Skip to Main Content

Citation & Documentation

An Overview of MLA vs. APA

Proper documentation and giving credit to the people who offer valuable information is a significant part of academia. MLA and APA are documentation styles that allow you to use valuable information that is not your own in the correct way. There are many other documentation styles that are used by different disciplines. Although there are many similarities between MLA and APA style, the main difference is the disciplines they are used in. 

APA style is widely used in disciplines such as: 

  • Social Sciences 
  • Nursing
  • Psychology
  • Education  

MLA style is widely used in disciplines such as: 

  • Language Arts
  • Cultural Studies 
  • Humanities

MLA vs. APA

  MLA Style (8th and 9th Edition) APA Style (7th Edition)
Spacing Double Double
Font and margins

12-pt. font 1” margins

12-pt. font 1” margins
(Size 11 and fonts like Calibri can be used)
 
Title page/Header 

Header is required on first page, then centered title at beginning of essay:

 

Sarah S. Smith

Professor George Lopez

Psychology 101 

17 June 2014

Theory of Development
 

Title Page required:

 

Theory of Development 

Sarah S. Smith

The University of Virginia

PSY 101

June 17, 2014
 

Running header 

On every page: Last name and page number both flush right.

                                      Smith 1

No running head. Only page numbers on the top right-hand side of each page.

1

Narrative In-text citation Wayne Clugston says that literary experiences can become “a personal journey, a quest for meaning” (15). According to Clugston (2014), literary experiences can become “a personal journey, a quest for meaning” (p. 15).
Parenthetical In-text citation

(John 17)

(John, 2018, p.17)

Long Quotations

For more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse: 

Wayne Clugston discusses literature’s connection to humanity:
Stories are still essential in our lives: We share them with our children, look to them for entertainment, and read them because at the core of our being there’s a powerful curiosity about Human relationships and how to cope in the world in which we find ourselves. (15)

                 

For quotations 40 words and longer: 

Clugston (2014) discusses literature’s connection to humanity: 
Stories are still essential in our lives: We share them with our children, look to them for entertainment, and read them because at the core of our being there’s a powerful curiosity about Human relationships and how to cope in the world in which we find ourselves. (p.15)

Bibliography                                        Works Cited
•    Alphabetical order
•    Hanging indent 
•    Double-spaced
                                           References
•    Alphabetical order
•    Hanging indent 
•    Double-spaced
Bibliography Citations Addona, Vittorio and Jeremy Roth. “Quantifying the Effect of Performance-Enhancing Drug Use on Fastball Velocity in Major League Baseball” Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, vol. 6, no. 2, 2010, pp 1-14. doi:10.2202/1559-0410.1240. Addona, V., & Roth, J. (2010). Quantifying the effect of performance-enhancing drug use on fastball velocity in major league baseball. Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, 6(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.2202/1559-0410.1240

 

Formatting Your Paper - MLA to APA Conversion

NOTE: Please keep in mind that this video is following the most recent editions for both citation styles - MLA 8th Edition and APA 7th Edition. 

Creating Citations - MLA to APA Conversion

NOTE: Please keep in mind that this video is following the most recent editions for both citation styles - MLA 8th Edition and APA 7th Edition.