Reference

Academic style guides 2026: complete guide

All official citation and bibliography standards used for theses, dissertations and academic reports. 24 style guides verified against their official sources in May 2026, by discipline and country.

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There is almost never a strict national standard for the physical layout (margins, fonts, title page) of a degree. Each university publishes its own guide. This page lists CITATION and BIBLIOGRAPHY standards, which are standardized at the international or national level. For the physical layout of your thesis or dissertation, always consult the official guide of your enrolling university.

US citation styles

APA

(American Psychological Association)

Current édition: 7th édition (published October 2019)
Organism: American Psychological Association
Official source: https://apastyle.apa.org
Target audience: Social sciences, psychology, education, nursing, engineering (US, Canada, partially UK/AUS/NZ).
Verified on: 2026-05-19

MLA

(Modern Language Association)

Current édition: 9th édition (published April 2021)
Organism: Modern Language Association of America
Official source: https://www.mla.org/MLA-Style
Target audience: Languages, literature, cultural studies (US dominant).
Verified on: 2026-05-19

Chicago Manual of Style

Current édition: 17th édition (published September 2017)
Organism: University of Chicago Press
Official source: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org
Target audience: History, business, fine arts, humanities (US, Canada). Two systems: Notes-Bibliography and Author-Date.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

Turabian

Current édition: 9th édition (published April 2018)
Organism: University of Chicago Press
Official source: https://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html
Target audience: US student thèses (simplified version of Chicago).
Verified on: 2026-05-19

AMA

(American Medical Association)

Current édition: 11th édition (published February 2020)
Organism: American Medical Association
Official source: https://www.amamanualofstyle.com
Target audience: Medicine, public health (US dominant).
Verified on: 2026-05-19

IEEE

(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)

Current édition: IEEE Référence Guide 2023 (revised annually)
Organism: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Official source: https://ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/wp-content/uploads/IEEE-Reference-Guide.pdf
Target audience: Engineering, computer science, electronics, telecommunications (international).
Verified on: 2026-05-19

ASA

(American Sociological Association)

Current édition: 6th édition (published 2019)
Organism: American Sociological Association
Official source: https://www.asanet.org/publications/asa-style-guide/
Target audience: Sociology (US dominant). Derived from Chicago Author-Date.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

CSE

(Council of Science Editors)

Current édition: 8th édition (published 2014)
Organism: Council of Science Editors
Official source: https://www.councilscienceeditors.org/
Target audience: Natural sciences (biology, chemistry, geology, physics, non-clinical medicine) US dominant.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

ACS Style Guide

(American Chemical Society)

Current édition: 3rd édition (2006) + ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication (2020)
Organism: American Chemical Society
Official source: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/book/10.1021/acsguide
Target audience: Chemistry (US dominant).
Verified on: 2026-05-19

UK and Commonwealth citation styles

Harvard (Cite Them Right)

Current édition: Cite Them Right 12th édition (published July 2022)
Organism: Pas d'organisme unique (style generique). Cite Them Right (Bloomsbury) est la référence UK de facto.
Official source: https://www.citethemrightonline.com
Target audience: Universal UK, Australia, New Zealand, some French universities. Social sciences, humanities, business.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

Oxford Referencing (New Hart's Rules)

Current édition: New Hart's Rules 2nd édition (published 2014)
Organism: Oxford University Press
Official source: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/new-hart-rules-9780199570027
Target audience: UK humanities (history, classics, theology). Footnotes + bibliography.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

OSCOLA

(Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities)

Current édition: 4th édition (published 2012) + International Guide (2018)
Organism: Oxford University Faculty of Law
Official source: https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/oscola
Target audience: UK law and common law jurisdictions. Footnotes exclusively.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

Bluebook

Current édition: 21st édition (published 2020)
Organism: Harvard Law Review Association
Official source: https://www.legalbluebook.com
Target audience: US law, international law.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

McGill Guide

(Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation)

Current édition: 10th édition (published 2023)
Organism: McGill Law Journal
Official source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGill_Guide
Target audience: Canadian law (FR + EN, bilingual).
Verified on: 2026-05-19

France and Europe citation styles

Vancouver Style (ICMJE)

Current édition: ICMJE Recommendations 2024 (annual update)
Organism: International Committee of Medical Journal Editors
Official source: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/
Target audience: International medicine, biomedicine, dentistry, pharmacy. Dominant standard outside US.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

AFNOR Z44-005 / ISO 690

Current édition: NF ISO 690:2021 (2021 revision)
Organism: AFNOR + ISO
Official source: https://www.iso.org/standard/72642.html
Target audience: France and francophone areas, academic bibliographies all domains. International for ISO 690.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

DIN 1505

Current édition: DIN 1505 (parts 1 to 4, last revision 2002)
Organism: Deutsches Institut fur Normung
Official source: https://www.din.de/
Target audience: Germany, Austria. Modern trend toward ISO 690.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

Other citation styles

Australian Government Style Manual

Current édition: Continuously updated digital édition (since 2020)
Organism: Department of Finance, Australian Government
Official source: https://www.stylemanual.gov.au
Target audience: Australian government publications, some AUS universities.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

National administrative sources (FR)

AFNIL

(Agence francophone pour la numerotation internationale du livre)

Current édition: Procédures in force 2026
Organism: AFNIL (association loi 1901, France)
Official source: https://www.afnil.org
Target audience: ISBN allocation for France, Belgium, French-speaking Switzerland, Quebec. Free of charge.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

ABES

(Agence Bibliographique de l'Enseignement Superieur)

Current édition: STAR and SUDOC guide in force 2026
Organism: ABES (établissement public administratif, France)
Official source: https://abes.fr
Target audience: Legal deposit of French doctoral thèses (STAR), bibliographic indexing (SUDOC). PDF/A format required.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

BnF Dépôt legal

Current édition: Decree no. 2015-318 (current procédures 2026)
Organism: Bibliothèque nationale de France
Official source: https://www.bnf.fr/fr/le-depot-legal
Target audience: France, all publishers. 2 copies for print books. Automated digital deposit for publishers with AFNIL ISBN.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

Official disciplinary guides

ANEMF

(Association Nationale des Étudiants en Médecine de France)

Current édition: Guides in force 2026 (continuous update)
Organism: ANEMF (association d'étudiants en médecine)
Official source: https://www.anemf.org
Target audience: France medicine, 2nd and 3rd cycle students. Practical référence, not official government standard.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

CNGE

(College National des Generalistes Enseignants)

Current édition: Recommendations in force 2026
Organism: CNGE (societe savante)
Official source: https://www.cnge.fr
Target audience: General medicine France, MD thèses in general medicine.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

ICMJE

(International Committee of Medical Journal Editors)

Current édition: ICMJE Recommendations 2024 (annual January update)
Organism: ICMJE (consortium éditeurs journaux medicaux)
Official source: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/
Target audience: International medicine, scientific publication. Covers Vancouver Style + authorship, peer review, conflicts of interest.
Verified on: 2026-05-19

Quick index by discipline

Discipline	Dominant standard
Psychology, US social sciences	APA 7
US literature/languages	MLA 9
US history, business	Chicago 17
US medicine	AMA 11 + ICMJE
International medicine	Vancouver (ICMJE)
France medicine	Vancouver + ANEMF + guide faculté
US natural sciences	CSE 8
US chemistry	ACS Style Guide
International engineering	IEEE Référence Guide
US sociology	ASA 6
US law	Bluebook 21
UK law	OSCOLA 4
Canada law	McGill Guide 10 (bilingue)
UK humanities	Oxford (New Hart's Rules) ou Harvard
All fields UK/AUS	Harvard (Cite Them Right)
FR academic bibliographies	NF ISO 690:2021
DE academic bibliographies	DIN 1505 ou ISO 690

How thèse standards are verified

Each standard listed has been verified on its official site on May 19, 2026. No information is invented: we cite the organism, current édition, official URL. All standards are reviewed every 6 months (next review scheduled: November 19, 2026) to detect new éditions or procédure changes.

If you spot outdated information (for example a new édition of APA, MLA or Chicago published after our last vérification), contact us. We will update this page and the source registry.

Folio Student structures your document to the right standard

Each template indicates the citation standard expected in your field and prepares a dedicated bibliography chapter. You write your references in that standard; Folio Student formats the dissertation or thesis around them (title page, contents, pagination).

Try for free →See the 23 templates →