Style Guides for Writing
Style Guides provide formatting guidelines for research papers, including citations and bibliographies. The style guides highlighted below are the most common style guides in use in academia today.
Consult your professor before selecting a style guide for your assignments.
The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed.Call Number: Online and print: Z253 .U69 2010 Central & Law LibrariesISBN: 9780226287058Publication Date: 2017-09-05This style guide is commonly used in the humanities.
The ACS Guide to Scholarly CommunicationISBN: 9780841235830Publication Date: 2020ACS style is used for chemistry and other sciences.
ASA Style Guide, 3rd ed.Call Number: HM586 .A54 2007 Central Reference ARMSTD-4FLISBN: 0912764309The ASA style guide is used in some sociology courses.
MLA Handbook, 8th ed.Call Number: LB2369 .G53 2016 Central LibraryISBN: 1603292624Publication Date: 2016-04-01MLA style commonly used in the humanities.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological AssociationCall Number: BF76.7 .P83 2010 Central LibraryISBN: 9781433805592Publication Date: 2009-07-15APA style commonly used in the social sciences.
Citing Sources?
 |
When you "cite" a source you are showing, within the body of your text, that you took the words or ideas from another place. |
|
You also are providing a way for the reader (your professor) to locate the sources you relied on in your research. |
|
Failure to acknowledge these sources can be considered plagiarism. |
|
Remember that for whatever style you chose (in consultation with your professor), pay attention to the details and be consistent. Incorrect citations are just as bad as no citations at all! |
See the difference...
|
The examples below demonstrate how the various elements of a book citation (author, title, publisher, and year) are arranged using three different style guides. |
APA, 6th ed.
Danesi, M. (2009). X-rated!: The power of mythic symbolism in popular culture.
New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
MLA, 7th ed.
Danesi, Marcel. 2009. X-Rated!: The power of mythic symbolism in popular culture.
New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Print.
Chicago
Danesi, Marcel. X-rated!: The Power of Mythic Symbolism in Popular Culture. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
I forgot my style guide...
Do you need to format a citation for your bibliography and can't find your style guide?
Check out the Library's Style Guides for Writing page for some online examples of properly formatted citations for a variety of citation styles.
Tutorials Anyone?
For more citation fun check out one of these great tutorials.
- Citing InformationTutorial courtesy of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- The Citation GameLearn the various components of citations in ACS, APA, Chicago and MLA styles.
