Students often think of APA, MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles as only citation styles - for reference pages and in-text citations. However, the professional organizations that create these style rules also provide guidance for writing in the discipline.
A writing style could have rules to standardize line spacing, fonts, quotations, names, pronouns, section headers, tables, figures, grammar tone, and other stylistic elements, which is why it is import to check the rules and follow them. By adhering to the given guidelines you are making your writing less obtrusive and your paper more readable. This allows readers to focus on the content and message of your writing.
For example, an historian can incorporate quotes from archival material in their scholarly writing in quantities that would be unacceptable for a psychology researcher.
For example, as one way to avoid bias, APA style specifies that first names are not used.
Citation is a small but crucial part of the picture! Citing provides evidence for your arguments and adds credibility to your work. It also allows readers to find your sources efficiently and helps you avoid plagiarism. Librarians are looked to for guidance in formatting citations and reference pages. They are often seen as the go-to for this because they are familiar with finding source information and other elements needed to format a reference. Librarians will help you find guidelines and examples for writing in your discipline or for a specific journal.
As you dive in to your research,
The American Psychological Association format is often used in behavioral and social sciences such as psychology, sociology, history, education, and communication.
Modern Language Association (MLA) style is most often used in humanities disciplines such as languages and literature studies.
Turabian Style is the student version of Chicago Style intended for writing that is not intended for publication. While Turabian and Chicago can be used in many fields, at UW-Whitewater it is most often used in history.
Whether you choose to quote, summarize, or paraphrase sources in your research paper, you must cite each source you use. For rules and examples, look here:
Sometimes students will use online citation formatters provided free on the Web or within a library database. If you use one of these online formatters, remember that they are not foolproof. You will need to review your citations to make sure they are correct. This Citation Helper Tools guide may have some tools you can use. The library supports both Zotero and EndNote, which are very useful when using many sources.
Whether you choose to quote, summarize, or paraphrase sources you use in your research paper, you must cite each one. For rules and examples in MLA 8th ed. style, look here:
Sometimes students will use online citation formatters provided free on the Web or within a library database. If you use one of these online formatters, remember that they are not foolproof. You will need to review your citations to make sure they are correct. This Citation Helper Tools guide may have some tools you can use. The library supports both Zotero and EndNote, which are very useful when using many sources.
Whether you choose to quote, summarize, or paraphrase sources you use in your research paper, you must cite each one. For rules and examples, look here:
Sometimes students will use online citation formatters provided free on the Web or within a library database. If you use one of these online formatters, remember that they are not foolproof. You will need to review your citations to make sure they are correct. This Citation Helper Tools guide may have some tools you can use. The library supports both Zotero and EndNote, which are very useful when using many sources.