Citation Style

A citation style is a set of rules for creating bibliographic references in an academic paper or other written work. These styles are designed to make referencing easier and more standardized by covering some common cases that can arise when you’re writing. Most citation styles incorporate the following points:

1. Title of source
2. Author/editor names (and any other contributors)
3. Year of publication
4. Title of container/collection (if applicable)
5. Publisher name

Which Citation Style Should I Use?

Even if you are allowed to choose your own citation style for your academic paper, it is still highly recommended that you follow the guidelines set out by your instructor! These rules will help ensure that your citations are easy to read and understand. If following these guidelines does not result in one of the styles listed in this article, consult your instructor.

Chicago Manual of Style – What: primarily author(s) and year of publication Who: primarily author(s), title, and publisher Where: any location relevant to a particular work (e.g., page number).

MLA – What: primarily author(s) and year + supplementary source details Who: primarily author(s) + sometimes contributor/editor/translator names, title, and publisher Where: usually limited to page numbers for cited works published from 1980-present but may also include locations relevant for individual works published before 1980 or certain sources that are not published works (e.g., an interview).

APA – What: primarily author(s) and year of publication Who: same as Chicago (author/editor/translator, title, and publisher), with added section on “Other Contributors” If different from author, only name necessary Where: any location relevant to a particular work (e.g., page number).

Havard – What: same as Chicago, with a large section of “Other contributors” added Who: primarily author(s) + sometimes contributor/editor/translator names, title, and publisher Where: limited to page numbers for cited works published from 1520-present but may also include locations relevant for individual works published before 1520 or certain sources that are not published works.

Choosing a Style and Citing Correctly in Your Paper

To choose a citation style, make sure to check with your instructor and school. If you are in college and own the book at hand, we recommend using Chicago Manual of Style or MLA because they are both very common in academia. Otherwise, we suggest using APA because it is the most commonly used style in scientific writing (for books that were published after 1950). If you aren’t certain how to cite something correctly, consult this guide.

Chicago Manual of Style:

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author C. C. (Year published). Title of work. Location: Publisher Name. Retrieved from http://URL

Bishop Boateng, S., Koehler, R., & Urdan-Sulter, H. (2016). Economic success as a predictor of gender egalitarianism in Ghanaian university students: An application of the expectancy value theory approach to gender equality issues. In Tertiary Education and Management, 22(2), 179–190. doi:10.1108/TEUM-04-2015-0011

MLA:

Author, A. Title of work [italicized]. Publisher, Year published. Retrieved from http://URL

Hovland, C., Janis, I., & Kelley, H. (1953). Communication and persuasion: Psychological studies of opinion change. New Haven: Yale University Press. http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/top3mset/f-22f26b0ee4d5e9d8852570ae0036a95c/apps/documentshost

APA :

Author’s Last Name , Author’s First Initial . (Year Published). Title of Work [italicized]. Location: Publisher Name . Retrieved from http://URL

Hovland, C., Janis, I. L., & Kelley, H. H. (1953). Communication and persuasion: Psychological studies of opinion change. New Haven: Yale University Press. http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/top3mset/f-22f26b0ee4d5e9d8852570ae0036a95c/apps/documentshost

Havard:

Author’s Last Name , Author’s First Initial . (Year Published). Title of work [italicized]. Location: Publisher name . Retrieved from http://URL

Hovland, C., Janis, I., & Kelley, H. H. (1953). Communication and persuasion: Psychological studies of opinion change. New Haven: Yale University Press. http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/top3mset/f-22f26b0ee4d5e9d8852570ae0036a95c/apps/documentshost

Guidance on Citing

• When using citation styles, the author name should be typed exactly as it would appear in a bibliographic listing.
• When typing an article title, italicize all words that are four letters or longer. A hyphenated word is considered one word for this purpose. Italicize foreign words but do not underline them.
• Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle, and any proper nouns they contain (California Warbler). Capitalize “the” as part of a title or subtitle if it is fewer than five letters (An Example Title). If “the” is five letters or more, do not capitalize it unless it is at the beginning of a sentence (The next subsection…). Use quotation marks for titles of smaller works included in a larger work, such as articles in journals (The “Citation for the Bird” example…).
• Do not use underlining for titles of larger works. Only italicize them. When using titles within the body of your paper, set them off with quotation marks (This inhibits proper citation because…). Use italics for titles of books or other publications that are not periodicals, plays, movies, TV shows & songs (“All about me”).
• Use italics when referring to other published material in your title (Harvard Law Review Example), but do not use it in subsequent references (the Harvard Law Review).
• When referring to different sections of the same book, publication date does not need to be included in all subsequent refrences (see Chapter 4 for more information).
• When listing other published material in your text, place them in parentheses. The format should be “author’s last name, publication year” (First Name Last Name, 2016) or “date of publication” if no author is given (“Research on the Sunflower,” 2015).
• When you use a direct quote from another source, put it in quotation marks and replace any missing words with ellipses within brackets. End the sentence with a period inside the final quotation mark (“…However…there are many limitations to this study.”). Also include a citation inside your reference list entry, including page numbers if available (“This study […] There are many limitations […]”).