The APA style is often used by students and scholars in the social sciences, especially in the fields of psychology and sociology.
APA features in-text citation, which typically includes the author's last name and date (Lipson 2018).
Common Exceptions
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by The MLA style utilizes in text citations and MLA and has a standard template for developing bibliography references.
The general format for in-text references is to include the author's last name and the page number for the specific quote or reference. Place the parenthetical reference at the end of the sentence (Author 123).
MLA Handbook by
Relied on by generations of writers, the MLA Handbook is published by the Modern Language Association and is the only official, authorized book on MLA style. The new, ninth edition builds on the MLA's unique approach to documenting sources using a template of core elements--facts, common to most sources, like author, title, and publication date--that allows writers to cite any type of work, from books, e-books, and journal articles in databases to song lyrics, online images, social media posts, dissertations, and more. With this focus on source evaluation as the cornerstone of citation, MLA style promotes the skills of information and digital literacy so crucial today. The many new and updated chapters make this edition the comprehensive, go-to resource for writers of research papers, and anyone citing sources, from business writers, technical writers, and freelance writers and editors to student writers and the teachers and librarians working with them. Intended for a variety of classroom contexts--middle school, high school, and college courses in composition, communication, literature, language arts, film, media studies, digital humanities, and related fields--the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook offers *New chapters on grammar, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, numbers, italics, abbreviations, and principles of inclusive language *Guidelines on setting up research papers in MLA format with updated advice on headings, lists, and title pages for group project *Revised, comprehensive, step-by-step instructions for creating a list of works cited in MLA format that are easier to learn and use than ever before *A new appendix with hundreds of example works-cited-list entries by publication format, including websites, YouTube videos, interviews, and more *Detailed examples of how to find publication information for a variety of sources *Newly revised explanations of in-text citations, including comprehensive advice on how to cite multiple authors of a single work *Detailed guidance on footnotes and endnotes *Instructions on quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, and avoiding plagiarism *A sample essay in MLA format *Annotated bibliography examples *Numbered sections throughout for quick navigation *Advanced tips for professional writers and scholars
Chicago style has two versions:
Turabian style is based off of Chicago style, but has simpler rules for structuring citations.
A note uses a footnote to indicate a citation. For example: a behavioral antiracist is "one who is making racial group behavior fictional and individual behavior real."1
1. Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist (One world, 2019), 92.
The in-text citation lists the author's last name, publication date, and page number. Like so: a behavioral antiracist is "one who is making racial group behavior fictional and individual behavior real" (Kendi 2019, 92).
The Chicago Manual of Style
A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations by You do need to cite text you have obtained from an AI tool/large language model. This allows you to be clear and transparent with your readers about where the text came from. The text generated by these models is not able to be reproduced exactly by others (or yourself) using the same prompt, so it's important that you keep careful notes on what the model has generated for you.
Most citation styles recommend that you do not cite an AI tool/large language model as an author or co-author. This is because authors assume responsibility for the work they turn in for class, or put out into the world, and a tool cannot take on ethical responsibilities. When you use an AI tool/large language model in your work, you are taking on the ethical responsibility for using and citing it.
Below are some examples of how to cite AI in common citation styles:
The APA style blog gives the following example for citing ChatGPT:
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
You can use the same structure to cite any AI tool/large language model:
Publisher. (Year). Name of AI Product. (Version). [Additional context]. URL
The Chicago Manual of Style gives the following formatting examples for citing ChatGPT:
Notes & Bibliography Style footnote:
1. Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat.
Author Date Style in-text citation:
(ChatGPT, March 7, 2023).
Since the text of ChatGPT can't be accessed through a URL, the Chicago Manual of Style recommends not citing it in the bibliography and instead treating text generated by a Large Language Model like you would any other personal communication (see CMOS 14.214 and 15.53).
All works cited in MLA Style follow the same template. The MLA Style Center has examples of citing AI tools/large language models on their page, How Do I Cite Generative AI in MLA Style?, which gives the following example:
“The Sunflower” villanelle about a sunflower. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.
Here's the template specifics when citing an AI tool/large language model:
Author: Do not use.
Title of the Source: Describe the generated text. You may also want to include information about the prompt.
Title of the Container: The name of the AI Tool/Large Language Model.
Version: Be specific, for instance ChatGPT 3.5
Publisher: The company that produced the AI Tool/Large Language Model.
Date: The date the text was generated>
Location: URL of the the AI Tool/Large Language Model.
Check out this overview and see citation templates from the University of Alberta.
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