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Style Manuals and Citation Guides

Style Manuals by Academic Discipline

Biology

The 6th edition of this guide now covers all scientific disciplines except for technological fields not closely related to experimental and observational science. It covers styles, mechanics, and special scientific conventions. The section describing how to write and submit papers for journal publication has been removed to allow for the inclusion of more disciplines. 

Chemistry

Engineering

Government

  • United States. Government Printing Office.  Style manual, 2000. Washington: G.P.O., 2000.
    Perkins Public Documents, US Documents GP 1.23/4:ST 9/2000. Electronic access also available.

Primarily a printer's tool, writers often find the GPO manual useful. Particularly helpful are its many lists and a guide to the typography of foreign languages.

In addition to detailed information on U.S. government documents, other chapters address state, regional, and international documents. Includes brief bibliographies of style manuals and "standard government documents reference sources." 

Primarily for use in the production and publication of United Nations Documents, this manual addresses mainly English language style. Includes sections on usage, spelling, capitalization, planning tables, preparing maps for inclusion in text, and other matters. 

Health Sciences

Humanities

Originating from the 1951 MLA Style Sheet, the Handbook is intended for undergraduates. Its organization follows the steps one might take in writing a research paper: the research process, mechanics, format, bibliography style, documentation sources, etc. Includes examples of bibliographic citation along with sample typescript pages.

This MLA guide is intended for graduate students. Chapters include "Guidelines for author-publisher relations," "Copyright," and "Preparation of Theses and Dissertations," in addition to the usual sections on mechanics and documentation format.

The MLA Handbook's British cousin. 

Journalism

In newspaper publishing, style manuals ensure consistency and conformity in matters as mundane as capitalization and as arcane as whether the paper will use "kaffeklatsch" or "coffee klatch". The United States boasts four major journalistic style manuals:

In wide use among newspapers, this manual features a dictionary format and includes instructions on everything from setting up a box score to filing a story on the wire. Contains the usual rules for punctuation and such.

Similar in arrangement, but different in content, from the Associated Press Stylebook.

Entirely different in format from the above two manuals, this one includes essays by such luminaries as Ben Bradley and Charles Seib, plus helpful information on writing in general and for the Post in particular.

This manual pertains to broadcast rather than print journalists. It addresses script layout, writing and presenting news, pronunciation, and word usage. 

Law

This is the prescribed citation manual for Duke law students.

Military History

  • Style Guide for Military History. Washington, D.C.: Editorial Branch, Center of Military History, Department of the Army, 1981.
    Perkins Reference Z253 .C46 1981

Music

Physics

  • American Institute of Physics.  AIP Style Manual. 4th ed. New York: American Institute of Physics, 1990.
    Library Service Center QC5.45 .A45 1990.  Available online.

"For guidance in writing, editing, and preparing physics manuscripts for publication."  

Political Science

Includes a large section about writing different types of political science papers, from book reviews to public opinion survey papers.

Psychology

Addresses APA publications and members of graduate and undergraduate psychology departments. Other academic disciplines has adopted this manual as well.

This guide offers formal instruction for writing psychology papers. Also covers grant proposals and book proposals. Older edition in Perkins stacks.

Sociology

  • American Sociological Association.  ASA Style Guide. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: ASA, 1997.
    Perkins Reference HM586 .A837 1997
  • Richlin-Klonsky, Ruth et al., A Guide to Writing Sociology Papers. 5th ed. New York: Worth, 2001.
    Perkins Reference  HM585 .G78 2001
 

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Last modified July 2, 2008 11:26:53 AM EDT