A Question of Style

Although MLA Works Cited pages or APA references lists may seem unimportant, consider them like leaving marks in the sand for others to find. When other people want to retrace your steps on the beach, they need marking points to identify the path you’ve taken. Citations are the bread crumbs that writers leave to clearly mark the direction the research has gone.

Each citation style has been developed by professional organizations that expect specific standards by those in their disciplines. The Modern Language Association (MLA) is concerned with citations that are relevant with the humanities, such as literary essays and other English papers. The American Psychological Association (APA) is a scientific organization that concerns itself especially with the social sciences; their style reflects that focus.

When comparing MLA and APA, they appear not to agree. Those differences reflect the standards set by those organizations. MLA does not require URL addresses in the Works Cited page, though specific instructors may request URLs from their students. Instead, MLA only requires that the essay’s author list whether a source is “Web” or “Print”. The humanities are less concerned with where the information came from than the general source. APA, however, will ask for the URL address as well as the date of access, since scientific information requires rigorous testing and exactitude.

Similarly, APA will require the year of publication of each source in the body of the essay, while MLA does not. Indeed, APA considers the year of publication so important that this information is always the second piece of information cited in an APA references list. Because APA has a scientific focus, scientific writers must look at the year of publication to determine how current it is since they want to know the information sourced is still true and reliable. Because scientific understanding is always changing with each new discovery, a scientific writer must always consider whether information has changed since publication.

Even the basic formatting of the essays will be noticeably different. MLA usually will not require a cover page, though some instructors may ask for one. APA, however, will usually require one, and they are looking for specific information such as the author’s name, the title, and the name of the institution you’re writing for. (For instance, if you’re writing the essay for a DMC instructor, the institution is Del Mar College.) There may be other information you’ll have to provide as well, depending on your instructor’s expectations.

That having been said, the two styles can be deceptively similar in many other respects. When using MLA or APA, be aware of the specific rules, using a style guide as needed to develop the proper citations. Each style adopts its rules for specific reasons, and you should be aware of those reasons when you cite those sources.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!