Citation Style Guides

Comparison of APA and MLA Styles

APA & MLA are two of the most commonly used citation styles.

APA manual is mostly used in social science and education fields.

The MLA handbook is mostly used in humanities fields.

In both of the style guides, a source citation must consist of:

A brief parenthetical citation in the text
A full reference at the end of the paper

The citations for MLA & APA do look different in each style. Each style has key differences regarding rules for things like title capitalization, author names, and placement of the date. To conclude, there are also some differences in layout and formatting.

See below for some basic Templates for a correctly formatted paper in either style. For further details and an in-depth break down please go to the individual style guides link below.

These Style Guides will help you with:

Citations for quotes, paraphrases, or statistics within your report
The list of resources that you used: MLA calls this Works Cited, while APA calls this the References
Expectations for text and paragraph formatting

APA Formatting

APA is used for writing style and format for academic documents such as scholarly journal articles and books. It is commonly used for citing sources within the Sciences, & behavioral and social sciences.

Guidelines

APA gives guidelines on creating a title page, in-text citations, headings, reference list, and tips on style and mechanics.

Document: Owl Purdue APA Style Guidelines, 7th edition

In-Text Citation

In-text citation/documentation is embedded within the text of the paper. In-text citations give the source for information/ideas that you have summarized, paraphrased or quoted. These resources appear on your references page at the end of the written work.

Purdue OWL APA In-text Citation (Everything you need)

Purdue OWL APA Overview and Full Style Guide

References/Tracking Logs

In APA style, the references are listed in alphabetical order at the end of the written work. Only list sources that you have actually referred.

Find Out More:

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): General APA Guidelines
Writing Explained Fully Overview: APA style Guide
American Psychological Association: APA 7th Edition Style Guidelines

MLA Formatting

MLA has been widely accepted for use in classroom instruction. It is also used worldwide by scholars, journal publishers, and commercial presses. Commonly used for writing and documentation in the Humanities - ie. English studies.

Guidelines

MLA gives guidelines on creating a title page, in-text citations, headings, reference list, and tips on style and mechanics.

Document: MLA 8th Edition Quick Reference Style Guide

In-Text Documentation

In-text documentation is part of/included within the text of the paper. In-text references give the source for ideas that you have borrowed - either in summary, paraphrase, or quote. These resources will be included on your works cited list.

Quick Tips for In-text citations

The following document will give you quick tips for integrating in-text citations in your written research. These instructions are an overview; as such for more complete information, visit the websites below.

Purdue OWL MLA In-text Citation 101 Guide

Purdue OWL MLA Overview

Works Cited List

When completing your written work, a Works Cited list is placed at the very end of the paper on a new page. It includes all sources of information used within the paper. It provides all information necessary for a reader to locate any of the sources.

Website: Owl Purdue MLA Style Guidelines, 8th edition

Quick Tips for MLA Works Cited

In MLA style, the references are listed in alphabetical order at the end of the paper. Only list sources that you have actually referred to in the paper.

Find Out More

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): MLA Style Site
Writing Explained: MLA Style Full Guide
Academictips.org for a complete extensive How-to guide of MLA

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