There are many, many citation styles for papers, and no one is an expert in all of them. In fact, very few people are expert in any of them. What is more important than mastering any one citation style is knowing where you can find information about the one you need. In college writing, MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association) are two of the most common styles. Chicago is another citation style (this is the style used with Turabian), as is CSE (Council of Science Editors). And we can mention APSA (American Political Science Association) and ASA (American Sociological Association). The Writing Center has the manuals for most of these styles, and we are happy to talk with you about the conventions and expectations of each. Remember too that most writing handbooks have sections for MLA, APA, Chicago, and CSE. In terms of types of sources to cite, you might check out this page on BEAM.
Please note: you should always check with your faculty member about what they expect with citations. For example, there are both student and professional versions of APA title pages. Ask questions of faculty members if you are unsure about expectations; they may also have their own references that they recommend (for example, the Witt Communication style below). These links may offer some support for you.
- APA style: A site from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
- APA style: An excellent handout from APA themselves about setting up a student paper.
- APA style A page from Purdue's Online Writing Laboratory--updated for the 7th edition.
- APA Sample Paper: A detailed explanation of APA style, with notes in the margins of a paper.
- MLA style: Here's a color-coded page from Saginaw Valley State to explain the latest edition.
- MLA style: A page from Purdue's Online Writing Laboratory on the beauty of MLA.
- MLA style: A link to the MLA Style Center itself.
- Witt Communication Style: The style guide followed by the Communication Department at Wittenberg.
- Turabian (also known as Chicago): A quick guide from the University of Chicago Press.
- ACS Format A page from Williams College on the American Chemical Society guidelines.
- APSA The American Political Science Association manual is now online; click on the link on this page to download a copy.
- ASA From UNK, a page on the American Sociological Association.
- CSE A link to the homepage for the Council of Science Editors (its eighth edition)
And, here's a site that gives some input on a few different citation styles, as well as different types of papers.