Fundamentals of attribution are similar across styles

Regardless of the attribution style, the substance of attribution is almost universal. In short, 

• A citation includes the author and date.
  • The citation should provide the page or paragraph number if the borrowed idea contains a quote.
• A reference includes the author, date, title, publisher, and source [like publisher or website information]. 

The contents of attributions are usually similar, regardless of the application or style. For example, you will need the same information about your source for attribution in APA, MLA, Chicago, AP, Harvard, and other styles. 

While the substance of attributions remains similar across styles, the structure of citations and references differs depending on the style. Fortunately, students don't need to get confused by the mechanics of different styles. They need to learn the one style required by their program.