APA vs MLA vs Chicago

See the practical differences among three common citation styles without treating them as interchangeable.

APA

APA is widely used in social and behavioral sciences. It emphasizes author and date, which makes the age of evidence visible.

MLA

MLA is common in language and humanities courses. It emphasizes authorship, titles and source containers.

Chicago

Chicago offers more than one documentation system. Notes and bibliography is common in history and some humanities fields.

The style is chosen for you

Students usually should not pick whichever style looks easiest. Follow the instructor, department, journal or assignment instructions.

Details matter

Capitalization, punctuation, author format, dates and source type can change the correct citation. Use a generator as a draft and verify important work.

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Reviewed for CurioLift v0.2 • October 2026