Style References
A style guide explains a particular style of writing and research documentation that is used predominantly throughout an organization. While there are at least twelve documentation styles that can be used for writing a research paper, most colleges prefer one (or a few) over the others. One of the most popular styles is the Modern Language Association style, called MLA for short, that has been around for a long time and is still widely used today. Another is the American Psychological Association style (or APA), along with the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS). If you are asked to use one of these, or another, you will need to become familiar with the guiding principles that distinguish it from the rest.
American Psychological Association (APA) style is a widely accepted style of documentation, particularly in the social sciences. APA style specifies the names and order of headings, formatting, and organization of citations and references, and the arrangement of tables, figures, footnotes, and appendices, as well as other manuscript and documentation features. APA style uses the author-date style of parenthetical referencing, with such source citations keyed to a subsequent list of "References." Also known as the Harvard Style[1]. The APA Publication Manual provides basic guidelines for documenting both print and electronic resources.
The Modern Language Association of America authors an academic style guide widely used in the United States, Canada, and other countries, providing guidelines for writing and documentation of research in the humanities, such as English studies (including the English language, writing, and literature written in English); the study of other modern languages and literatures, including comparative literature; literary criticism; media studies; cultural studies; and related disciplines
The Chicago Manual of Style is a style guide for American English published since 1906 by the University of Chicago Press. Its 15 editions have prescribed writing and citation styles widely used in publishing. The CMS deals with aspects of editorial practice, from American English grammar and usage to document preparation.
The American Chemical Society authors a style guide that thoroughly examines electronic tools now available to assist scientific, technical, and medical writers in preparing manuscripts and communicating with publishers. The style guide includes discussions of markup languages, citation of electronic sources, online submission of manuscripts, and preparation of figures, tables, and structures.