Difference Between MLA and Chicago

MLA vs Chicago

Regardless of the course that you may be taking in college, creating and submitting papers is one of the most common requirements you will need to complete. The majority of these papers are research papers, and therefore, proper citation is required to prevent you from being accused of plagiarism by your instructor. The MLA and the Chicago citation and writing styles are two of the most common styles favored by most college professors and instructors for their students to follow in the creation of their papers. Here are just some of the differences between these two citation styles.

The Chicago style is commonly used to create papers on the subjects of history and humanities. The first page is usually a title page, where the student includes the title of the paper, the student’s complete name, the subject or course code, the name of the professor, and the submission date of the paper. The title page is not numbered. The page numbers of the body of the paper are placed in the upper right hand corner of the page. Sometimes, the instructor may require the student to include a heading next to the page number, although, it is not normally required. Citations within the paper are in the form of footnotes, where the citations are made at the bottom part of the page; or end notes, where all of the citations and references are placed on a separate page after the conclusion of the paper.

On the other hand, the MLA style is frequently used for papers on English subjects, as well as some humanity subjects. Unlike the Chicago style, the MLA style does not require a title page. Instead, the name of the student, the subject or course code, the name of the professor, and the date of submission are placed on the left hand side of the first page, with one line per entry. This is immediately followed by the title, which is centered, and the body of the paper. The page number is also placed on the upper right side of the page. In the MLA style, it is required that the page number is preceded by the last name of the student. When it comes to citing parts of the paper, the MLA style uses in-text citation, where the last name of the author and the page number from where the information is derived is placed in parenthesis, and typed directly after the cited material or information.

Summary:

1. The Chicago style is used frequently for history subjects, while the MLA style is used for papers on English subjects. Both styles of writing, however, may be used to create papers for the subject of humanities.

2. Documentation of information in the MLA style of writing is usually done through the use of in-text citations, which are written directly after the information to be cited. The Chicago style uses two forms of citations: Footnotes, where the citation is placed at the bottom of the page, and end notes, where the citations are placed at the end of the paper on a separate page.

3. The Chicago style of writing requires a title page, whereas the MLA style does not require a title page.

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