Cinema & Media Studies

Chicago citation style is used primarily in the humanities, including art history, history, literature, and politics. It may also be used in the sciences and social sciences. Chicago style has two formats:

• Notes and Bibliography style is preferred by the humanities. Citations are provided in footnotes or endnotes, and a bibliography
• Author-Date style is preferred by the sciences and social sciences. Sources are briefly cited within the text using parentheses, and the full details are provided in a works cited list.

MLA is most often used in English, rhetoric, foreign languages, and the humanities. Citations are created using both a detailed works cited list appearing at the end of a paper and brief in-text citations that direct readers to particular sources from that reference list. 

The examples and rules described on this page are intended as a quick reference for general MLA citation. For more sources with exhaustive rules, exceptions to rules, and types of sources not described here, see the MLA resources below. 

We are happy to help you with your citation and paraphrasing questions at the Research Help Desk or during individual consultations.

• Our full citation guide provides online resources and citation examples.
• We have copies of the major citation styles manuals at the Research Help Desks in the Libraries.
• We support two citation management software, RefWorks and Zotero, which can help you to organize your references and create your citations.

The Oberlin College Writing and Speaking Center can also assist with writing your research paper and citations. They provide assistance with writing mechanics, including citation, developing a research question or thesis, developing an argument to support your thesis, reviewing your paper for sentence-level corrections, and editing for flow and clarity.

Ways to Get Help