Style Guides Style Guides for Scholarly Writing Style sheets are guides used for the preparation of scholarly papers and manuscripts. They explain the construction of bibliographies, how footnotes and endnotes should be written, how text should be displayed, and a host of other information necessary for the completion of a written project of any length. Typically, style sheets are issued by scholarly organizations, such as the Modern Language Association, or by entities serving the academic world, such as the University of Chicago Press. In some cases, style sheets are written by individuals whose professional experience revolves around scholarly research. Some style sheets are written with specific disciplines in mind.
Many academic programs require the use of a particular style sheet for the preparation of papers.
Find out which style sheets are required by each of the departments in which you are taking courses. MSEL has the current editions of the discipline-based style sheets as well as other guides that will help you prepare written projects at all levels. Here is a list of style sheets commonly used in academic work, along with their call numbers. The last two titles in this list include detailed information on citing electronic resources, which may be only touched upon in other guides. Achtert, Walter S., and Joseph Gibaldi.