APA or MLA Referencing Style? Include the Right One in Your Assignment
One thing that academic life teaches you is discipline. Being punctual, working according to the guidelines, and being honest to your work are a few things that one learns while getting future ready. The one really strict aspect that would not let you go lethargic with your work is the referencing task. The referencing styles that students commonly use are APA or MLA. The main objective of these referencing styles is to provide citations, avoid plagiarism, and create a uniform structure for all papers. Both of them are quite common and have a lot of similarities as well as, a few differences. APA Referencing Style: This referencing style is author/date based. It implies the style focuses more on the author and the date of the work to identify the work uniquely.
MLA Referencing Style: Arguably the most sorted and popular referencing style. It is quite common for subjects like arts and humanities.
APA Referencing Style: The Author and the Date Hold the Key
1. This referencing style entertains double line spacing and an inch margin on all sides.
2. The approved font style is Times New Roman and the font size is 12.
3. This style suggests authors name be written in alphabetical order and then chronological for works (if there is more than one work of an author).
4. The authors’ names in the reference list are given by the formula Last name + First Initial + Middle initial.
5. The guideline is to include abstract for long papers.
MLA Referencing Style: The Most Popular of All
1. The font size and style remains the same as the APA.
2. The style includes the name of the author and the work to be in alphabetical order.
3. Under this style, you write the page number at the upper right corner with the writer’s name.
Let’s further read the differences between these referencing styles for your papers.
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APA |
MLA |
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The Spacing |
Double-spacing |
Double-spacing |
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Recommended Font and Margins |
Times New Roman 12 |
Times New Roman 12 |
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1” margins |
1” margins |
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In-text Citation (Direct) |
(Frank, 1952, p.16) |
(Frank 16) |
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In-text Citation (Indirect) |
(Frank, 1952) |
According to Frank, the situation worsened (16). |
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Bibliography Name |
References |
Works Cited |
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Frank, A. (1952). The Diary of a Young Girl. Netherlands: Contact Publishing. |
Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl. Contact Publishing, 1952. |
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Arranging the Citations |
Alphabetical for authors |
Alphabetical for authors and for works |
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Chronological for works |
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Writing the Header |
Title in caps left aligned, page number right aligned. |
Student’s last name and page number right aligned: |
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On the title page: |
Last Name 1 |
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Running head: TITLE 1 |
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On other pages: |
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TITLE 2 |
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The First Page |
Used as a Title page: |
There is no Title page. On the upper left corner: |
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Title |
First and Last Name |
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Name |
Professor |
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Academic Institution |
Class |
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Date |
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Title |
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Text |
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Headings/Subheadings |
Heading and subheadings are used |
Not recommended, but may be required |
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Woah...
Just scribble down the table in your notebook and be sorted with your work. A calm read through the write-up would help you choose the correct referencing format and also let you know the minor difference both the referencing styles have. You have invested a lot of your time and patience in writing your assignment so, don’t let the silly mistake of wrong referencing ruin the game for you.
Summary: Working on the assignment is a tedious task. It is important that to score well in your task, you do not leave any stone unturned. And for this, one major point to check is the referencing. A quick glimpse here to know where you where stuck the last time and which referencing style to use.
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