Citation Styles: MLA vs. APA

UHCL Writing Center

Citation Styles:

Introduction to MLA and APA

UHCL Writing Center

Updated Spring 2015

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Focus of MLA & APA Styles

Modern Language Association (MLA)

• Humanities and related areas (i.e.

literature)

• Focuses on authorship: “…(Smith and

Johnson)”

• Format is designed for ease of

presentation

• Often viewed as “easier” to follow by

students

• Commonly taught first to students

American Psychological Association (APA)

• Social sciences (i.e. psychology,

sociology, and linguistics)

• Focuses on date of publication: “…(Smith

& Johnson, 2009)”

• Format is designed for comparison of

research and determining relevance

• Often thought of as more difficult by

students

• Commonly taught as an alternative

citation style

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Basics of MLA & APA Citations (Book Example)

MLA

• Name(s) of author(s)

• Work title

• Publication city and year

• Publisher

• Publication medium (i.e. print, web)

APA

• Name(s) of author(s)

• Publication year

• Work title

• Publication city

• Publisher

In-text citations:

MLA: “…no significant results” (Johnson 34).

APA: “…no significant results” (Johnson, 2003, p. 34).

Reference citations:

MLA: Johnson, Thomas. Studies in College. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Print.

APA: Johnson, T. (2003). Studies in college. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

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Comparing In-Text Citations

• In-text citations are used when you need to give credit to an author for

using a quote (exact wording), paraphrasing (rewording), or discussing

his/her ideas. Example: (Mathis and Jones, 2009, pg. 74)

• All in-text citations for MLA and APA must reference the author’s name.

• Reference to the page number or publication year depends on the situation

and citation style.

• When using APA, always give the year of publication.

• When quoting, always give the page number in MLA & APA.

• When paraphrasing or simply referencing, no page number is needed for either

style.

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Comparing In-Text Citations (Cont.)

Example: “The study provided no significant findings regarding the relationship of

gender and success in language classes.” -- Johnson, Thomas and Arlene Maiden.

Studies in College. New York: 2003. McGraw-Hill. Print.

Paraphrase

MLA: As stated by Johnson and Maiden, the research showed that there was…

APA: As stated in Johnson & Maiden (2003), the research showed that…

Quote (no incorporation in text)

MLA: “…in language classes” (Johnson and Maiden 34)

APA: “…in language classes” (Johnson & Maiden, 2003, p. 34)

Quote (incorporation in text)

MLA: As Johnson and Maiden explained, their “study…classes” (34).

APA: As Johnson & Maiden (2003) explained, their “study…classes” (p. 34).

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Comparing References

• At the end of each research paper, a section must be devoted to listing the

information for each resource that you used in the paper. This includes all resources

that you quoted, paraphrased, or mentioned.

• If you have done your citing correctly, you should have mentioned each reference

work at least once in your paper and each cited resource should have a reference

citation.

• Different citation styles use difference terms for this section:

• MLA: Bibliography (Works Cited title)

• APA: Reference Page (Reference title)

• Both MLA and APA require that you organize your citations alphabetically by the first

letter of an author’s last name.

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Books

Template

MLA: Lastname, Firstname. Title of Work. City of Pub: Publisher, Year. Medium.

APA: Lastname, First Initial. (Year). Title of work. City of Pub, State: Publisher.

Examples

MLA: Johnson, Thomas. Studies in College. New York: 2003. McGraw-Hill. Print.

APA: Johnson, T. (2003). Studies in college. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Notice these primary differences…

• MLA uses the full first name; APA uses only the first initial.

• MLA capitalizes all major words (excluding articles (a/an/the) and prepositions (of,

out, in)); APA only capitalizes first words in the titles and proper nouns (names).

• MLA states the medium of publication (print, web); APA does not.

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Books (cont.)

Template

MLA: Lastname, Firstname. Title of Work. City of Pub: Publisher, Year. Medium.

APA: Lastname, First Initial. (Year). Title of work. City of Pub, State: Publisher.

Examples

MLA: Johnson, Thomas. Studies in College. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Print.

APA: Johnson, T. (2003). Studies in college. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Try to cite the following book in both MLA and APA…

Author: Stephen Jones

Title: A Review of Industry Standards

Year of Pub: 2010

City of Pub: London

Publisher: Stanton Publishing Group

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Books (cont. 2)

Template

MLA: Lastname, Firstname. Title of Work. City of Pub: Publisher, Year. Medium.

APA: Lastname, First Initial. (Year). Title of work. City of Pub, State: Publisher.

Examples

MLA: Johnson, Thomas. Studies in College. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Print.

APA: Johnson, T. (2003). Studies in college. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Answers…

MLA: Jones, Stephen. A Review of Industry Standards. London: Stanton

Publishing Group, 2010. Print.

APA: Jones, S. (2010). A review of industry standards. London: Stanton Publishing

Group.

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Articles in Journals

Template

MLA: Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Work.” Journal Title Volume.Issue (Year):

page numbers. Medium.

APA: Lastname, First Initial. (Year). Title of work. Journal Title, Volume(Issue), page

numbers.

Examples

MLA: Smith, Linda. “Students in Danger.” New England Journal of Student

Progress 7.2 (2007): 142-154. Print.

APA: Smith, L. (2007). Students in danger. New England Journal of Student

Progress, 7(2), 142-154.

Notice these additional differences…

• MLA puts the article title in quotation marks; APA does not.

• MLA uses the V.I format for volume and issue numbers; APA uses V(I).

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Articles in Journals (cont.)

Template

MLA: Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Work.” Journal Title Volume. Issue (Year):

page numbers. Medium.

APA: Lastname, First Initial. (Year). Title of work. Journal Title, Volume(Issue), page

numbers.

Try to cite the following journal article in MLA and APA…

Author: Samuel Brown Volume: 4 Pages: 164-184

Title: Working for the Union Issue: 1

Journal: Workplace Review Year: 1995

Examples

MLA: Smith, Linda. “Students in Danger.” New England Journal of Student

Progress 7.2 (2007): 142-154. Print.

APA: Smith, L. (2007). Students in danger. New England Journal of Student

Progress, 7(2), 142-154.

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Articles in Journals (cont. 2)

Template

MLA: Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Work.” Journal Title Volume.Issue (Year):

page numbers. Medium.

APA: Lastname, First Initial. (Year). Title of work. Journal Title, Volume(Issue), page

numbers.

Answers…

MLA: Brown, Samuel. “Working for the Union.” Workplace Review 4.1 (1995): 164-

184. Print.

APA: Brown, S. (1995). Working for the union. Workplace Review, 4(1), 164-184.

Examples

MLA: Smith, Linda. “Students in Danger.” New England Journal of Student

Progress 7.2 (2007): 142-154. Print.

APA: Smith, L. (2007). Students in danger. New England Journal of Student

Progress, 7(2), 142-154.

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Online Sources

Template

MLA: Author. Title of Site. Sponsor, Date created (use n.d. if not given). Medium.

Date accessed. <URL (optional)/>.

APA: Author. (Year, Month[use n.d. if not given]). Article or page sub-title. Major

Publication Title, volume or issue number (if available). Retrieved from

http://url.

Examples: We are citing the data found here.

MLA: Department of Enrollment Management. 2013 Fall Term

Comparison. University of Houston-Clear Lake, 24 Oct. 2013. Web. 21

Oct. 2014.

APA: Department of Enrollment Management. (2013). 2013 Fall Term

Comparison. Enrollment Management 2013 Reports. Retrieved from

http://prtl.uhcl.edu/portal/page/portal/PRV/Enrollment-Management/

images/Enrollment%20and%20SCH-Fall%2013%202-Yr%2010242013

%20final.pdf

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Online Sources (cont.)

Template

MLA: Author. Title of Site. Sponsor, Date created (use n.d. if not given). Medium.

Date accessed. <URL (optional)>.

APA: Author. (Year, Month[use n.d. if not given]). Article or page sub-title. Major

Publication Title, volume or issue number (if available). Retrieved from

http://url.

Examples: Try to cite the following website in MLA and APA…

http://www.cdc.gov/teenpregnancy/aboutteenpreg.htm

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Online Sources (cont. 2)

Template

MLA: Author. Title of Site. Sponsor, Date created (use n.d. if not given). Medium.

Date accessed. <URL (optional)/>.

APA: Author. (Year, Month[use n.d. if not given]). Article or page sub-title. Major

Publication Title, volume or issue number (if available). Retrieved from

http://url.

Examples: We are citing the data found here.

MLA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP). About Teen

Pregnancy. CDCP, 19 Jun. 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.

APA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP). (2014, June). About

Teen Pregnancy. Teen Pregnancy. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/

teenpregnancy/aboutteenpreg.htm.

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Where to go for further help…

• The UHCL Writing Center—each student can have two 45-minute appointments per

week to help with all aspects of the writing process, including citation styles.

• The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)—known for its simplified explanation of MLA

and APA citation styles: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

• For further examples of citations and reference pages, you can review Cornell

University’s informative website: https://www.library.cornell.edu/research/citation/apa

See the coordinating worksheet, available on the Writing Center website, to further test your APA

citation skills.