Arts).
  • This system can accommodate a variety of source types that are more difficult to format in the author-date system.
  • Uses footnotes for in-text citations. Sources are compiled on a "Bibliography" page.

Author-date systems

  • Used in the Sciences and some Social Sciences disciplines.
  • This systems looks and functions very similarly to APA Style.
  • Utilizes parenthetical in-text citations. Sources are compiled on a "References" or "Literature Cited" page.

MLA Style (Modern Language Association)

Used in Humanities disciplines (including English, Languages, Linguistics, Music, and Philosophy)
  • Humanities research emphasizes authorship. In MLA style citations, the author is most important data point.
  • Uses parenthetical in-text citations. Sources are compiled on a "Works Cited" page.