John Gottfried

LIBRARIAN
Business & Psychology
SUNY College at Old Westbury

Writing Formats: Style Guides

When writing up your research or a report, you often have to follow very specific guidelines. They may be called writers' guidelines, formats, or styles...no matter what they are called, they are the agreed-upon methods of presenting and organizing your report, and citing your references. To find out which format you need to follow, check with your instructor if it is for a class, or look for the writer's guidelines if it is a publication. Below are links to very helpful guides for several of the most popular formats.

Guides to APA (American Psychological Association) Style

APA Style Tips (from Long Island University, CW Post) 

APA Style Tips (from the Purdue Owl, Writing Center) 

APA Style Tips (from the Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 

Example of a paper in APA style (Bedford/St. Martin's)

Guides to ASA (American Sociological Association) Style

ASA Quick Style Guide (from the ASA) 

Formatting in ASA Style (from the Purdue Owl, Writing Center) 

ASA Format (from California State Univ., Los Angeles) 

ASA Guidelines (from Gallaudet University)

Guides to MLA (Modern Language Association) Style

The Purdue OWL Writing Center: MLA Style  

University of Illinois Writer’s Workshop: MLA Style

Ohio State University, MLA Cite Resources

Bedford/St. Martin’s Publishing: Example of an MLA Paper

Guides to Turabian/Chicago Manual of Style

(Note: The Chicago Manual of Style and the style presented in Kate L. Turabian's Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations are very nearly identical. At times Turabian makes adjustments with student writers in mind.)

Turabian Citation Guide (from Ohio State University)

Turabian Quick Guide (from University of Chicago Press Web Site) 

Turabian Citation Style for Electronic Resources (from Pace University)  

Chicago Manual of Style Sample Paper (Bedford/St. Martin's)