MLA is used more commonly than APA by high school students. However, when you are writing essays, you must follow guidelines. MLA and APA formatting style guides are 2 distinct styles that you can use when you are writing your papers. However, learning a new style can be a difficult and confusing process. However, if you want to be taken professionally in the academic field, In that case, you must learn to use different style guides that are appropriate to the academic field in which you are working.
MLA stands for Modern Language Association. This style was developed in 1883 by Teachers and Scholars and the Academy seeks to promote Literature and the English Language throughout the academic profession.
APA stands for American Psychological Association. This style was first seen in a psychological board, which was written in 1929. In this citation of the board, guidelines of the APA style were laid out.
Citing sources in MLA
Citing books, Journals, articles, websites, and other works.
a) A book with one author requires formatting the last name, the first name, the title of the book publisher, and the year of publication. For example, Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Book, 1813.
b) A book with two authors requires formatting the last name, the first name, the title of the book publisher, and the year of publication similar to the book with one author, however, both the authors’ names should be mentioned. For example, Eggers, Dave, and Mimi Lok. The Art of Doing Nothing. Penguin Books, 2010.
c) For sources with 3 or more authors, you can use “et al.” after the first author’s name. For example, Smith, John, et al. The Impact of Climate Change on Coastal Ecosystems. Spring Nature, 2023.
Citing sources in APA
APA has a specific format for academic papers similar to MLA. APA uses different formats for students’ assignments and professional assignments.
Basic formatting guidelines are applied throughout the assignment font, line spacing, and margins.
- Set page margins to 1inch by clicking the file, selecting 1 inch on all sides under the Page setup.
- Click on Line spacing, and select double-space for all text including headings.
- Choose an accessible font, for example, Times New Roman 12 or Arial 11.
MLA and APA use similar layouts as above.
Citation Format
MLA
- MLA is used in Arts and Humanities
- Last Name, First Name (For example, Shakespeare, William)
- MLA should have the Last name of the author followed by the page number (Last name, Page number)
- When you are citing information in a sentence, the page should be mentioned within the parenthesis (For example, According to Big Bird, writing is a good way to practice the English language (143).
- Quotes 4 lines or longer are called blocked quotations and they are indented 2 tabs over in the context of the paper
- Titles of work are cited within the references page, they are italicized.
- A separate ‘Works Cited’ page that provides a bibliographical list of all sources cited in the paper.
- Indirect citations include only the page number preceded by the author’s name (For example, According to Slezinger 242)
- No extra line breaks between citations in the Works Cited list.
APA
- APA is used in social work, Sociology, and Psychology.
- It ensures consistent and accurate documentation of sources, facilitating effective communication and credibility in academic writing.
- Last Name, First Initial (For example, Shakespeare, W.)
- APA will have the last name, year, and page number (Last name, Year, Page number)
- When you are citing information in a sentence in APA format, you need to mention the year without fail in which the information was published (For example, Big Bird (2010) believes that writing centers are awesome.
- Quotes 40 words or longer are called blocked quotations and they are adjusted 5 spaces over in the context of the paper.
- Inclusion of an abstract for longer papers.
- The first word of the title is capitalized and rest of the words are in lower case. They are not italicised like MLA.
- Page numbers and a short title in the upper right corner of each page.
- Centered title for the document.
- Paraphrase ideas require author’s name and year ( for example, Slezinger, 2016)
- Reference list arranged in bibliographic order.
Conclusion
At the college level, both MLA and APA are used by students and are very popular. MLA is used for Literature, whereas APA is used for Technical and Scientific studies. Colleges decide which format to use based on the courses you select.
You can get a lot of information from Digi Assignment Help. If you have to do an assignment, you will get step-by-step assistance through Digi Assignment for your academic success.
