3. Mla, Apa, Chicago Manual & Turabian Writing Styles

Francisco Hernandez
English 1302-27
MLA, APA, Chicago Manual/Turabin Style An education in liberal arts is a necessary component of any college education that dates back from the earliest colleges and institutions. Back then, liberal arts was all a university was composed of before the advent of specialized and specific education geared toward the necessities of a specific job skill. Now, it seems, the requirements are still in place based on tradition, among a few other reasons. However, for most liberal arts classes a student will be required to read articles and essays and books and write papers based on the information, point made, and/or their understanding of the material. In a effort to avoid plagiarism (a form of theft), ways of documenting sources, information, and ideas borrowed were created. MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association), and the Chicago Style of writing were all created to help students avoid plagiarism—now considered a serious and punishable offense with very heavy consequences. Whenever a paper is written based on the work of other writers the writer faces three tasks: “(1) supporting a thesis, (2) avoiding plagiarism, (3) integrating quotations and other source material” (Hacker, 113). According to Diana Hacker, author of A Pocket Style Manual, “Three different acts are considered plagiarism: (1) failing to cite quotations and borrowed ideas, (2) failing to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks, and (3) failing to put summaries and paraphrases in your own words” (Hacker, 113). The Modern Language Association style of writing (MLA) is the most commonly used for “English and other humanities classes” based “on some extent of reading” (Hacker, 113). The MLA style of writing is a collection of rules that all writers, writing from specific sources, must use to properly cite such sources thereby giving credit where credit is due. These rules help writers avoid plagiarism and establish a good reputation among other writers because they have proven they can be trusted to cite their inspirations in case future papers need to be written. “MLA style has been widely adopted by schools, academic departments, and instructors for over half a century.” (What is MLA?) Considered easier to implement compared to the other styles, such as APA and Chicago. MLA utilizes citations inside paragraphs and an alphabetical list of all citations and sources utilized. An in-text citation based on the MLA style of writing will contain the name of the author and a page number where the information was gleaned. A full description of the source is provided by a number beside the in-text citation to be compared with the works cited page at the end of the paper. APA is known as the American Psychological Association and is used in the writings of social sciences based on reports of research or reviews about specific research topics. Much like the MLA style of writing, APA provides a set of rules for writers to site sources and give credit where credit is due. However, that is where the similarities end. APA is specific and demanding and adheres to a very specific set of rules that must be followed. “APA style often involves writing according to a 'formula ' of sorts. Once you learn the formula, you can master APA style” (Introduction to APA style). In-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and a reference page are just some of the examples of what the APA style of writing consist of. “When you write in APA style, you rarely use first person voice ("I studied..."). This is rarely done in published journals and when it does occur, it 's only done by very senior scholars. You should use the third person or passive voice constructions when writing in APA style ("The study showed...") unless you are co-authoring a paper with at least one other person, in which case you can use "we." ("Our findings included...") In general, you should foreground the research and not the researchers” (Introduction to APA Style). Citing in APA format is simple, after sufficient practice and patience. For in-text citations, the writer’s last name must appear next to the citation along with their work and the date of the work’s publication. This information must match perfectly to the references section at the very end of the paper. For quotations, a citation detailing the page number must appear next to the quote. Much like the APA and MLA styles of writing specific to certain classes and fields of research, the Chicago style of writing has a category all its own and adheres to a particular field of research and scholarly work specifically in history and humanities. Students utilizing this style of writing do so after reading historical essays. The Chicago style of writing is composed two forms: Manual and Turabian. The main difference between the two is the “placement of dates in your references and capitalization of titles.” For example, the Chicago Turabian style of writing makes use of “parenthetical notations with a Works Cited page at the end of the paper” (Chicago/Turabian Style General Guidelines). On one hand, the Chiacago Manual style of writing is based on a notes system and an author/date system much like the APA style of writing. On the other hand, the Chacago/Turabian style of writing is based on two styles. The first uses a footnotes/endnotes system alongside a bibliography. The second uses a “parenthetical notations” system with a works cited page at the paper’s conclusion (Chicago/Turabian Style General Guidelines). Each style is catered to a specific task based on the paper being written. In my case, the format of choice is MLA mainly because, I believe, the class I’m apart of a Composition II class. Rules are in place for a reason and should not be broken, despite the belief of a selected few who believe rules are meant to be broken. When writing papers based on sources and information already gathered from other writers, it is important to cite all sources and list all references accordingly. While accidents may be overlooked from time to time, often the smallest infringement can cause severe consequences. All work should be reviewed carefully to determine all sources have been cited and credit has been given where credit is due. If in doubt about anything related to citation and proper documentation consult a pocket reference or any reference that details proper documentation of sources.
Works Cited
"Chicago/Turabian Style General Guidelines." English Works! at Gallaudet University. June 28, 2002. Gallaudet University. 10 Sep 2008 .
Hacker, Diana. A Pocket Style Manual. Fourth Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin 's, 2004." English Works! English Tutoring and Writing Center. June 28, 2002.
"Introduction to APA Style." OWL Online Learning Lab. 1995-2004. OWL at Purdue University and Purdue University. 30 Aug 2008 .
"What is MLA?." MLA. 29 April 2008. Modern Language Association. 30 Aug 2008 .

Works Consulted
"APA Formatting and Style Guide." The Owl At Purdue. 1995-2008. The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. 30 Aug 2008 .
English Works! at Gallaudet University. 30 Aug 2008 .
"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Owl at Purdue. 1995-2008. The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. 30 Aug 2008 "MLA Format." Style & Manual Guides. University Library, California State University. 31 Aug 2008 .
"MLA in-text parenthetical citations." Duke Libraries. August 1, 2007. Duke University Libraries. 30 Aug 2008 .
"Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide." The Chicago Manual of Style Online. 2007 . The University of Chicago. 30 Aug 2008 .
"Chicago Style: History." Documenting Sources. Research and Documentation Online. 31 Aug 2008 .
"CMS - Chicago Manual of Style (Author/Date System)." Writing Guides. CMS – Chicago Manual of Style (Author/Date System). Colorado State University . 30 Aug 2008 .

Cited: "Chicago/Turabian Style General Guidelines." English Works! at Gallaudet University. June 28, 2002. Hacker, Diana. A Pocket Style Manual. Fourth Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin 's, 2004." English Works! English Tutoring and Writing Center "Introduction to APA Style." OWL Online Learning Lab. 1995-2004. OWL at Purdue University and Purdue University "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Owl at Purdue. 1995-2008. The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. 30 Aug 2008 "MLA in-text parenthetical citations." Duke Libraries. August 1, 2007. Duke University Libraries "Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide." The Chicago Manual of Style Online. 2007 . The University of Chicago. 30 Aug 2008 .