The Basics of MLA, APA, and Chicago Style

In MLA style, sources are acknowledged by short parenthetical citations in the text instead of
numbered footnotes. The parenthetical citation includes just enough information to point the
reader to the complete information about the source in the Works Cited list. The parenthetical
usually includes the author's last name (if an anonymous work, the first one or two words from
the title), and the page number cited. Leave the author's name out of the parenthetical if it is
clearly stated in your sentence. When your Works Cited list includes more than one work by an
author, the parenthetical should include part of the title, i.e., (Nielsen, Hypertext 141). If the
entire work is being acknowledged, or there is no page or paragraph number (as in the case of
many online works), incorporate the author's name into the sentence or use only the author’s last
name in a parenthetical.
Works Cited Entry Parenthetical
Book - single Nielsen, Jakob. Hypertext & (Nielsen 141)
author Hypermedia. Boston: Academic Press
Professional, 1993.

In APA style, sources are acknowledged by short, parenthetical citations in the text, just as in
MLA. The difference, is the citation contains the author’s last name and the year of publication.
The information is separated by a comma.

Reference List Entry Parenthetical

Burkitt, I. (1991). Social selves:
Book - single author Theories of the social formation (Burkitt, 1991)
of personality. London: Sage.

Chicago style (the documentary-note form) uses a footnote system combined with a
bibliography to acknowledge sources. The first time a source is used, a complete bibliographic
footnote is included. Any subsequent uses of the source only require a short note.

Book - single author

Footnote form 1. Chris Holmlund, Bibliographic Holmlund, Chris.

(first footnote) Impossible Bodies: form ImpossibleBodie
Femininity and s: Femininity
Masculinity at the and Masculinity
Movies (New York: at the Movies.
Routledge, 2002), New York:
159. Routledge,
2002.
2. Holmlund,
Impossible Bodies:
Femininity and
(short note) Masculinity at the
Movies.