Guide library13 guides
Style Comparisons
Side-by-side comparisons of APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, and more, plus advice on which style your discipline expects.
Every guide is free, written for students and researchers, and dated so you can see when it was last checked.
Which Citation Style Should I Use?
Choose APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18, Vancouver, IEEE V 3.28.2025, or Cite Them Right Harvard 13 from the syllabus first. Official handbook wording, real style-center examples, and the 2026 edition traps. leftover-Turabian-10-8-October-versus-December-9, leftover-eighth-edition-banner, leftover-MLA-bookstore-preorder.
APA vs MLA: How to Choose Between APA 7 and MLA 9
Decide between APA 7 and MLA 9 with official handbook wording, the live Fried–Borrell comparison samples, leftover-Deresiewicz-thecreative, leftover-APA-MLA-Reference-Comparison-404, and the mix-ups that still make a paper look unfinished.
APA vs Chicago: Notes, Author-Date, and When to Use Each
Choose APA 7 or Chicago 18 with official handbook wording, the same Yu–Kwon–Niepel sources both ways, and the leftovers that still make Chicago author-date look like APA: article IDs, databases, and the 2023 Google specimen.
MLA vs Chicago: Author-Page or Notes for the Humanities?
Choose MLA 9 or Chicago 18 with official handbook wording, live Mantel, Yu, Baron, Binder, Goldman, Lindquist, Doyle, and Snyder examples, and the CMOS 18 leftovers older charts still miss.
Harvard vs APA: Cite Them Right 13 vs APA 7, and When to Use Each
APA 7 is one official author–date manual. Harvard is a family of variants, usually taught as Cite Them Right 13th edition (2025). Compare et al., ampersands, the Australian no-comma leftover, DOIs, and the same real sources. leftover-Westminster-Macmillan-still-live, leftover-Westminster-12th-ed-FAQ, leftover-Dundee-NICE-2021-in-text, leftover-Pope-Wall-two-author, leftover-APA-NICE-first-abbreviation, leftover-UWE-September-2026, leftover-ASM-4-June-2026.
Vancouver vs APA: Which Citation Style for Medicine and Health?
Pick Vancouver (ICMJE/NLM) or APA 7 from the journal, not the topic. Numbered (1) versus author–date, leftover JNE MEDLINE titles under APA 7, leftover Psychological Science AI disclosures, the 6- versus 20-author cutoff, and official NLM Halpern–Feifel–Abood samples.
IEEE vs APA: Which Citation Style for Engineering and Psychology?
Choose IEEE or APA 7 from the venue, not the topic. Covers the live IEEE Reference Style Guide for Authors V 3.28.2025 (written-out ranges, no Jr. commas), APA 7 author–date, official examples, theses, datasets, and stale Purdue OWL ranges.
Turabian vs Chicago: Student Handbook or CMOS 18?
Turabian 9 is still Chicago for students and follows CMOS 17. CMOS 18 dropped the city and moved et al. Official Kitamura, Yu, Kwon, Liu, and Blajer examples, plus why the Turabian 10 date slipped to 9 December 2026.
ACS vs APA: How Chemistry Writers Choose a Citation Style
Choose ACS or APA from the journal and the research question, not a chemistry-versus-psychology slogan. leftover-Cheng-ASAP-versus-88-2-554-562, leftover-Deysher-ChemRxiv-versus-Nature-Energy, leftover-JRST-no-italics, leftover-JCE-CASSI-no-space, leftover-APA-Incapsula-2026-10-26, and the restyle edits that still make a chemistry list look unfinished.
AMA vs Vancouver: Which Numbered Medical Citation Style?
Compare AMA 11 and Vancouver (ICMJE/NLM): superscript vs (1), the 3- versus 6-author et al. cutoff, italic journal titles, leftover JAMA book cities, retractions, datasets, and when JAMA requires AMA.
ASA vs APA: Which Citation Style for Sociology Papers?
Choose ASA 7 or APA 7 from the syllabus or author guide you actually have. Compares author–date punctuation, full names versus initials, title case, 50-word versus 40-word block quotes, and why ASR, AJS, and Social Forces are not one style.
When to Use APA Style (7th Edition)
Use APA 7 when the assignment, journal, or department names it. Publication Manual wording, Psychological Science (updated 23 June 2026), AERA/RER, Journal of Nursing Education, JAMA Health Forum, the February 2026 font page that now names Aptos, and when MLA, Chicago, AMA, IEEE, or ASA is the better default.
Citation Styles by Academic Discipline
Field-by-field map of the citation style each discipline usually expects: APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18, ASA, APSA, Vancouver, AMA, ACS, CSE, IEEE V 3.28.2025, and Bluebook 22, with official quotations and real handbook examples.