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Writing and Citation Style Guides and Tools

Starting Points

The site we recommend for help with academic writing is the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL).

What's Your Style?

These are the most commonly used style manuals. Always ask your professor which one to use.

  • AMA Manual of Style
    • American Medical Association's style guide
    • Used mainly in the medical sciences
  • APA Style
    • American Psychological Association's style guide
    • Used mainly in the social sciences, including anthropology, business, communication, education, political science, and psychology
  • Chicago Manual of Style
    • Widely used in history, physical science, natural science, and social science
    • Searchable reference for writers, editors, researchers and students
  • MLA Handbook
    • The Modern Language Association's style guide
    • Used mainly in the humanities, including languages, literature, philosophy, and art.
  • Citation Management Tools
    • Citation management software that you can use to create notes and bibliographies for your papers

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