Listed below are some of the most common areas where paper writing styles may be employed and the rules for using four different methods: Turabian (5th edition; an adaptation of the Chicago Manual of Style [CMS]), MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association), and LSA (Linguistic Society of America).

Page Numbering

• Turabian 5th -- First page: center bottom; following pages: center top or upper right.
• MLA -- Upper right after last name [Smith 7].
• APA -- upper right under short title.
• LSA -- upper right.

Indent Paragraphs

• Turabian 5th -- 6 to 8 spaces.
• MLA -- 5 spaces.
• APA -- 5 spaces.
• LSA -- 6 spaces.

First Set of Quotes

• Turabian 5th -- double quotes.
• MLA -- double quotes.
• APA -- double quotes.
• LSA -- single quotes.

Second Set of Quotes (Quotes within a quote)

• Turabian 5th -- single quotes.
• MLA -- single quotes.
• APA -- single quotes.
• LSA -- double quotes.

Ellipsis

• Turabian 5th -- 3 spaced dots. 4 after sentence.
• MLA -- 3 spaced dots. 4 after sentence.
• APA -- 3 spaced dots. 4 after sentence.
• LSA -- 3 unspaced dots. 3 after sentence.

Indention on Long Quote

• Turabian 5th -- 4 left; 0 right.
• MLA -- 10 left; 0 right.
• APA -- 5 left; 0 right.
• LSA -- 4 left; 0 right.

Spacing of Long Quote

• Turabian 5th -- single.
• MLA -- double.
• APA -- double.
• LSA -- double or single.

Type of Reference

• Turabian 5th:
  1. Parenthetical: (Author year, page).
  2. Footnotes or Endnotes: Raised number in text.
     Notes: Raised number Author[first last], Title (City, State: Publisher, Year), Page.
• MLA -- Parenthetical: (Author page).
• APA -- Parenthetical: (Author, year, p. page).
• LSA -- Parenthetical: (Author year: page).

Bibliography Name

• Turabian 5th -- Selected Bibliography, Works Cited, Sources Consulted.
• MLA -- Works Cited, Works Consulted.
• APA -- References, Bibliography.
• LSA -- References.

Bibliography Spacing

• Turabian 5th -- single (double between entries).
• MLA -- double.
• APA -- double.
• LSA -- double or single (double between entries).

Reverse Indent (On the Bibliography)

• Turabian 5th -- 5 spaces.
• MLA -- 5 spaces.
• APA -- 3 spaces.
• LSA -- 4 or 5 spaces.

Order of Book Entry

• Turabian 5th:
  1. Parenthetical: Author. Year. Title. City, State: Publish.
  2. Footnotes: Author. Title. City, State: Publish, Year.
• MLA -- Author. Title. City, State: Publish, Year.
• APA -- Author. (Year). Title. City, State: Publish.
• LSA -- Author. Year. Title. City, State: Publish.

Order of Journal Entry

• Turabian 5th:
  1. Parenthetical: Author. Year. Article. Journal Volume (Month): pages.
  2. Footnotes: Author. "Article." Journal Volume (date): pages.
• MLA -- Author. "Article." Journal Volume (date): pages.
• APA -- Author. (Year). Article. Journal, Volume, pages.
• LSA -- Author. Year. Article. Journal Volume: pages.

Additional Works (In Bibliography Listings)

• Turabian 5th -- 8 underlines.
• MLA -- 3 hyphens.
• APA -- repeat name.
• LSA -- 7 underlines.

Co-author Name Order

• Turabian 5th -- first last.
• MLA -- first last.
• APA -- last, initials.
• LSA -- first last.

Book Titles

• Turabian 5th:
  1. Parenthetical: Sentence style. With Turabian 8th ed. this changes to Headline Style.
  2. Footnotes: Headline Style.
• MLA -- Headline Style.
• APA -- Sentence style.
• LSA -- Sentence style.

Article Titles

• Turabian 5th:
  1. Parenthetical: Sentence style.
  2. Footnotes: Headline Style.
• MLA -- Headline Style.
• APA -- Sentence style.
• LSA -- Sentence style.

Journal Titles

• Turabian 5th -- Headline Style.
• MLA -- Headline Style.
• APA -- Headline Style.
• LSA -- Sentence style.