Quite a few formatting differences exist between Chicago (Turabian) Style and APA Style, including those listed here. Choose the style that will allow you to format your paper and deliver the information to your readers in the most efficient manner.
IN-TEXT CITATIONS. Most of the differences between Chicago (Turabian) and APA Styles involve in-text citations. Both styles include the last name of the author and a page number in parentheses for the in-text citation. APA Style also includes the year of publication of the source, but Chicago (Turabian) Style does not.
Chicago (Turabian) Style also allows the use of footnotes, rather than in-text citations, to cite your sources. With a footnote, you link the material that needs to be sourced with the source information, usually through superscript Arabic numerals. A footnote lists far more information about each source than does an in-text citation. Footnotes appear only on the page that contains the information that you need to cite. When using footnotes, you don't necessarily have to include a bibliography, although most people use both.
An in-text citation, meanwhile, provides only a little basic information about the source. Readers use the in-text citation to find the full source information in the bibliography or reference list.
With Chicago (Turabian) Style, you may use either footnotes or in-text citations. APA Style only allows in-text citations.
PAGE NUMBERS. With both styles, the page number appears in the upper right corner of each page. With APA Style, you must include a running title to the left of the page number on each page. A running title is a two- or three-word summary of the title of your paper. With Chicago (Turabian) Style, you only list the page number. If a chapter heading appears on the page in Chicago (Turabian) Style, you should list the page number along the bottom of the page, instead of in the upper right corner.
REFERENCE LIST FORMATTING. With both styles, when listing each of your sources on the reference list page or in a bibliography, use the full last name of the author(s) in each entry. In APA Style, you also list only the initials of the first and middle name of each author. In Chicago (Turabian) Style, you spell out the entire first and middle name of each author. (The middle name information is optional.)
