A Comparison of MLA and APA citation
styles
In-text parenthetical citation:
- MLA: Parenthetical citation in MLA style must include at least the
author's name. It should also include the page number if a specific page is
cited, and a short title if more than one work by the same author is listed in
the Works Cited page at the end of the paper.
Example 1: "In 'Escaping the demon,'
a story about mental illness, the protagonist's point of view is portrayed
through a mosaic style which the narrator refers to as "looking at life
through broken glass" (Williams 12).
Example 2: "Abrams succinctly outlines
his version of the history of literary criticism prior to the Renaissance
through the metaphor of the mirror "representing reality unblinkingly (98)."
Example 3: "One writer has characterized
the effect of computerization on the human psyche as spiritual saturation
(Gergen, "Social Saturation," 45).
- APA: Very similar to MLA. APA in-text citation must include at least the
author's name; also, the year of publication (with letters for multiple
sources published the same year [1989a, 1989b]), and the page number,
designated as p. 123. APA uses more commas to separate blocks of information
than MLA.
Example 1: Hoffenstreich's first book
(1995) was a masterpiece of threaded narration.
Example 2: Studies by Self and Hilligoss
suggest that "students' revision skills and commitment actually decline with
word processing" (1993b, p. 33).
Example 3: However, a recent biography of
Yeats (Mariani, 1997) revealed that the poet was dysfunctional.
End-of-text
bibliography:
Both MLA and APA include the same basic
information:
- Author's name
- Title of book/article
- Journal title*
- Year of publication
- Publisher
- Place of publication
- Volume number*
- Pages*
* = applies
to journal articles
- MLA: Author's name. Title. Place of publication:
publisher, year. Notice that the year is the last item, and that it is not
used for parenthetical in-text citation. University presses are abbreviated
UP, as in Oxford UP. Hanging indent. Journal article titles are placed inside
double quotation marks.
Example
1:
Smith, John. Deconstructing Colonialism: the
discourse of the Empire, 1837-1898. Bloomington, IL: Illinois
Wesleyan UP, 1998.
Example 2:
Rosenberg,
Arthur. "Is there a text in this universe?" Studies in Teaching College
Astrology, 12 (1997): 221-242.
- APA: Author's name. Year of publication in
parentheses. Title. Place of publication: publisher. University presses are
not abbreviated. Hanging indent. Remember that works by the same author
published in the same year are designated 1998a, 1998b, and are ordered
alphabetically. Journal article titles are not put in quotation marks.
Author's first name is abbreviated.
Example 1:
Smith, J.
(1998). Deconstructing Colonialism: the discourse of the Empire, 1837-1898.
Bloomington, IL: Illinois Wesleyan University Press.
Example 2:
Rosenberg, A.
(1997). Is there a text in this universe? Studies in Teaching College
Astrology, 12, 221-242.
Electronic sources:
MLA
See the MLA's website for
correct electronic source citation style. But in general, here's what should
be included:
- publication date. This would be either the date the
page was created or last modified, AND the date of access. (So each citation
should have two dates.) If the website is a digitized version of a print
source, the date of the print source can be included as well.
- URLs. These should always be included, and should be
demarcated with angle brackets, as in <www.mla.org>. Break long URLs
after a forward slash.
- pages. Cite page or paragraph numbers if
available.
- organization. The organization sponsoring the site, or to which the
individual belongs, should be listed.
- versions. Which version or edition of an electronic source is very
important and should be included.
Examples:
Gray, Paul.
"Paradise Found." Time 19 Jan. 1998. 5 Feb. 1998.
<http://www.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/1998/dom/980119/cover1.html>.
Twain,
Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Ed. Internet Wiretap. 1993. 15 Jan.
1998.
<http://www.cs.cmu.edu/People/rgs/sawyr-table.html>
Chadima,
Steve. "Re: Businesss as Poker." E-mail to Leonard J. Rosen. 14 Aug.
1998.
Nostroni, Eric. "Collaborative Learning in a Networked
Environment." Online posting. 8 Sept. 1997. Electronic Forum. 9 Nov. 1997.
<eforum@cgu.edu>
Richardson, Lea. Online debate. "The Politics of
Recycling." 16 Aug. 1997. EnviroMOO. 16 Aug. 1997.
<telnet://enviro.moo.greenearth.org:42557.
"Industrial Revolution."
Concise Columbia Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Redmond: Microsoft, 1994.
APA
See the APA's website for electronic
source citation style (http://www.apa.org/journals/webref.html). APA style
follows the style for print sources closely. Open with author, date, and title.
Then follow with a denotation of the type of electronic source, and follow up
with the URL or the source location information.
Examples:
NCTE.
(1987). On writing centers. [CD-ROM]. Urbana: ERIC Clearning House.
Silver Platter.
Keegan, J. (1999). Normandy: The invasion
conceived, 1941-43. In Encyclopedia Britannica [Online]. URL
http://normandy.eb.com/normandy/week1/buildup.html
Dice, R. (1998, June 15). Web Database Crash course--Lesson 1 [WWW
document]. URL http://www.hotwired.com/webmonkey/98/24/index0a.
html?tw=frontdoor