APA vs MLA vs Chicago Citation Styles

These are the three citation styles most college students encounter, and they differ in both what they emphasize and how they format a reference.

APA (American Psychological Association)

Common in psychology, education, and the social sciences. In-text citations lead with the author's name and year, like (Smith, 2023), since APA emphasizes how recent a source is. The reference list uses "Last, F. M." author formatting and sentence-case titles.

MLA (Modern Language Association)

Common in literature, languages, and the humanities. In-text citations use the author's name and a page number, like (Smith 42), since MLA emphasizes locating the exact passage in a text. Titles in the works-cited list use title case and are placed in quotation marks or italics depending on the source type.

Chicago

Common in history and some publishing contexts. Chicago has two distinct systems: notes-bibliography, which uses numbered footnotes, and author-date, which uses in-text parenthetical citations similar to APA. Check which variant your instructor wants, since they look quite different on the page.

Quick way to tell which one you need

Check your syllabus or assignment sheet first. If it doesn't say, the subject area is a reasonable guide: social science coursework usually wants APA, literature and humanities coursework usually wants MLA, and history coursework often wants Chicago. When genuinely unsure, ask your instructor rather than guessing, since switching styles after a paper is drafted is time-consuming.

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