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MLA

The Modern Language Association (MLA) citation style is most commonly used in humanities disciplines such as English, foreign languages, literary criticism and comparative literature, and cultural studies.

Sample MLA Citations
  In-Text Citation for Direct Quotes In-Text Citation for Information Works Cited Page
Journal Article (Yodovich 872) (Yodovich)*

Yodovich, Neta. “Defining Conditional Belonging: The Case of Female Science Fiction Fans.” Sociology, vol. 55, no. 5, Oct. 2021, pp. 871–87. EBSCOhosthttps://doi.org/10.1177/0038038520949848.

Journal Article with Multiple Authors (Fulkerson et al. 532) (Fulkerson et al.)*

Fulkerson, Jayne A., et al. “Adolescent and Parent Views of Family Meals.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association, vol. 106, no. 4, Apr. 2006, pp. 526–32. ScienceDirecthttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2006.01.006.

Book (Golding 18) (Golding)*

Golding, Dan. Star Wars after Lucas: A Critical Guide to the Future of the Galaxy. University of Minnesota Press, 2019.

AI ("In 200 words") ("In 200 words") “In 200 words, describe the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby” follow-up prompt to list sources. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 9 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

*If you introduce the author(s) in the text, you don't need an in-text citation. For example, you could say, "Fulkerson et al. found that as a child ages, the frequency of family meals decreases."

Always check with your professor and syllabus for specific information on how you should use and cite AI-generated sources.

MLA does not consider Generative AI, like ChatGPT, as an author.

APA

The American Psychology Association (APA) citation style is most commonly used in disciplines such as social sciences, business, nursing, and education.  

Sample APA Citations
  In-Text Citation for Direct Quotes In-Text Citation for Information Works Cited Page
Journal Article (Yodovich, 2021, p. 872) (Yodovich, 2021)

Yodovich, N. (2021). Defining conditional belonging: The case of female science fiction fans. Sociology, 55(5), 871–887. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038520949848

Journal Article with Multiple Authors (Fulkerson et al., 2006, p. 530) (Fulkerson et al., 2006)

Fulkerson, J. A., Neumark-Sztainer, D., & Story, M. (2006). Adolescent and parent views of family meals. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 106(4), 526–532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2006.01.006

Book (Golding, 2019, p. 20) (Golding, 2019)

Golding, D. (2019). Star wars after Lucas: A critical guide to the future of the galaxy. University of Minnesota Press.

AI (OpenAI, 2023) (OpenAI, 2023) OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

*If you introduce the author(s) in the text, you don't need a full in-text citation, just the year in parenthesis after the author. For example, you could say, "Fulkerson et al. (2006) found that as a child ages, the frequency of family meals decreases."

Always check with your professor and syllabus for specific information on how you should use and cite AI-generated sources.

Differences between APA & MLA Citations

  APA MLA
In-text citations (Tisby, 2019) or (Tisby, 2019, pg. 57) (Tisby 57)
Reference page title References Works Cited
Subjects used for Sciences Languages & Literature
Author names in references Tisby, J. Tisby, Jemar
Capitalization of titles The color of compromise: The truth about the American Church’s complicity in racism (sentence case) The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism (title case)
Reference format Acu, A. (2016). Time to work for a living: The Marvel Cinematic Universe and the organized superhero. Journal of Popular Film & Television44(4), 195–205. https://doi.org/10.1080/01956051.2016.1174666 Acu, Adrian. “Time to Work for a Living: The Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Organized Superhero.” Journal of Popular Film & Television, vol. 44, no. 4, Oct. 2016, pp. 195–205. EBSCOhost, doi.org/10.1080/01956051.2016.1174666

Chicago Manual of Style

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) citation style is most commonly used in humanities disciplines such as history and the arts.

The examples below are for the Notes and Bibliography (NB) style.

Sample Chicago Citations
  In-Text Note Bibliography
Journal Article Yodovich, “Defining Conditional Belonging.”

Yodovich, Neta. “Defining Conditional Belonging: The Case of Female Science Fiction Fans.” Sociology 55, no. 5 (October 2021): 871–87. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038520949848.

Journal Article with Multiple Authors Fulkerson, Neumark-Sztainer, and Story, “Adolescent and Parent Views of Family Meals.”

Fulkerson, Jayne A., Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, and Mary Story. “Adolescent and Parent Views of Family Meals.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association 106, no. 4 (April 1, 2006): 526–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2006.01.006.

Book Golding, Star Wars after Lucas.

Golding, Dan. Star Wars after Lucas: A Critical Guide to the Future of the Galaxy. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2019.

AI Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat. N/A

Always check with your professor and syllabus for specific information on how you should use and cite AI-generated sources.

Zotero

Zotero is a free citation manager and generator that can:

  • Organize PDFs of journal articles
  • Generate & alphabetize citations
  • Create in-text citations
  • Easily switch between multiple citation styles