Comparing Citation Styles:
APA Format, MLA Format and Chicago/Turabian Format:

        Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed.
                    A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations by Kate L. Turabian, 6th ed.
                    MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers,  by Joseph Gibaldi, 6th ed.
                    Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed.

Random paragraph within a paper, written in APA style
        Ansel Adams was a prominent environmentalist and a board member of the Sierra Club from 1934 until 1972.  During these years, he worked alongside David Brower to promote the cause of wilderness protection and the protection of the environment. (Cohen, 1998)  Adams transformed his love of wilderness camping into a highly successful career of backcountry photography.  His first extensive high Sierra trip was in 1920.  Leading a laden burro and carrying a thirty-pound pack of photographic equipment, Adams spent the summer photographing Yosemite.  It was a vocation that would continue for years, sometimes as an assistant manager of the Sierra Club outings and others times as a solitary backpacker.  He loved the wilderness experiences but his focus was always on his photographic work. (Adams, 1985)  The fine art images that resulted from these summer trips were especially influential in encouraging future backpackers to explore the remote mountain wilderness.  Adams’ photographs were grandiose interpretations of the wilderness in which Adams, according to historian Jonathan Spaulding,  “portrayed the national parks as sanctuaries for the worship of nature…linked in a harmonious web of nature.” (Spauding 1996, p. 620) 

            Piece of a bibliography, written in APA format

Adams, A, (1985). Ansel Adams, an autobiography. Boston: Little, Brown. 

Cohen, M.P. (1998) The history of the Sierra Club, 1892-1970.  San Francisco:
       Sierra Club Books.

 Spaulding, J (1996) Yosemite and Ansel Adams: Art, commerce and western
      tourism.  Pacific Historical Review 65, 616-625.

NOTE:
        It is very important to follow the find details of the assigned style guide.  The following is the same paragraph but this time using the MLA Handbook For Writers Of Research Papers by the Modern Language Association.  Notice that, though they look similar, there are significant differences in how the in-text citations are listed and how the citations are listed with the bibliography.  It is important to pay close attention to those details.

                Random paragraph within a paper, MLA style*
        Ansel Adams was a prominent environmentalist and a board member of the Sierra Club from 1934 until 1972.  During these years, he worked alongside David Brower to promote the cause of wilderness protection and the protection of the environment. Cohen (89)  Adams  transformed his love of wilderness camping into a highly successful career of backcountry photography.  His first extensive high Sierra trip was in 1920.  Leading a laden burro and carrying a thirty-pound pack of photographic equipment, Adams spent the summer photographing Yosemite.  It was a vocation that would continue for years, sometimes as an assistant manager of the Sierra Club outings and others times as a solitary backpacker.  He loved the wilderness experiences but his focus was always on his photographic work. Adams (140)  The fine art images that resulted from these summer trips were especially influential in encouraging future backpackers to explore the remote mountain wilderness.  Adams’ photographs were grandiose interpretations of the wilderness in which Adams, according to historian Jonathan Spaulding,  “portrayed the national parks as sanctuaries for the worship of nature…linked in a harmonious web of nature.” Spaulding (620) 

            Piece of a bibliography written in MLA format*

Adams, Ansel, Ansel Adams, an Autobiography. Boston : Little, Brown, 1985.

Cohen, Michael P. The History of the Sierra Club, 1892-1970.  San Francisco: Sierra
       Club Books, 1998.

Spaulding, Jonathan “Yosemite and Ansel Adams: Art, Commerce and Western
      Tourism.”  Pacific Historical Review 65 (Nov 1996): 616-625.

*MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, sixth edition

                    Random Paragraph on a paper, Chicago/Turbian Style

Ansel Adams was a prominent environmentalist and a board member of the Sierra Club from 1934 until 1972.  During these years, he worked alongside David Brower to promote the cause of wilderness protection and the protection of the environment.  At the same time, Adams had transformed his love of wilderness camping into a highly successful career of backcountry photography.  His first extensive high Sierra trip was in 1920.  Leading a laden burro and carrying a thirty-pound pack of photographic equipment, Adams spent the summer photographing Yosemite.[1]  It was a vocation that would continue for years, sometimes as an assistant manager of the Sierra Club outings and others times as a solitary backpacker.  He loved the wilderness experiences but his focus was always on his photographic work.[2]  The fine art images that resulted from these summer trips were especially influential in encouraging future backpackers to explore the remote mountain wilderness.  Adams’ photographs were grandiose interpretations of the wilderness in which Adams, according to historian Jonathan Spaulding,  “portrayed the national parks as sanctuaries for the worship of nature…linked in a harmonious web of nature.”[3]  Yosemite National Park was one of his favorite locations and the source of some of his best-known pictures.  The popularity of his photographs did much to increase the appeal of visiting the Park.[4]

      [1] Ansel Adams, Ansel Adams: An Autobiography (Boston: Little Brown and Company,
                1985), 59-60.
      [2] Ibid., 140-142.
      [3] Jonathan Spaulding, “Yosemite and Ansel Adams: Art, Commerce and Western Tourism.”
                 Pacific Historical Review. v.65 n4 (Nov 1996): 616.
      [4] Jonathan Spaulding, 630.

       Piece of a bibliography, written in Chicago/Turabian Style

Adams, Ansel. Ansel Adams: An Autobiography. Boston: Little Brown and Company.
      1985.

Cohen, Michael P. The History of the Sierra Club: 1892-1970. San Francisco: Sierra
     Club Books, 1988.

Spaulding, Jonathan. “Yosemite and Ansel Adams: Art, Commerce and Western
      Tourism.”  Pacific Historical Review 65 (Nov 1996): 616.

Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition
A Manual fro Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations by Kate L. Turabian, 6th edition
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers,  by Joseph Gibaldi, 6th edition
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition

Disclaimer:  These samples are lecture purposes only and may contain errors.  Always consult the full style guide when writing your paper. A copy of style guides are kept in the library at the Reference Desk or may be purchased at the bookstore.

Prepared by Cynthia Bruns (cbruns@fullerton.edu) An administrative page of the Paulina June & George Pollak Library at California State University, Fullerton. (c) 2004 California State University, Fullerton. http://www.library.fullerton.edu All rights reserved.
Last Updated: 30 Jan 2007.