Chicago. APA. AP. MLA. There are so many choices that it's easy for writers to get confused about which style guide is best. There isn't one style that fits every writer, and there isn't one style that is better than the others. Instead, style guides fit specific types of writing. Which one you should follow depends on what you're writing, and who will publish it. If the publication doesn't specify, and you don't know - ask. Generally speaking, editors will appreciate that you want to make their jobs easier by including proper formatting.

Chicago style was born from the University of Chicago Press. It started out humbly, just a sheet of guidelines that writers should follow when formatting their stories. Today the Chicago Manual of Style is one of the most used style guides in the U.S.A., and is available in book form and through an on-line subscription.

APA style comes from the American Psychological Association. It's often used in periodicals and papers covering social sciences.

AP style is what the Associated Press uses, and is found at many newspapers. Like the Chicago Manual of Style, the AP Stylebook is available in book form and through an on-line subscription.

MLA style, from the Modern Language Association, is most common in schools. It's often used by students writing research papers, and by faculty writing scholarly articles and papers.

There are many more styles than just these, and many businesses and publications have their own style guides, but these are the four that writers are most likely to come across. No writer needs to be an expert in all of them, but every writer should know how to use the guides.

You can order the Chicago Manual of Style, the Associated Press Stylebook, MLA reference books, and APA Style from Amazon. Other style guides are also available from Amazon.