APA vs MLA: The Citation Showdown

You have a paper due, and you’re wondering how to format your sources. Should you write something like “Smith, 2021, p. 12” or just “Smith 12”? That’s the world of APA and MLA citation styles — two systems that every student encounters at some point.

Here’s the quick lowdown:

• APA style comes from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition) and is the go-to for social sciences.
• MLA style is straight out of the MLA Handbook (9th edition) by the Modern Language Association, and it’s widely used in humanities.

Both styles are about citing your sources so your work looks legit and gives credit where it’s due. They have some big similarities, like using parenthetical citations in the text and full references at the end. But they also have major differences.

The purpose of this article is to break down the key differences between APA vs MLA in a way that’s easy to follow. By the end, you’ll know exactly when and how to use each style. And if keeping it all straight feels like a lot, services like EssayService are here to help. Whether it’s APA, MLA, or something else, we make academic writing life just a little easier.

MLA and APA: In-text Citations

APA emphasizes dates. This makes sense because it’s often used in the social sciences and computer science, where knowing when research was published is a big deal. MLA is all about page numbers — perfect for analyzing literature or other texts.

Here’s how they look in action:

In APA, you’ll notice the year is always there, even for quotes, while MLA keeps things simpler with just the page number. If you’re writing a research-heavy paper, APA’s structure helps emphasize how current your sources are. But if you’re quoting Shakespeare, MLA’s focus on the text makes more sense.

APA Reference List vs. MLA Works Cited List

When it comes to the final list of sources, APA and MLA each have their own style, and they’re not interchangeable. APA calls it a Reference List, while MLA opts for Works Cited. Both styles serve the same purpose: to give credit to the authors you’ve cited and help your readers find those sources. But the way they format the details can trip you up if you’re not careful.

Here’s a breakdown of how APA and MLA handle key elements for different sources:

What’s different? Let’s see:

• Author Names: APA uses initials (e.g., Smith, J.), while MLA spells out full names (e.g., John Smith).
• Dates: APA highlights the publication year early on, while MLA typically places it at the end.
• Titles: APA uses sentence case (only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized), while MLA uses title case (capitalize all major words).
• URLs/DOIs: APA requires DOIs or URLs for digital sources, while MLA makes them optional but encourages their use when available.
• Formatting of Titles: APA uses italics for books and does not include quotation marks for articles, while MLA uses italics for books but includes quotation marks for articles.

Both styles are strict about getting the details right. Missing a date or formatting a title incorrectly might cost you points. So double-check your references page citations, and you’ll be in the clear!

APA vs MLA Formatting

When it comes to general formatting, APA and MLA have a lot in common. Both recommend this basic format:

• Font: 12 pt Times New Roman
• Spacing: Double-spacing throughout the document
• Margins: 1-inch (2.54 cm) margins on all sides

The real differences between APA format and MLA format appear in the finer details.

Title Page and Header

In APA format, a title page is mandatory and includes key details: the paper’s title, your name, your institution, the course name, your instructor, and the date. The title is centered in bold, and everything else is double-spaced. The header in APA sometimes features a running head (a shortened version of your paper’s title) on the left and the page number on the right.

In MLA format, a separate title page isn’t typically used. Instead, your name, instructor, course name, and date are listed in the upper left corner of the first page, all double-spaced. The title of the paper is centered below this information but not bolded. MLA headers only have the page number and your last name aligned to the top right of each page.

Running Head

Here’s the deal with the running head: it’s an APA thing, but not all APA papers actually need it. If you’re writing a student paper, you usually don’t have to bother with it unless your instructor specifically asks for one. For most student papers, just having the page number in the top-right corner will do the trick.

Now, if you’re writing a professional paper — something for publication — you’ll need the full running head. That means a shortened version of your title (in ALL CAPS) on the top-left of every page, with the page number on the right. Keep the title under 50 characters, including spaces.

MLA keeps it super simple: no running head, just your last name and the page number on the top-right of every page.

Block Quote Formatting

Block quotes are for those moments when you’re quoting something longer — 40 words or more in APA or four lines or more in MLA. Both styles have their own way of doing it, and the formatting can feel a little fussy, but it’s not too bad once you get the hang of it.

In APA format, block quotes are indented 0.5 inches from the left margin. They’re double-spaced, and the parenthetical citation goes after the punctuation. No quotation marks are used unless they’re part of the original text:

The research made this clear:

Students who practiced active recall and spaced repetition scored significantly higher on exams compared to those who relied on last-minute cramming techniques. The results were consistent across multiple studies and showed long-term retention benefits (Smith, 2021, p. 45).

In MLA format, you also indent the quote, but this time it’s a full inch from the left margin. Still no quotation marks, and everything stays double-spaced. The big difference is that the citation comes after the punctuation.

The novel captures the essence of resilience:

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most adaptable to change. (Darwin 23)

That’s it! Block quotes just need a little attention to detail. Use them when you really need to include longer passages, and you’ll be good to go.

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