MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association) are two popular citation styles used in academic writing. While both styles are used to cite sources and give credit to the original authors, there are some key differences between the two.
One of the main differences between MLA and APA is the way they format in-text citations. In MLA style, in-text citations are placed in parentheses at the end of the sentence and include the author's last name and the page number. For example: (Smith 123). In APA style, in-text citations include the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number, and are placed in parentheses at the end of the sentence. For example: (Smith, 2021, p. 123).
Another difference between MLA and APA is the way they format their reference lists. In MLA style, the reference list is called the "Works Cited" page and is arranged alphabetically by the author's last name. Each entry includes the author's name, the title of the work, the publication information, and the medium of publication. In APA style, the reference list is called the "References" page and is also arranged alphabetically by the author's last name. Each entry includes the author's name, the year of publication, the title of the work, and the publication information.
A third difference between MLA and APA is the way they format the title page. In MLA style, the title page includes the title of the paper, the student's name, the course name, and the date. In APA style, the title page includes the title of the paper, the author's name, the institution, and the running head (a shortened version of the title that appears at the top of every page).
Finally, MLA and APA have different guidelines for punctuation and capitalization. In MLA style, titles of books and articles are placed in quotation marks, while in APA style, they are italicized. In addition, MLA style uses sentence case (capitalizing only the first word and any proper nouns) for titles, while APA style uses title case (capitalizing the first word of the title and any proper nouns).
In conclusion, while MLA and APA are both widely used citation styles, they have several differences in the way they format in-text citations, reference lists, title pages, and punctuation and capitalization. It is important for students to understand the differences between the two styles and to use the appropriate style for their specific field of study.
