Southwest Airlines Professional Communications Certification Practice Exam

Which citation style involves the author-date format?

1. MLA

2. APA

3. Chicago

4. Turabian

The correct answer is: APA

The author-date format is a defining characteristic of the APA citation style, which stands for the American Psychological Association. In this style, in-text citations include the author's last name followed by the year of publication, allowing readers to easily identify the source of the information and locate the full citation in the reference list. This method is particularly prevalent in social sciences and related fields, where it emphasizes the currency of the information by highlighting the publication date. Other citation styles, such as MLA, Chicago, and Turabian, utilize different formats. For example, MLA primarily uses parenthetical citations that include page numbers rather than an author's name and publication date, while Chicago offers both a notes and bibliography style as well as an author-date format, but the latter is not as widely recognized as the standard for the brand itself. Turabian, which is based on the Chicago style, is often used by college students and also includes various citation methods, but it does not emphasize the author-date approach in the same way as APA does.