Skip to Main Content
Which style?
- APA, MLA and Chicago
There are three major styles used when citing works—American Psychological Association (APA) style, Modern Language Association (MLA) style and the style taken from the Chicago Manual of Style (for the purpose of this guide will be referred to as Chicago). APA is the preferred style for social sciences such as business, psychology, and sociology. MLA is the preferred style for humanities-related areas such as literature. Chicago is the preferred style for history and the publishing industry.
Be aware that all students in UMGC's Graduate School of Management & Technology must use the APA style of citation.
- Chicago Style
The Chicago style allows for two different types of reference styles: the Author-Date System and the Notes-Bibliography (or Humanities) Style. Traditionally, those in the humanities and social sciences (including history) use the Notes-Bibliography Style, and those in the sciences use the Author-Date System. Use the navigation on the left of the page to see the examples shown in the Notes-Bibliography Style.
- Turabian Style
Turabian style is often mentioned in conjunction with the Chicago style. Turabian is a simplified version of the Chicago style and was developed specifically for students who are writing papers, unlike Chicago, which was originally developed for publishers. Turabian is the popular name of the writing style. (The full title of the handbook is A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, but it is usually referred to by the last name of its author, Kate L. Turabian, who developed it for the University of Chicago). See the Turabian Quick Guide for many additional examples of citing different types of materials. Please note that UMGC uses Chicago style, not Turabian.