APA, or the American Psychological Association, style is typically used in the social sciences, business, and nursing. APA in-text citations include the author's last name, date, and when directly referencing content from another source, the page number in parentheses (i.e. (last name, date, p. # ) ). See the resources linked below for more information on how to cite using APA.
MLA, or the Modern Language Association, style is typically used in the humanities, specially language arts and cultural studies. For in-text citations, MLA requires the page number and the author's last name in either the sentence or the parenthetical citation (i.e. (Brown, 78) ). Please see the links below for more details on how to cite with MLA.
Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is typically used is history, english, and art disciplines. It uses endnotes or footnotes for citations, and it includes a bibliography at the end that includes all works cited in your research as well as other sources used but not necessarily cited that may be helpful for other researchers and readers of your work. For more information on citing with the Chicago Manual of Style, please see the resources linked below.
IEEE (pronounced "I--Triple--E") is typically used in technical fields, such as computer science and engineering. IEEE style uses brackets (i.e. [1] ) for in-text citations. See the resources linked below for more details on citing in IEEE style.
When should you cite something?
Any time you are providing information that you found elsewhere, it is important to cite your source(s). Whether you are providing dates, data, or statistics; paraphrasing or summarizing someone else's words; or directly quoting someone, you need to provide a citation.
The citation style you use is determined by your professor and/or the discipline of your class. For example, most English classes require the use of MLA, while classes in the social sciences may require you to use APA. Check your assignment sheet for a given project or refer to your syllabus to see which citation style your professor requires.
Some professors allow you to use the citation style of your choice. In this case, it's best to use the citation style you are most familiar with and be sure to follow that style throughout the body of your paper.
