How APA and MLA are Different, Part 3

Finishing the three-part series on APA and MLA differences, here are some key examples of references and citations among both the styles.

APA (“References”)
Book: Graber, D.A. (2002). Mass media & American politics. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
Journal: Donaldson, S. (1995). Protecting the troops from Hemingway: an episode in censorship. The Hemingway Review, 15, 87-93.
Website: Park, A. (2008, May 21). How safe are vaccines? Time. Retrieved from

Sample Citations
Graber (2002) suggests that “media are most influential in areas in which the audience knows least” (p. 210).

MLA (“Works Cited”)
Book: Graber, Doris A. Mass Media & American Politics. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2002. Print.
Journal: Donaldson, Scott. “Protecting the Troops from Hemingway: An Episode in Censorship.” The Hemingway Review 15 (1995): 87-93.
Website: Park, Alice. “How Safe Are Vaccines?” Time. Time Magazine, 21 May 2008. Web. 18 March 2011.

Sample Citations
Doris Graber suggests that “media are most influential in areas in which the audience knows least” (210).
(Adams 42)
(Lennon and McCartney 999)
(Hexum, Martinez, and Sexton 123)

How APA and MLA are Different, Part 1

Back in high school, I was told that MLA formatting was the only way to do a research paper. Chalk this up to my research papers all being in English classes, and as MLA is the preferred formatting for students of the humanities, my English instructors had this style hammered into their brains.

Fast forward to college and my first paper due in a social sciences class. Mind blown. There’s another format to use? What is this “APA” you speak of? Turns out, most every field or discipline has a preferred style format. APA and MLA are the major players, but there are others–such as Chicago (Turabian), commonly used for history.

As most papers are done in either the humanities or social sciences, APA and MLA are the styles that students most identify. Differentiating between the two can be difficult; confusing one for the other can be incredibly easy. So, at a glance, how do they actually differ?

  1. References vs. Works Cited.
    1. The list of references at the end of the paper is known as References in APA, and Works Cited in MLA. It is also possible to have a separate section in the MLA list of Works Consulted, so that you may keep your list of actual cited references concise.
    2. The author is as “Last Name, First Initial” in APA format, and “Last Name, First Name” in APA.
  2. Parenthetical Citations.
    1. If the author’s name is mentioned in the sentence, the date (and page number if quotations are used) is written in parentheses immediately after the name in APA format. In MLA format, the page number comes at the end of the sentence (no date).
    2. If the author’s name is not mentioned in the sentence, follow the same rules as above, but add the author name.
  3. Block Quotes. In APA formatting, quotes of 40 words or more are indented 1 tab. In MLA formatting, quotes of more than 4 lines are blocked 2 indents.



(Klaphake 54)

Klaphake, Elizabeth. My Life as an English Professor. Bellevue, Nebraska: Bellevue University Press. 1999.


(Klaphake, 1999, p. 54)

Klaphake, E. (1999). My life as an English professor. Bellevue, Nebraska: Bellevue University Press.

Periods and Quotation Marks


Ah, the quotation mark. It takes many forms…in the air, overused, underused, absent, and just plain wrong. Some use it for “emphasis.” (Hint: don’t.) Some put quotation marks common phrases in signs or marketing collateral. The short answer on all this is, of course, that quotation marks are marks for notating quotations. Not for emphasis. We might use them to set off a phrase someone said or their misuse of a phrase (such as a liar’s version of the “truth,” for example). But otherwise, they only work for quotes.

But within that, how are they treated? In American English, double quotations go around an actual quote. Punctuation (periods, commas, dashes, etc) go inside. It’s different in British English, but that’s beyond the point. When in doubt, consult this APA table.

There is an argument for logical punctuation, but as an old English major having two major publication styles chiseled into my head, this sort of thing makes my skin crawl.