Navigating Through Citation Styles: MLA, APA, Chicago, and Chicago 'Works Cited'

**Title: Navigating Through Citation Styles: MLA, APA, Chicago, and Chicago 'Works Cited'**

Citation styles can often be confusing, mainly when dealing with the major ones: MLA, APA, Chicago, and the often misunderstood sub-style of Chicago - the 'Works Cited page. Let's demystify these citation styles and understand their distinctive features.

**Modern Language Association (MLA) Style**

The MLA style is commonly used in the humanities, especially in writing on language and literature. It typically uses parenthetical in-text citations with the author's last name and the page number. MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation, and the detailed reference is listed on the 'Works Cited page at the end of the paper. The entries are listed alphabetically by the author's last name.

**American Psychological Association (APA) Style**

APA style, on the other hand, is most commonly used in the social sciences. It involves in-text citations that include the author's last name and the year of publication, with a complete reference in the 'References' list at the end of the work. The authorities are listed in alphabetical order. Unlike MLA, the APA style emphasizes the year the source was published, reflecting the importance of recent literature in the social sciences.

**Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago) Style**

The Chicago style is preferred by those in literature, history, and the arts. It is unique for providing two citation systems: the Notes-Bibliography system (NB) and the Author-Date system.

In the NB system, sources are cited in numbered footnotes or endnotes (each note corresponds to a raised superscript number in the text), and each message includes a full citation. This system is often used in the humanities and provides an avenue for commenting on cited sources.

In contrast, the Author-Date system, similar to APA style, uses in-text parenthetical citations and is frequently used in the social sciences.

**Chicago 'Works Cited' Style**

Confusion arises when the term 'Works Cited' is associated with the Chicago style. Typically, in the NB system of the Chicago style, the compiled list of sources at the end of the document is referred to as the 'Bibliography' – not 'Works Cited.'

However, there can be a 'Works Cited' page in Chicago style when the writer chooses only to include the sources directly referenced in the paper instead of all the sources consulted. This is a stylistic choice and can depend on specific assignment requirements.

In conclusion, while MLA, APA, and Chicago styles share the same goal of citation – providing a path for readers to find the sources used in the research – their ways of achieving this goal differ. A piece of work's discipline or specific requirements typically dictate which style to use. In all cases, the key is consistency: once a citation style is chosen, it should be applied uniformly throughout the paper.