Last updated November 14, 2022

If you would like to recommend a guide not listed below, please contact the AskAway Admin Centre.

***Note about MLA Style: The 9th edition of MLA Style was released in April 2021. The guides below mostly use the new 9th edition but some may still use the 8th edition. Links will be updated as necessary as guides are updated for the new edition. If you notice any outdated or broken links, please contact the Admin Centre.

Local Guides and Websites

If a citation guide from the student’s institution exists, point them to this guide first (see Handling Citation Questions: The Basics).
- Refer to the library's Policy Page - Citation Guides field for a link to their citation guides.
Some institutions may not create their own guides but do link to recommended guides. In this case, direct students to these guides.

Additional Commonly Used Guides

In addition to local guides, the websites below are a selection of commonly used guides recommended and reviewed by AskAway local coordinators and service providers.

General Guides

Massey University New Zealand OWLL (not to be confused with Purdue OWL)

APA
- The APA Interactive tool allows you to create customized examples
Introduction to Chicago and Chicago Style Interactive
MLA

Fairfield University Citation Guides

Includes guides for APA, MLA, and Chicago style (notes-bibliography, author-date)
Organized by resource type (e.g. book) and then sub-type (e.g. book with two authors)
Includes examples for reference list and in-text citations

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) (Note: Purdue OWL includes advertisements on its website)

APA
Chicago
MLA
There are sample papers for each style available on Purdue OWL.

Citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers

Last updated July 24, 2024

NorQuest College Library noted that the formal APA and MLA style guides do not have a format for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, so they developed templates for MLA and APA styles in the spirit of wahkôhtowin and reconciliation. Thank you to Lorisia MacLeod (2021) for developing the templates.

Based on these templates, the Kwantlen Polytechnic University added a few elements as recommended by their Elder in Residence Lekeyten for MLA and APA styles. They also collaborated with the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University to adapt a Chicago citation style.

KPU Indigenous Studies Citation Guide
KPU Indigenous Studies Instructional Videos (Scroll to the bottom for citation styles)

APA Style

APA Reference Examples (from APA)

A rich resource with over 100 reference examples and corresponding in-text citations for the 7th edition
Organized into four reference groups (e.g. Online media), then reference categories (e.g. Social media), and then specific reference type (e.g. Instagram references)

APA Style Blog (from APA)

Note: this link will take you to the new blog for the recently released 7th edition of APA Style. If you'd like to access the 6th edition blog, visit the blog archive.

The official APA Style Blog is a helpful resource for tricky citation questions, especially less traditional types of resources such as websites and social media
If you don't find your answer in the blog itself, check the comments as editors will often reply to questions with more information

APA for Business Sources (from the Academic Business Librarians of BC)

Provides examples for how to cite various types of information and data in many business databases
See the About and Disclaimer pages for more information about the resource

Citing Canadian Government Documents: APA (from SFU Library)

Gives guidance on how to create citations for documents that do not have examples in the official guide
The Hansard Citation Guide for LiPaD Resources may also be helpful (from LiPaD at University of Toronto)

Citing tables and figures: APA (from SFU Library)

APA In-Text Citations (from KPU Library)

APA Citation Style Guide (from Douglas College)

Includes examples of full references and in-text citations for all common resources (books, articles, websites), as well as other types of resources, including open textbooks, business sources, and course-related material.

How to Read an APA Reference (from Douglas College Library)

Helpful for students who are new to citation (for example, international students).

Chicago Style

Note that Chicago style has two forms: Author-date, commonly used in the social sciences, and Notes-bibliography, commonly used in the humanities. The former uses parenthetical notes and the latter uses footnotes, as well as having other differences.

Chicago Manual of Style: Quick Guide: This is an ebook available via subscription at many institutions. Will require log-in.

Chicago Manual of Style: Citation guide (from UBC Library)

Chicago Manual of Style: Citation guide (from TRU Libraries)

Chicago Manual of Style (from Concordia University)

Chicago Style Citation Guide - Langara School of Management (from Langara College)

Chicago Style paper formatting tip sheets (From Turabian.org)

CMOS Shop Talk: FAQs for Students (from Chicago Manual of Style)