Different academic disciplines prefer different citation styles. These include MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian, AAA, AP, and more. Each citation style dictates how a paper should be formatted overall, but the primary focus is to show writers how to properly construct the two major components involved in citing your sources: in-text citations or footnotes/endnotes and the list of sources you used (typically called works cited, references or bibliography). In-text citations are notes within your paper that appear next to each quotation, paraphrase, fact, etc., to show which source the information came from and to point your readers to the complete list of sources at the end of your paper.
Your instructors will give you details about the preferred citation style they want you to use in their courses. Make sure that any citation tools and resources you use follow the most current editions of the manuals for each citation style.