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16.8: Difference Between MLA and APA

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    As previously discussed, MLA and APA require different elements in their citations. This is not just due to style preferences, however. Many of the choices each association made when creating their citation formats have a reason. MLA is largely used for arts and humanities topics, and APA is largely used for works in the social sciences. Each of these disciplines have different needs, so the formats are slightly different.

    For example, the year of publication is often extremely important in the social sciences as the reader needs to know if the information is the most up-to-date. Although a date might be important in works in the arts and humanities, often the exact location of the information is more important. In other words, this is why the in-text citation for APA always includes a year.

    It might include page numbers if something specific has been referenced. On the other hand, MLA always includes the exact page number where the information can be found. In both in-text citation formats, the author’s last name is presented. That is because who authored piece is extremely important to both disciplines. Readers need to be able to check credentials and see if the author or authors are reliable.

    Let’s take a quick look at some of the major differences between the two formats. If you are copy and pasting information from a citation generator or our library’s databases, this can help you to determine if you clicked on the correct citational format. Also, it can help you to determine if your in-text citations are in the correct format.

    MLA APA

    Source List Title:

    Works Cited

    Source List Title:

    References

    Block Quotes:

    40 or more words

    Block Quotes:

    4 or more lines

    Paraphrase In-Text Quote:

    Mention the author’s name and paraphrase what the author said

    Patel claims that studying in small increments is far more efficient than studying for long periods of time (125).

    Paraphrase In-Text Quote:

    Author’s last name, comma, year

    (Patel, 2021)

    In-Text Citation, One Author:

    Author's last name and page number

    (Patel 125)

    In-Text Citation, One Author:

    Author's last name, comma, year, comma, "p.", and page number

    (patel, 2021, p.125)

    In-Text Citation, Two Authors:

    Authors' last names with an "and" in between and the page number

    (Patel and Wu 125)

    In-Text Citation, Two Authors:

    Authors' last names with an "&" in between, comma, year, comma, "p.", and page number

    (Patel & Wu, 2021, p. 125)

    In-Text Citation, Three Authors:

    (Patel el al. 125)

    In-Text Citation, Three Authors:

    (Patel et al., 2021, p. 125)

    In-Text Citation, Multiple Pages:

    Author’s last name and page range

    (Patel 125-137)

    In-Text Citation, Multiple Pages:

    Author’s last name, comma, year, comma, “pp.”, and page range

    (Patel, 2021, pp. 125-127)

    Works Cited Entry, Title:

    The first letter of every important word is capitalized

    Online Learning in Today’s World

    References Entry, Title:

    Only the first word is capitalized

    Online learning in today’s world

    Works Cited Entry, Year:

    Placed toward the end of the citation, no parenthesis

    2021

    Reference Entry, Year:

    Placed close to the author(s)’ name(s), in parenthesis

    (2021)

    Works Cited Entry, Page Numbers:

    “pp.” and the page numbers toward the end of the citation

    pp. 125-127

    References List, Page Numbers:

    Just the page numbers toward the end of the citation

    125-127

    Works Cited Entry, Author’s Name:

    Last Name, First Name

    Patel, Ritu

    References List, Author’s Name:

    Last Name, First Initial

    Patel, R.

    Comparison of MLA and APA End Citations

    The table below shows a sample MLA Works Cited next to its APA counterpart. Comparing these citations will illustrate some of the key differences in APA and MLA end citations.

    Doe 6

    Works Cited

    “Andover School District.” Public School Review. https://www.publicschoolreview.com/ka nsas/andover-school-district/2003360- school-district. Accessed 15 April 2020.

    Billingham, Chase. “USD 259 Enrollment Is Up; So Is Segregation.” The Wichita Eagle, 3 Oct 2015. https://www.kansas.com/opinion/opnco...e37406640.html. 20 April 2020.

    “District Snapshot, 2019-2020.” USD 259. https://www.usd259.org/domain/954. 15 April 2020.

    Frankenberg, Erica, Jongyeon Ee, Jennifer Ayscue, and Gary Orfield. Harming Our Common Future: America's Segregated Schools 65 Years After Brown. UCLA's Civil Rights Project, 10 May 2019, https://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/r esearch/k-12-education/integrationand-diversity/harming-our-commonfuture-americas-segregated-schools65-years-after-brown/Brown-65- 050919v4-final.pdf. Accessed 21 April 2020.

    Gorski, Paul. Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty: Strategies For Erasing the Opportunity Gap. 2nd edition, Teachers College Press, 2018.

    Ladson-Billings, Gloria. “Landing on the Wrong Note: The Price We Paid for Brown.” Educational Researcher, vol. 33, no. 7, [American Educational Research Association, Sage Publications, Inc.], 2004, pp. 3–13, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3700092.

    The Lost Year. Directed by Sandra Hubbard, Gordy Productions, 2019

    Milner, H. Richard. Rac(e)ing to Class: Confronting Poverty and Race in Schools and Classrooms. Harvard Education Press, 2015.

    Rothstein, Richard. The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. New York, NY: Norton. 2017.

    “Separate and Unequal” Frontline, PBS Season 2014, Episode 14, 2014. PBS.org, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/ separate-and-unequal/.

    6

    References

    Billingham, B. (2015, October 3). USD 259 enrollment up; so is segregation. The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved April 20, 2020, from https://www.kansas.com/opinion/opnco...e37406640.html.

    District Snapshot 2019-2020. Wichita Public Schools. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2020, from https://www.usd259.org/domain/954

    Frankenberg, E., Jongyeon E., Jennifer A., and Gary O. Harming our common future: America's segregated schools 65 years after Brown. The Civil Rights Project at UCLA. (2019, May 10). Retrieved April 21, 2020, from https://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/re search/k-12-education/integration-anddiversity/harming-our-common-futureamericas-segregated-schools-65-yearsafter-brown.

    Gorski, P. (2018). Reaching and teaching students in poverty: Strategies for erasing the opportunity gap (2nd ed.). Teachers College Press.

    Hubbard, S. (Director). (2019). The lost year., Gordy Productions.

    Ladson-Billings, G. (2004). “Landing On the Wrong Note: The Price We Paid For Brown.” Educational Researcher, vol. 33, no. 7, Oct 2004, pp. 3-13.

    Milner, H. Richard. (2015). Rac(e)ing to class: Confronting poverty and race in schools and classrooms. Harvard Education Press.

    Public School Review. (2020, April 15). Andover school district. https://www.publicschoolreview.com/ka nsas/andover-school-district/2003360- school-district.

    Rothstein, R. (2017). The Color of Law: A forgotten history of how our government segregated America. New York, NY: Norton.

    Separate and unequal (Season 2014, Episode 14, 2014)[TV series episode]. Frontline PBS.org, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/s eparate-and-unequal/

    APA Red Flags

    Here is a helpful checklist that might help you to identify if you have accidentally placed source in APA rather than MLA. Also, if you are selecting sources from our library’s databases, many of them have a feature called “cite”, “citation”, or “cite now” which will provide the citation to you! Be sure to scroll to the correct source format.

    • Source list: The author’s full first name is missing. Only the first initial of the first name is present.
    • Source list: The second piece of information in the citation is a year in parenthesis.
    • Source list: Only the first word and traditionally capitalized words are capitalized. Remember in MLA all words are capitalized in a title, except for articles (that is, “unimportant” words “a”, “an”, and “the”).
    • Source list: If there are a lot of authors (up to 20), all of them are listed. Remember, in MLA, if there are more than three authors, the other authors are listed as “et al.”
    • Source list: The database information is missing for a source from a database. Remember, MLA requires the title of the database and often the DOI (direct object identifier) or URL (website).
    • In-text citation: The author’s last name and year are present rather than the author’s last name and page number.
    • In-text citation: The author’s last name and year are separated by a comma. Remember, there is no comma in in-text citations for MLA!

    This page titled 16.8: Difference Between MLA and APA is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Mindy Trenary.