A style sheet or style manual describes the pattern or "rules" to follow when making a list of works cited (sometimes called a bibliography) and citing sources within your text. The style sheet also includes other elements of style such as how to order headings and sub-headings, how to write abbreviations, or how to treat figures and tables. Each field has its own preferred style, and even within a field each journal may have its own style sheet. Choose a style that is appropriate for what you are writing, either by using a style that is commonly accepted in your field or by following the style sheet for a journal or publisher where you would like your paper to be published.
This page introduces three styles commonly used in several academic fields. In addition, many journals publish their style sheets either in the journal (often as the last page) or on their web site. Select a style that is used in your field or in a journal where you want to publish. If you can’t find a style for your field, use one of these three common styles.
Commonly used styles
Chicago Manual of Style
The Chicago Manual of Style is a book that describes useful styles for making lists of works cited and in-text citations. Chicago style – also called Chicago/Turabian, after the author of one version of the book – is commonly used in sciences, humanities, and professions. Be aware, though, that there have been more than 15 editions of this book published, and some of them differ slightly in their recommendations.
The 16th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style actually contains two different styles. The author-date style is commonly used in the sciences, while the notes and bibliography style is used in the humanities. When using the author-date style, include the author’s family name, the year when the book or paper was published, and the pages you are quoting from (if you are quoting) in parenthesis after a quote, paraphrase, or summary. When using the notes and bibliography style, include the author’s family name, the title of the article or book, and the page number in a footnote or endnote. In both cases, you will then give complete reference in a list of works cited or bibliography at the end of the paper.
| Examples: Chicago author-date style |
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"Sino-Japanese was the form of writing used in official documents, criticism and exposition, history and critical essays, early Meiji translations of western literature and in general in upper class education" (Gottlieb 2005, 41). ... According to Morita, "Most students have little experience in distinguishing features of different varieties of English" (2010, 69).
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References |
| Examples: Chicago notes and bibliography |
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"Sino-Japanese was the form of writing used in official documents, criticism and exposition, history and critical essays, early Meiji translations of western literature and in general in upper class education."1 ... According to Morita, "Most students have little experience in distinguishing features of different varieties of English."2 _____
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Bibliography |
For more details on the Chicago Manual of Style, including on-line tutorials, see their web site.
APA (American Psychological Association)
The APA style was developed by the American Psychological Association. This style is commonly used in the social sciences and education. It is similar to Chicago author-date style, with the author’s family name and the year of publication given in parenthesis in the text and a full reference given at the end of the paper. Small differences in punctuation and capital letters, as well as the use of initials instead of given names make this slightly different from Chicago author-date style. For more information see: www.apastyle.org/
| Examples: APA |
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"Sino-Japanese was the form of writing used in official documents, criticism and exposition, history and critical essays, early Meiji translations of western literature and in general in upper class education" (Gottlieb 2005, p. 41). ... According to Morita (2010), "Most students have little experience in distinguishing features of different varieties of English" (p. 69).
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References Gottlieb, N. (2005). Language and Society in Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. |
MLA (Modern Languages Association)
The MLA style was developed by the Modern Languages Association. This style is commonly used in the humanities and arts. It also gives brief information in parenthesis in the text followed by a full list of works cited, but again the details such as punctuation and capital letters are different from the styles described above. In MLA style you also need to indicate whether a source is in print or online. For more details see: www.mla.org/style
| Examples: MLA |
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"Sino-Japanese was the form of writing used in official documents, criticism and exposition, history and critical essays, early Meiji translations of western literature and in general in upper class education" (Gottlieb 41). ...
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Works Cited |
Other styles
Chicago, APA, and MLA are the three most commonly used styles. In addition, though, many academic fields use other styles. In all styles you must give some information about the work you are citing in the text, plus additional information in a list of works cited or a bibliography. The particular details of how to format this, and exactly what to include, may differ slightly from one style to another. In general, most styles require the authors' names, titles, and publisher (in the case of books) or journal issue (in the case of journal articles). Most also require the pages where an article or book chapter was published.
Since each journal or publisher may require a slightly different style, it is generally not worthwhile to memorize the particular details of a style. You can always consult a style sheet, or copy the format of papers published in the journal you are submitting to.
The best advice is to be consistent. Choose a style, and format all of the citations, as well as the other elements of your paper, in the same way. That way, if you need to make changes, it should be relatively easy to find all the things that need to be changed.
Above all, don't panic. Do your best to cite your sources properly. If you make a mistake, you can always fix it later.