How Do You Write Citations?

There are three styles of citation commonly used in academic writing: MLA, APA, and Chicago. MLA stands for Modern Language Association. APA stands for American Psychological Association. “Chicago” refers to The Chicago Manual of Style. The complete rules for citation in each style are complicated; you will need to look at a style manual when you have many sources of many different types. You may think “how picky; why have different style manuals? Who cares?” Well, academic writers care.

Here are some guidelines to give you a general sense of how each style differs from the others:

In all three styles, you will almost always provide the name of the author within the text, usually with an explanation of why this person has credibility as a commentator. For example, you might write, “According to biographer Lawrence D. Reddick . . .”

If the author is well known (President Abraham Lincoln, for example) or if the author has been previously mentioned, you do not need to include the information that explains why the person is being cited (for example, the word “biographer”).

All three styles require this reference to the author of the source material in the text, but they differ in how publication information for the source material is indicated as follows:

MLA and APA both use parenthetical citations within the text to refer to a list of sources included at the end of the paper. The list at the end is called a “Works Cited” page or a “bibliography.” In MLA style, the information in the parentheses is simple, often requiring only the page number. There is no “p.” or “page,” just the number.
APA requires a “p.” before the number. Page 103 would be indicated by “(p. 103).”

Review what you have learned. After answering the questions, check your understanding.

Check Your Understanding

Sample Response:

In the first question (278)—278 in parentheses—is correct. MLA style has the simplest possible way of presenting the information. Other choices make the information perfectly clear, but in academic writing you are expected to follow the rules, and this is the form that MLA rules require. As you can see from the second choice, APA citation style requires a “p.” before the page number.

Which is a better way to let a reader know the page number? There is no answer to this question. But there is a correct and incorrect way to indicate the page within each style. You just have to do it the way the style guide specifies.

Another difference between MLA and APA is that APA requires the copyright date of the book after the author’s name, as in “According to biographer Lawrence D. Reddick (1959),” MLA does not.

MLA basically tries to keep things simple; APA is more concerned with putting the information out there where you will see it.

Review what you have learned. After answering the questions, check your understanding.

Check Your Understanding

Sample Response:

In general MLA is simpler. It does not require the copyright date to be included. APA gives more information and requires the “p.”

Now Chicago is a different ballgame entirely: the page number might not appear in the text. Instead there is usually a superscript number that corresponds with the number of a note either at the bottom of the page (a footnote) or in a list of notes at the end of the text (an endnote). This is less distracting to a reader when there are many references. Using the Chicago style is very appropriate for history writing where there may be five or six references within a single paragraph—however, MLA is more commonly used in academic writing in history and the humanities. When in doubt, ask your teacher what style book you should use.

Here’s how the same quote would appear in each of the three styles:

MLA: According to historians Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff, “The Birmingham campaign turned the nation’s sympathies toward the civil rights movement” (324).

APA: According to historians Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff (2007), “The Birmingham campaign turned the nation’s sympathies toward the civil rights movement” (p. 324).

Chicago: According to historians Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff, “The Birmingham campaign turned the nation’s sympathies toward the civil rights movement.” ¹

(Footnote at the bottom of the page or endnote) ¹Roberts, Gene, and Hank Klibanoff. The Race Beat. New York: Vintage, 2007.

See if you can figure out which style is used in each of the examples below. Choose the button of the style you think is correct.

Take a look at the chart below. It sums up for you what we just covered in this section and may help you distinguish the three style manuals more easily.

MLA	APA	Chicago
Modern Language Association	American Psychological Association	Chicago Manual of Style
Page or source reference
page number in parentheses	page number in parentheses with “p.”	Superscript number referring to source in footnote or endnote
Copyright year
Does not require copyright year next to quote or reference	Requires copyright year after author’s name	Does not require copyright year next to quote or reference
Example of reference within your text
According to the respected cat breeder Reginald Smith, most house cats have four legs (241).	According to the respected cat breeder Reginald Smith (2008), most cats have four legs (p. 241).	According to the respected cat breeder Reginald Smith, most cats have four legs.³ Seen as footnote or endnote: 3. Smith, Reginald. All About Cats (New York: Just Cats Press, 2008), 241.
Example of reference within your list of sources
Works Cited: Smith, Reginald. All About Cats. New York: Just Cats Press, 2008. Print. 241.	References page: Smith, Reginald. (2008). All About Cats. New York: Just Cats Press. 241.	Bibliography: 3. Smith, Reginald, All About Cats. New York: Just Cats Press, 2008.