APA v. MLA
MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association) are the most commonly used citation styles. However, they were written for different disciplines. These differences show up in how sources are cited and what is emphasized in a source.
MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association) are the most commonly used citation styles. However, they were written for different disciplines. These differences show up in how sources are cited and what is emphasized in a source.
The purpose of APA style is to diminish bias in both the researcher and reader. Therefore, names are listed as last name, first inital as a way to eliminate gender bias. In MLA, knowing the gender of the creator of the source could be helpful in source interpretation.
APA places great importance on source currency, or the date that an article is published. Therefore, publication date is listed early in the source citation, and is also listed as part of an in-text citation. In MLA, dates are listed later in the citation and are not part of in-text citations.