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Citing Your Work -- What Style do you Choose?

There are a variety of citation styles (APA, Chicago, etc...)  Which one do you choose?  Well that depends on your discipline.  Historians and Anthropologists tend to prefer Chicago, Psychologists like APA, English professors use MLA, etc...

Two basic things to remember:

  1. Has your professor stated they want your assignment cited in a specific style?  If so, the answer is easy, use the one they want.
  2. If not, does your discipline have a specific style they use? (Hint: ask a professor or a librarian)  Then use that one.

The pages below explain the basics of the three most commonly used citation styles:  APA, Chicago and MLA.