Are you curious about the distinctions between MLA and APA? If so, you should read this blog post. Many students frequently become confused between the APA, MLA, Harvard, and Chicago referencing styles. For your benefit, we have therefore specifically described APA vs. MLA here. Discover the main distinction between the two widely used citation formats, MLA and APA, by reading this blog post through to the end.

APA and MLA Citation Style Differences

You could see some formatting differences between APA and MLA citation styles when you compare them. MLA (Modern Language Association) is typically used in academic tasks related to the humanities and arts. However, the American Psychological Association (APA) was designed with technical tasks—particularly in the social sciences—in mind.

APA Guidelines

The American Psychological Association (APA) has established distinct guidelines for writings. The APA citation style differs from other formats. It aids in the writers’ work organization by adding citations and references in a clear and accessible manner.

To write a winning paper in APA format, adhere to the guidelines listed below.

• Make sure to double space each line.
• Times New Roman, 12 points, should be the font type and size.
• One inch should be the margin on all sides.
• Every page should include a number and a brief work title in the upper-right corner.
• Double space your footnotes.
• A bibliography should be the format for the reference list.
• The name, year of publication, and page number of the author should all be displayed in APA formatted in-text citations.
• The author’s name and the year should appear in parenthesis after the paraphrased concept.
• The author names ought to appear in alphabetical order in the references list.
• When writing the writers’ names, the last name should come first, then the first name’s initials.
• The title needs to be in the center.
• Abstracts are necessary for long papers. 

MLA Guidelines

The MLA format emphasizes in-depth effort when it comes to citations and references. In particular, a lot of literary and scientific research projects employ the MLA format.

To produce an effective MLA paper, keep in mind the guidelines provided below.

• Make sure to double space each line.
• Times New Roman, 12 points, should be the font type and size.
• One inch should be the margin on all sides.
• a list of works with bibliographies.
• The works and writers have to be arranged alphabetically.
• There should be no comma after the name and page in direct citations.
• A single page should be all that an indirect citation has.
• There shouldn’t be any more line breaks between citations.
• In the upper right corner of the page, there should be the author’s name and the page number.
• Article titles have to be included in quotation marks. 

MLA vs. APA: Title

The title page of the APA and MLA citation styles differs most noticeably from one another.

First off, the reference page is used in the APA format and the work referenced page in the MLA format. The top of the page should have the titles in the center of both forms. Double space is also required for the citation page in both forms. Lastly, the simplest method to tell the difference between MLA and APA is to look at the title

MLA: Name of the Author

Essentially, the author’s name could look something like this in the MLA format: First Name, Last Name. John and Lee, for instance. Additionally, the number of authors you should reference determines how the authors should be formatted in MLA. If you have two writers, you might use a semicolon (&) to divide them. But if your work has more than three authors, you will undoubtedly use the English phrase “et al.”, which stands for “and others.” For instance, the two authors’ formats are John, Henry, and George Lee. On the other hand, three or more authors use the format John, Henry, et al

With this knowledge, we hope you can clearly see the differences and similarities between MLA and APA citation styles. Please ask our specialists for assistance if you still have questions about it. They will help you prepare perfect papers with suitable citations in accordance with your university’s rules, which will enable you to achieve top scores. Never employ reference styles you are not comfortable with because you could end up with mistakes in your paper. If you do not correctly cite your sources, you will also run into plagiarism problems.