M6L Citation Guide
This guide provides an overview of citation formats and styles. It complements the M6L Citation Guide module, which is available on the Canvas Commons platform for all members of the AUI Community.
What is citation?
Major Citation Styles: An Overview
Below is an overview of the three main citation styles in English-language scholarship. The majority of Anglophone scholarship in any discipline will use some variation of one of these.
Chicago Style
The "Chicago Style" is the standard reference and citation style for humanities and some social sciences at AUI. It is not, however, limited to those disciplines and it is used widely by publishers, especially in North America. It takes its name from the Chicago Manual of Style.
Some helpful guides to the Chicago Style include:
A summary guideline with examples : Maryanne Gobble's "Chicago Manual of Style Guidelines: Quickstudy Digital Guide" (2019)
The venerable & always super helpful Purdue University (USA) Online Writing Lab (OWL) guide to the Chicago style.
For those who love the real thing, the classic print version of the Chicago Manual of Style (1993) and updated version (2003) are available in the M6L stacks: Z253 .U69 2003
MLA Style
The "MLA style" takes its name from the Modern Language Association in the United States. Like the Chicago Manual of Style, the MLA style has also historically been associated with a guidebook, called the MLA Handbook. This style is probably the most widely used in English-language publishing outside the hard sciences and is especially dominant in North America.
Some useful resources for the MLA style:
MLA Guidelines Quick Style Sheet : Available on Perlego, this condensed quick guide offers examples and explanations for the principal types of citation formats you'll want to use for your paper or project.
The Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) has long been the online resource for all major citation styles. Check out their MLA formatting guide here.
APA Style
The "APA Style" takes its name from the American Psychological Association. While definitely used in psychology, APA is not limited to that field and is used widely in natural sciences, social and behavior sciences, and in other fields. Like APA & Chicago styles, the APA style has historically been associated with a book: The Publication Manual of the APA.
Some useful guides to APA style include:
APA Guidelines Quick Style Sheet : Available on Perlego, this condensed quick guide offers examples and explanations for the principal types of citation formats you'll want to use for your paper or project.
The Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) has long been the online resource for all major citation styles. Check out their APA formatting guide here.
Zotero Citation Management
Zotero is a citation management tool that can help you organize your research and automatically generate citations in your word processor. You can learn more about Zotero by enrolling in our workshops or exploring the full "M6L Citation Guide" module on Canvas.