What Is the Difference Between APA & MLA (with Examples)

The academic world likes things to be uniform, because uniformity means faster communication. That’s why there are several writing styles that you must stick to, to get full marks. In this article, our research paper writer service will be looking at the strict differences between the APA and MLA writing styles — and how to use them.

The Difference Between APA and MLA

The format preferred by the Modern Language Association, MLA, is mainly for subjects in the humanities: history, literature, etc.

The format preferred by the American Psychological Association format, APA, is for social science-oriented subjects: psychology, criminology, etc.

These are citation styles, i.e. the preferred way to cite your source for your point of view in your paper. Proper citation is extremely important because it prevents the academic crime of plagiarism. Find below a comparison of the rules with examples for citing using MLA and APA formats. Follow these strictly and carefully to avoid losing marks and to ensure having a professional paper.

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The Bibliography

When writing your bibliography, arrange the list of authors and editors you cited in your paper.

• The MLA style prefers to call it: Works Cited.
• The APA style calls it: References.

To connect these citations to what’s in your paper, add a brief citation in parentheses beside your sourced statement.

Organizing Entries in your Bibliography

Organizing your entries differs between APA and MLA. The MLA style wants you to arrange your authors and titles alphabetically.

Example: Dedicated to Bobby Jameson.
The Joy of Letting Go.
Hi, How Are You?.

The APA style asks you to arrange your authors alphabetically, but chronologically for their work.

Citing Multiple Works by the Same Author

The MLA style cites the same author’s works by first listening all the works alphabetically, and only stating the author’s name once.

Every listing of the other work by the author begins with the following formula: three hyphens, a period, a space, the name of the title, a period.

Example: Jones, Duncan. Dedicated to Bobby Jameson. 1984
---. The Joy of Letting Go. 1969
---. Hi, How Are You?. 1999

The APA style simply lists the works chronologically (according to release date), and includes the author’s name in all listings of that author’s work.

Example: Jones, D. (1969) The Joy of Letting Go.
Jones, D. (1984) Dedicated to Bobby Jameson.
Jones, D. (1999) Hi, How Are You?.

The Titles of Articles

• In the MLA style, place all of the article titles in quotation marks, and capitalize all major words.
• In the APA style, only capitalize the first word. There is no need to use quotation marks for titles.

In-text Parenthesis

• When citing in your actual text in the MLA style, place the author’s last name and page number in parentheses.
• When citing in the APA style, insert the following structure into your parentheses: the author’s last name, a comma, the publishing year, a comma, and then a “p.” and the page number.

Sample Citations

Here are some more examples of how APA and MLA citation styles differ from our essay writers service.

When Citing a Book

Structure your MLA book citation in the following way:

• The author’s Last Name, their First Name;
• the Title of the Book in italics;
• the City of Publication, the Name of the Publisher and the Year of Publication;
• the Medium of Publication;
• other citations (if you’re citing multiple books);
• and any additional information.

MLA Citation Example: Jones, Duncan. The Joy of Letting Go. Scottsdale, AZ, Penguin Books, 1969. Print.

Your APA book citation must follow this structure:

• The author’s Last Name, the initials of their First and Middle Name;
• the Publishing Year in parentheses;
• the Title of the Book in italics;
• the City and State where it was published, a colon, and the Name of the Publisher.

APA Citation Example: Jones, Duncan. Jones, D. (1969) The Joy of Letting Go. Scottsdale, AZ: Penguin Books.

When Citing an Article

Cite your article in MLA format according to this formula:

• The author’s Last Name, their First Name;
• the Article Title in quotation marks;
• the Journal Title in italics;
• the volume;
• the release number;
• the Date;
• the Page(s);
• the Name of the Database;
• the doi number (if available – otherwise use a URL/permalink);
• the Day Month Year when the article was accessed.

MLA Citation Example: Jones, Duncan. Wilmshurst, Peter. “Diving and oxygen”. BMJ. 317. 7164. https://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2011/10/27/diving-and-oxygen. doi: 10.1136/bmj.317.7164.996. 27 October, 2011.

Cite your article in the APA format according to these rules:

• The author’s Last Name, their First Initial;
• the Publication Year in parentheses;
• the Article Title and subtitle;
• the Journal Title in italics;
• the volume;
• the release number in parentheses;
• the Page(s);
• the doi number.

APA Citation Example: Wilmshurst, P. (1998). Diving and oxygen. BMJ. 317 (7164): 996–9. doi: 10.1136/bmj.317.7164.996.

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What Is the Difference Between APA and MLA: Comparison Table

The following is a table summarizing the differentiations between APA and MLA formats.

As we’ve seen above, there are essential differences in the minor details between the two formats in terms of citation. Below are the rules (and examples, where applicable) for formatting the text of your paper.

Spacing:

Both the MLA and APA styles have their own approach to spacing text throughout a paper. The rules are as follows:

• MLA: Double-spacing on header and in body text
• APA: Double-spacing on title page and in body text

Font and Margins:

One thing MLA and APA agree on is the usage of font and margins.

• MLA: 12-pt. font, 1” margins
• APA: 12-pt. font, 1” margins

Parenthetical Citation:

Parenthetical citations are for citing sources in the middle of your paper.

• This is the preferred method in MLA format:
  (Name[Space]Page Number) or: According to XXX, abc is an xyz (Page Number).

MLA Example: According to Jones, Bobby Jameson did not make Techno music (169).

These are APA:

• paraphrased idea: (Name [Comma] Year)

APA  Example: (Jones, 1984)

• direct quote: (Name[Comma]Year[Comma} p. #) or: According to XXX (Year), abc is an xyz.

Example: (Jones, 1984, 169)
or:
According to Jones (1984), Bobby Jameson is not a Techno musician.

Short Quotations:

Short quotations are those which feature three lines or less. If you need to quote an author in your paper, MLA and APA have the following approaches:

• The formula and example used with MLA: Author Name says that Topic can “quotation” (page number).

Example: Jones says that the joy of letting go can “thrill you in more ways than one” (25).

• The formula and example used with APA: According to Author Name (Year), Topic can “quotation” (p. #).

Example: According to Jones (1969), the joy of letting go can “thrill you in more ways than one” (p. 25).

Long Quotations:

The two styles have differing approaches to adding long quotations.

• MLA: If you’re quoting more than four lines, use the following format and make a one-inch indent on the quoted text:

Example: Jones discusses the joy of letting go:

Letting go is a concept that grasps the impermanence of existence, yours and mine. The past physically does not exist, neither does the future. The former is the precursor to our present chemical (material) state, while the latter is an unpredictable transformation — all in perpetual motion. The poetry of this implies that embracing change is beneficial. We see the rewards of this all throughout nature. (56)

• APA: For quotations with 40 words and more, indent the quoted text ½ inches – also known as making a block quote:

Example: Jones (1969) discusses the joy of letting go:

Letting go is a concept that grasps the impermanence of existence, yours and mine. The past physically does not exist, neither does the future. The former is the precursor to our present chemical (material) state, while the latter is an unpredictable transformation — all in perpetual motion. The poetry of this implies that embracing change is beneficial. We see the rewards of this all throughout nature. (p. 56)

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Title Page / First Page Header:

The two styles have contrasting positions on how to introduce a paper. To use a title page, or simply add a header on the first page?

The MLA refers to its first page as the First Page — no Title Page required. You need a header on the first page. After, add a centered title at the beginning of the essay.

• Name
• Lecturer/Professor
• Subject
• Date

Example: Joseph Biersehn
Professor Tom Hong
Progress Theory
31 February, 2020

The APA style states that you need a separate Title Page, written like this:

• Title
• Author’s Name
• University

Example: Hypotheses of Progress
Joseph Biersehn
Brigham Young University

MLA vs. APA – Which to Choose?

In elementary and high school, teachers prefer to work with the MLA style. To them, MLA is easier to teach because it is not made for advanced subjects which require in-depth scientific research.

Because APA is advanced and scholarly, most students will not come across it until they attend college or university. The APA style deals with scientific papers, and students use it for subjects connected with hypothesizing, testing, and reporting.

In university and other places dealing with referencing, the professionals checking the sources care about whether you’re using MLA or APA because it speeds up their grading or research process.

Conclusion

The academic world thrives on efficient communication. Academics recognize other academics by how well others follow rules like proper citation. This is why it is crucial to learn the different formats and styles used for citing sources for your claims. The better you understand these styles, the more sophisticated and credible your papers will be, allowing you to pursue bigger academic and professional goals.

You may be interested in how to write a scholarship essay, we recommend you to read about it. Also our article on visual analysis essay can broaden your understanding in writing the essay.