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January 3, 2025
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A Guide to Referencing: Understanding MLA, APA, and Chicago Styles
Home > Blogs > A Guide to Referencing: Understanding MLA, APA, and Chicago Styles
January 3, 2025
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January 3, 2025
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Recently Updated on January 3, 2025
A Guide to Referencing: Understanding MLA, APA, and Chicago Styles
Historically, referencing was not about citing sources; it was about passing down wisdom verbally and entrusting others to share the same ideas. This way of acknowledgement went down as many thinkers and scientists took the ideas passed down and created a new concept, a philosophy or an invention; this was their form of referencing.
With the advent of book printings, referencing became more formalised. As journals and scholarly books grew, there came a referencing guide entailing various types of citation styles like MLA, APA and Chicago. These styles gave a strict system to ensure contributions to the rightful author were credited in a way that is more formal than a 'thank you'. Referencing honours the person who contributed to the field upon which other researchers can cultivate new theories and ideas.
If you are a student who needs to format one project with MLA, APA and or Chicago for the other, read this blog for a referencing guide on MLA, APA and Chicago.
Understanding The Importance Of Referencing
In ancient times, referencing was a way to acknowledge the predecessors' contributions, which is still relevant today. The referencing guide today plays a role in preventing plagiarism and copyright issues. Let us look at some of the critical roles of referencing academic citations:-
Acknowledges The Author
A lot of time, hard work, patience and effort goes into building research. The researcher poured his soul, thoughts and ideas into that work and credited them for their intelligence.
Increases Credibility
Referencing sources shows that you have researched and supported your arguments from the world of reputable authors.
Supports Arguments
Any research is compelling if only the arguments are backed by evidence. Using sources that experts in the field prove helps solidify your arguments through evidence.
Prevents Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a violation of academic ethics that is frowned upon. Referencing sources prevents plagiarism by properly attributing the author of the source.
A Referencing Guide To MLA, APA And Chicago Citation Styles
There are different types of citation styles used by various fields and disciplines. However, this blog will only provide a referencing guide for the three main academic citation styles: MLA, APA, and Chicago. Let us examine these in the referencing guide below:-
APA Referencing
The American Psychological Association, founded in 1892 by G. Stanley Hall, is a widely used citation style in the social sciences and education. APA is a variant of the Harvard style. The 7th edition, released in 2019, is the most recent referencing guide.
A. Format
1. Basic In-Text Citations
(Author's Last Name, Publication Year)
Example: (Johnson, 2006)
2. Basic Referencing Citations
Author Last Name, First Name. (Publication Year). Title of the book.Publisher.
Example: Smith, J. (2019). The Greenhouse Effect. National Geographic. URL
B. General Page Formatting Rules
Set the margins to 1 on all sides
Double spacing throughout
Indent the first line of every paragraph to 0.5
Use New Times Roman or Arial at point 12 font
Include page numbers on every page at the top right corner
C. Title Page Formatting
Paper Title in the centre
Your Name
Affiliation: Department, University Name
Your Professor's Name
Course Name
Due Date
Example:
Analysing The Impact Of Dreams
Olivia Dave Department of Psychology, The University of Melbourne PSYC20009: Personality and Social Psychology Professor David William 15 December 1024
How To Cite Authors
Author
Referencing List
In-Text
1 Author
Dale, Mike (2019)
Dale (2019)
2 Authors
Zhang, M., Johnson, H. (2017)
Zhang and Johnson (2017)
3+ Authors
Smith, J., Dale, M., & William, L. (2005)
Smith et al. (2005.)
No Author
Title of the work. (2009)
Title of the work (2009)
MLA Referencing
The Modern Language Association citation style was founded in 1883 by a group of language professors, Carleton Brown and Cyril Arthur Peerenboom. The purpose of this referencing guide was to create one guideline for language fields.
MLA is now popularly used in humanities and liberal arts.
According to the MLA Handbook, the 9th edition released in April 2021 is the current edition to be followed.
Format:
A. Basic In-Text Citations
(Author Last Name Page Number)
Example: (William 55)
B. Basic Reference Citations
Author Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial, Title of The Work. Publisher, Year. URL or DOI
Example: Bronte, Charlotte, Jane Eyre. Smith Elder & Co, 1847.
General Page Formatting Rules
For MLA formatting style, your page should have the following:
1-inch margins
½ inch indent to every line in a paragraph
Double spacing throughout
New Times Roman font size 12
Include page number on every page at the top right corner
Title Page Formatting
Topic title centred in the middle.
Your Name
Your Professor's Name
Assignment Due Date
Example:
David Lynn
Professor Williams
English 104
18 December 2024
"Jay Gatsby as a Tragic Hero"
A. How To Cite Authors
Author Type
References Entry
(Last Name, First Name)
In-Text
(Last Name, Pg. No)
1 Author
William, David
(William, 29)
2 Authors
William, David, and Dale Johnson
(William and Johnson 100)
3 +Authors
William, Johnson. D., et al
(Johnson et al. 109)
No Author
Topic Title
Topic Title
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The Chicago style originates from the University of Chicago and is used by the humanities disciplines. Chicago is synonymous with Turbabian,
Format:
1. In-text Citations
(Author last name, year, page number(s))
Example:
(Einstein 1923, 23-29)
2. Referencing List
Author last name, first name. Title of Book. Publisher, year.
Example: Einstein, Albert, The Meaning of Relativity. Princeton University Press, 1923.
General Page Formatting Rules
1 inch or larger margins
½ inch indent to every line in a paragraph
Double spacing throughout
New Times Roman font size 12
Include page number on every page at the top right corner or bottom center
Title Page Formatting
Topic Title
Subtitle
Your Name
Student Number
Course Name
Course Number
Due Date
How To Cite Authors
Authors
Referencing List
In-Text Citations
1 Author
Smith, John…
(John 2015, 50)
2+ Author
Jessica Lane and Abigail Brown…
(Lane and Brown 2015, 20)
3+ Author
David, Jessica, Smith, John, and Abigail Brown…
(David et al. 2015, 13)
No Author
Title of the work…
Title of the work. 2015, 42
Each citation style has a purpose, and selecting the right one and knowing how to cite sources are crucial for maintaining credibility in your work.
Parting Thoughts
From the humble beginnings of oral referencing, we now realise the importance of citing our sources. It ensures we honour the works of others who procured this research through their intelligence and hard work.
With many citation styles written for academic writing, it becomes increasingly important for you as a student to keep up with all its techniques and learn from this referencing guide. This blog has comprehensively explored MLA, APA and Chicago referencing styles in detail, as understanding referencing in academic writing is crucial. This referencing guide will help you format your papers accurately across diverse disciplines. Mastering these citation styles will not happen overnight, but with repeated practice, you can cite sources by heart.
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FAQs
What is the difference between an In-text citation and a reference list?
In-text citations are the brief source information you enter within the text, while a reference list is a detailed entry of all the sources you used in the text, which is placed at the end of the paper.
Which citation styles do Assignment Global offer help with?
Assignment Global services offer assistance with all the popular citation styles, including MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard and IEEE. The style choice depends on your discipline and the departments set by the institution.
Can Assignment Global assist me in citing my sources and formatting?
Yes, absolutely. Our team of experts will assist you in formatting and citing your sources using the chosen citation style. We will include proper in-text citations, reference lists, a bibliography, and formatting your paper.
