Introduction

As we've previously stated, a style guide is a book that outlines the general rules required for a particular kind of writing or for a particular text. Style guides are an essential resource when writing for almost any purpose. They are used in academia, at publishing houses, journals, newspapers, magazines, businesses, government offices, and even on the web.

To ensure consistency, entities that produce copy often develop a style guide of their own. In the event that a company or writer does not have a unique style guide (and often even when they do), the company or writer will fall back on the use of a major style guide.

There are literally hundreds of different style guides, and it would be pointless to address them all here. And to be perfectly honest, it is far more effective for an editor or proofreader to ensure that he or she has hard copies of as many of these manuals as possible because of the number of differences between each one. Our purpose, therefore, is to ensure you've been introduced to most of the major guides and that you have a clear understanding of the differences between them.

General Reference Information

Before we look at individual styles, we should note that there is a certain amount of information that you will be required to provide no matter which style you are using. Think of references as addresses that provide the specific location of the idea or quotation cited. Without specific information, the job of locating the source will be ever so much more difficult, if not impossible. At the bare minimum, you will need the following:

• Author name

• Title of work

• Year the work was created

• Place of publication (or creation)

• Name of the publisher

There are steps an author can take if he or she is missing this information, but if one of these pieces of information were missing from a reference, it would be difficult to justify the usage of such a source, at least in an academic work. Let's look at the kinds of information that specific style guides require as well as information required for specific types of works appearing in different types of media.

For the following major styles, we'll provide you with two examples of that style's citation method: one for a book and one for a journal. There are many different types of citation, so make sure to thoroughly review the rules. These two examples should provide you with the basic format unique to each style. Some are very similar. Pay attention to details!

We'd like to provide you with more examples, but we don't want to open up any of these wormholes too far as these are vast subjects. And we don't want you to think that it's just a matter of looking up one or two aspects of the style. For every single question you have during the proofreading process, you should consult some kind of reference. Never make assumptions.

Chicago Style

The Chicago Manual of Style is the overall standard used in book publishing. While scholarly publishing (journals and research) makes use of APA and MLA styles, Chicago style is still frequently used in the social sciences, and textbooks use Chicago style footnotes and endnotes. Writers for the arts use Chicago style because it provides both a footnote format and a bibliography format. College students may be asked to use Turabian, which is based on Chicago style.

The Chicago Manual of Style is currently in its seventeenth edition and is available both in print and online. Currently, The Chicago Manual of Style is the most comprehensive of all style guides; many other guides, including the APA style guide, often refer to Chicago for matters they don't cover.

The Chicago Manual of Style recommends two different citation styles. The one used in literature, history, the arts, and some social sciences is the notes-bibliography style and involves a combination of footnotes and a bibliography, as the name suggests. The style used in the natural and physical sciences (and some social sciences) is the parenthetical citations-reference list style (or author-date style). The first of these two cites references in footnotes and then provides an alphabetized bibliography of all sources consulted. The footnotes are used to provide additional information about the source or tangential information that may be useful, but not directly related to the topic at hand. The second of these two styles can also make use of footnotes or endnotes, but it does not rely on footnotes and endnotes for citing references.

Chicago Style Citations

Here are some examples of Chicago style citations. Please note that when typing these into a word processor, a hanging indent must be used for citations longer than one line.

Book

Footnote:

1. Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow (New York: Penguin Books, 1973), 409.

Shortened entry (to be used following the first full entry):

2. Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow, 225.

Parenthetical citation:

(Pynchon 1973, 27)

Bibliography entry:

Pynchon, Thomas. Gravity's Rainbow. New York: Penguin Books, 1973.

Journal Article

Footnote:

1. Marco Abel, "Judgment Is Not an Exit: Toward an Affective Criticism of Violence with American Psycho," Angelaki 6, no. 3 (2001), 140.

Shortened entry (to be used following the first full entry):

2. Abel, "Judgment Is Not an Exit," 145.

Parenthetical citation:

(Abel 2001, 148)

Bibliography entry:

Abel, Marco. "Judgment Is Not an Exit: Toward an Affective Criticism of Violence with American Psycho." Angelaki 6, no. 3 (2001): 137–54.

When the journal is available online, simply add the date accessed and the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to the end of the footnote and bibliography entries, like this:

Footnote:

1. Marco Abel, "Judgment Is Not an Exit: Toward an Affective Criticism of Violence with American Psycho," Angelaki 6, no. 3 (2001), 140, accessed October 1, 2011. doi: 10.1080/09697250120087996. Bibliography entry: Abel, Marco. "Judgment Is Not an Exit: Toward an Affective Criticism of Violence with American Psycho." Angelaki 6, no. 3 (2001): 137–54. Accessed October 1, 2011. doi: 10.1080/09697250120087996.

Turabian Style

Turabian style was developed for the University of Chicago Press by Kate Turabian. Based on The Chicago Manual of Style, Turabian focuses on style in academic or research work and leaves the comprehensive The Chicago Manual of Style to deal with more general information regarding publication itself. The Chicago Manual of Style actually refers students to Turabian, and most will find it easy to navigate. The guide is formally titled A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers. It is currently in its ninth edition.

MLA Style

The Modern Language Association (MLA) has two major publication style guides: The MLA Handbook and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. The former is primarily aimed at high school and undergraduate writers, and the latter is aimed at graduate students and professional writers. However, they both accomplish the same goal: introducing MLA style.

MLA style is almost exclusively used in the academic world, specifically in writing about literature, the arts, and the humanities. This is likely to be the style first introduced to most writing students and undergrads. We should make note here of a slight difference in terminology. MLA uses the term "works cited" for its reference list as opposed to "bibliography." There is an important difference between the two. A works cited list only contains the works that you have actually cited (hence the name). A bibliography includes everything you have read that informed the document in question, whether or not you have actually cited that work.

MLA Style Citations

Here are some examples of MLA style citations. Please note that when typing these into a word processor, a hanging indent must be used for citations longer than one line.

Book

In-text citation:

(Pynchon 27)

Works cited entry:

Pynchon, Thomas. Gravity's Rainbow. New York: Penguin Books, 1973.

Journal Article

Parenthetical citation:

(Abel 148)

Works cited entry:

Abel, Marco. "Judgment Is Not an Exit: Toward an Affective Criticism of Violence with American Psycho." Angelaki, vol. 6, no. 3, 2001, pp. 137-54.

When the journal is available online, simply add the publisher and DOI (if available) or URL:

Works cited entry:

Abel, Marco. "Judgment Is Not an Exit: Toward an Affective Criticism of Violence with American Psycho." Angelaki vol. 6, no. 3, 2001. Taylor & Francis, doi:10.1080/09697250120087996.

or:

Abel, Marco. "Judgment Is Not an Exit: Toward an Affective Criticism of Violence with American Psycho." Angelaki vol. 6, no. 3, 2001, philpapers.org/rec/ABEJIN.

Date of access is an optional element:

Abel, Marco. "Judgment Is Not an Exit: Toward an Affective Criticism of Violence with American Psycho." Angelaki vol. 6, no. 3, 2001, philpapers.org/rec/ABEJIN. Accessed 19 July 2019.

APA Style

The American Psychological Association (APA) created a style that is now very popular in the sciences, and its influence has spread to engineering and business writing as well. In fact, almost all technical writing is based on the APA style. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association was first published in 1929 as a seven-page standard. It is currently in its sixth edition and runs well over 250 pages.

APA style has now been updated to include DOIs instead of URLs.

APA Style Citations

Here are some examples of APA style citations. Please note that when typing these into a word processor, a hanging indent must be used for citations longer than one line.

Book

In-text citation:

(Pynchon, 1973, p. 147)

References entry:

Pynchon, T. (1973). Gravity's rainbow. New York: Penguin Books.

Journal Article

Parenthetical citation:

(Abel, 2001, p. 147)

References entry:

Abel, Marco. (2001). Judgment is not an exit: Toward an affective criticism of violence with American Psycho. Angelaki, 6(3), 137–154.

When the journal is available online, simply add the DOI, like this:

References entry:

Abel, Marco. (2001). Judgment is not an exit: Toward an affective criticism of violence with American Psycho. Angelaki, 6(3), 137–154. doi: 10.1080/09697250120087996

If no DOI has been assigned:

Abel, Marco. (2001). Judgment is not an exit: Toward an affective criticism of violence with American Psycho. Angelaki, 6(3), 137–154. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09697250120087996

AP Style

The Associated Press (AP) is a not-for-profit newsgathering cooperative headquartered in New York. According to The Associated Press Stylebook, "The AP's mission is to be the essential global news network, providing distinctive news services of the highest quality, reliability and objectivity with reports that are accurate, balanced and informed." (Please note that AP style does not make use of the serial comma, which is why it has been omitted from the previous sentence.) The Associated Press Stylebook is the go-to manual for journalists and for news writing in general and is considered the gold standard of print journalism.

AP style was originally developed with the news wire in mind. As a result, symbols and "extras," like italics and underlining, are kept to a minimum. Latin names are printed without their accents in straight AP style (although many publications correct this in their house style), and book titles are put in quotation marks. The most recent edition (2019) of The Associated Press Stylebook contains Social Media Guidelines, Food Guidelines, and the AP's Statement of News Values.

Harvard Style

Harvard referencing, also known as parenthetical referencing, is not so much a style as it is a form of referencing sources. There are two forms of parenthetical referencing, one used by the APA and one used by the MLA. Harvard referencing uses aspects of both, but there is a catch. There are a number of variations in the way it is used. In fact, many universities have their own versions of Harvard referencing. Because there are so many different forms used, it is extremely important that you verify which style you should be applying when you edit.

Let's take a look at some examples of the different methods of Harvard referencing. These examples are based on the Harvard system used at Anglia Ruskin University.

Harvard Style Citation

Here are some examples of Harvard style citations. Please note that when typing these into a word processor, a hanging indent must be used for citations longer than one line.

Book

Parenthetical citation:

(Pynchon, 1975, p. 27)

References entry:

Pynchon, T., 1973. Gravity's rainbow. 12th ed. New York: Penguin Books.

Journal Article

Parenthetical citation:

(Abel, 2001, p. 148)

References entry:

Abel, M., 2001. Judgment is not an exit: Toward an affective criticism of violence with American Psycho. Angelaki, 6(3), pp. 137-54.

When the journal is available online, simply add the URL and date accessed to references entries, like this:

References entry:

Abel, M., 2001. Judgment is not an exit: Toward an affective criticism of violence with American Psycho. Angelaki, [online]. Available at: [Accessed 1 October 2011].

CSE Style

The style manual used by the Council of Science Editors (CSE), Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, focuses on how scientific papers, journals, and books should be styled and formatted for publication and includes a short section providing guidance on good editorial practices. Scientific Style and Format, now in its eighth edition, is a widely recognized, authoritative reference for authors involved with the sciences and sciencerelated fields. It also takes care to cover both American and British styles.

The CSE Manual outlines several different combinations for citing within the text of the document: citation-sequence, name-year, and citation-name.

The citation-sequence (C-S) system makes use of a superscripted number after each in-text reference or quotation starting with. The references appear on the bibliography or works cited page in the order they appear in the text.

The citation-name (C-N) method also makes use of superscripted numbers within the text. The references page lists the references in alphabetical order by the author's last name and title of the article. The list is then numbered in that order. The formatting for the citation-name and citationsequence systems' bibliographic entries is the same.

The name-year (N-Y) system uses the family name of the author and the year of publication. The bibliography or works cited page lists the references in alphabetical order by author and then by year with no numbering.

CSE Style Citation

Here are some examples of CSE style citation. Please note that no hanging indent is necessary for CSE style.

Book

Parenthetical citation:

(Pynchon 1975)

Name-Year System:

Pynchon T. 1973. Gravity's rainbow. New York (NY): Penguin Books. 760 p.

Citation-Name and Citation-Sequence Systems:

1. Pynchon T. Gravity's rainbow. New York (NY): Penguin Books; 1978. 760 p.

Journal Article

Parenthetical citation:

(Abel 2001)

Name-Year System:

Abel M. 2001. Judgment is not an exit: Toward an affective criticism of violence with American psycho. Angelaki. 6(3):137-54.

Citation-Name and Citation-Sequence Systems:

1. Abel M. Judgment is not an exit: Toward an affective criticism of violence with American psycho. Angelaki. 2001;6(3):137-54.

When the journal is available online, simply add the date accessed and the DOI to the end of the footnote and bibliography entries, like this:

Name-Year System:

Abel M. 2001. Judgment is not an exit: Toward an affective criticism of violence with American psycho. Angelaki [Internet]. 6(3):137-54. Available from: http://www.tandfonline.com/ doi/abs/10.1080/09697250120087996 doi: 10.1080/09697250120087996

Citation-Name and Citation-Sequence Systems:

1. Abel M. Judgment is not an exit: Toward an affective criticism of violence with American psycho. Angelaki [Internet]. 2001;6(3):137-54. Available from: http://www.tandfonline.com/ doi/abs/10.1080/09697250120087996 doi: 10.1080/09697250120087996

The Bluebook

Bluebook citation is "it" for the legal profession, and, I'm told, yet another headache for law students. The Bluebook lays out in exhaustive detail the methods of citing court cases and other legal documents. We'll stick with books and journal articles for our purposes here. See a copy of The Bluebook for other examples.

The Bluebook Style Citation

Here are some examples of Bluebook style citation. See The Bluebook for more detailed information regarding specific stylistic constraints.

Book

Bibliography entry:

Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow 50 (Editor Name ed., Penguin Books 12th ed. 1995) (1973).

Journal Article

Bibliography entry:

Marco Abel, Judgment Is Not an Exit: Toward an Affective Criticism of Violence with American Psycho, 6.3 Angelaki 2001 at 137.

When the journal is available online, simply add the URL or database name, like this:

Bibliography entry:

Marco Abel, Judgment Is Not an Exit: Toward an Affective Criticism of Violence with American Psycho, 6.3 Angelaki 2001 at 137. available at http://www.tandfonline.com/ doi/abs/10.1080/09697250120087996

Summary

We've really only covered a small fraction of the information included in major style guides. While style guides offer information on a host of issues, the place you'll probably need to make the most use of style guides is in the references section (and by default, in the in-text citations). Some of the style guides we've covered in this lesson are very similar to one another in terms of the formatting of references and citations. Please use a discriminating eye when proofreading these areas.

Last Updated: 09/09/2022