As noted earlier, citation styles are sets of rules for how to document sources in writing. They create consistency by standardizing what information is included and how it is formatted. When details like the title and date always appear in the same place, it becomes easier for readers to find and understand source information. There are many types of documentation styles. MLA and APA are the most popular options to use in college. You might think that it doesn’t matter which one you choose…but it does. A documentation style dictates how a manuscript is formatted, the way you cite outside sources inside the text (signal phrases and parenthetical citations), the way you cite bibliographic information (Works Cited or References), and the style of writing that you use.

This section will focus mostly on MLA while giving you the resources to explore APA if you need to in the future. In my opinion, once you understand one formatting method, learning others will become easier.

Modern Language Association (MLA)

The Modern Language Association began in 1883 as a “discussion and advocacy group for the study of literature and modern languages”. The style was created by this group in 1951 in order to provide scholars in this field with a set of shared writing and citation guidelines. MLA is mostly used in the humanities such as English and modern languages. MLA Style guidelines covers many different aspects of scholarly writing like formatting (title page setup, margins, line spacing, font, headings, etc.), mechanics of style (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, italics, etc.), and references/citations

Formatting with MLA

You should always use Times New Roman 12-point font (unless otherwise directed by your instructor) and one-inch margins. The entire manuscript should also be double-spaced. Below is an annotated example of other important features you should consider and include in your MLA manuscripts:

MLA Citations

In MLA Style, there are two parts to every citation: an in-text citation and a Works Cited list citation.

• In-text citations use only a few details of the source, enough to locate its matching reference citation in the Works Cited list.
• Works Cited list citations provide more information about the source, so that the reader can find it if they wish.

MLA In-Text Citations

We use in-text citations, also called parenthetical citations, to give our readers brief yet specific information about where in the source material we found the idea or words that we are quoting or paraphrasing. To determine what the in-text citation should look like, we have to know what kind of source we are using.

• Is our source print or digital?
  • Print sources are any sources that are on paper or were originally printed on paper, even if you found a copy of it from an online research database like Academic Search Complete. These sources have page numbers. These page numbers need to appear in your in-text citations.
  • Web/digital sources, in many instances, do not have page numbers. Do not make them up! Page 1 of your computer screen is not the same as an actual page one in a print source.
• Do we have a named author or not?
• Is the source paginated (i.e., does it have page numbers in its original or current format)? Or is it a digital source without page numbers?

The basics of in-text citation

A complete in-text citation in MLA format includes three components:

1. a signal phrase
2. the source material (quoted or paraphrased), and
3. a parenthetical citation (also called in-text citation)

For sources with page numbers, such as books and articles that were originally published in print publications, even if you access them using a research database like Academic Search Complete, place the page number in the citation. In MLA, we do not use the word “page” or the abbreviations “p.”  or “pg.” before the page numbers.

Examples of in-text citations for a variety of source types

• One or two authors (Bigsby 211) (Morton and Bigsby 58)
• Three or more authors (Miller et al. 305)
• Multiple works by the same author (Austen, Mansfiled 111)
• Author with the same last name elsewhere, used to clarify (T. Norton 173)
• Organization as the author (Corporate author) (Tennessee Dept. of Health 35)
• Work with no author (“Analytics of English Majors” 31)
• If the information comes from multiple sources (Smith 6; Jones 55)
• Identifying location in film or video (Big Bang 00:03:16-00:04:05) or simply (Big Bang)
• Poems without page numbers (“The Raven,” lines 1-2)

MLA Works Cited

 MLA offers a streamlined approach using something called “containers.” The 9th edition continues to use this system. These containers provide you with the required elements, order, and punctuation for each of your Works Cited entries. The MLA Style Center provides additional explanations about the core elements as well as an interactive template, which you can use to build your works cited entries.

Core Elements Expanded

1. Author(s).  Use the format Last Name, First Name Middle Name, or Initial. If there are multiple authors, use and before the last author’s name. If there is no person (or people) listed as the author, do not use this element.
2. Title of the Source. This is the title of an article or chapter or a description if there is no title. If the title is part of a larger work, such as a story in an anthology, an article in a journal, or a Web page from a Web site
3. Title of Container,. When a source is part of a larger work, the larger work is called the “container.” The container is italicized and followed by a comma.
4. Other Contributors,. Contributors other than the author are named in the entry if they are important to your research or the identification of the source (i.e. editors and translators).
5. Version,. If a source carries a notation that it is a work in more than one form (i.e. book edition), identify the version.
6. Number, Journals are typically numbered with volume (vol.) and issue numbers (no.).
7. Publisher,. Only include the first publisher listed, unless the source was published by multiple independent organizations.
8. Publication date,. Dates should be given as fully as they appear in your sources. Use the format: Day, Abbreviated Month, Year.
9. Location/URL. In print sources, a page number (preceded by p.) or a range of page numbers (preceded by pp.) specifies the location. In online sources, location is indicated by the URL, DOI, or Permalink

Example

Robinson, Angela. “History Shows Why It’s Time for a Black Woman to Sit on the Supreme Court .” The Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/02/01/history-shows-why-its-time-black-woman-sit-supreme-court/.

Works Cited Page

Below is a model MLA Works Cited with correct spacing and formatting. Every source that you quote, paraphrase, or summarize in an essay must be included in your Works Cited list. Your Works Cited list should always be on its new page, after the end of the text of the essay.

Note that an MLA Works Cited:

• begins on its new page
• at the top of the Works Cited page, the words Work (or Works) Cited should be centered, without bolding, italics, quotation marks, or all-caps
• Works Cited entries should be in the same font and double spacing as the rest of the paper
• Unlike the paragraphs within an essay, Works Cited entries do not begin with an indentation. Rather, they use hanging (also known as reverse) indentation, in which the first line of an entry is not indented, but all successive lines are indented, by .5”.
• Sources need to be listed in alphabetical order by the first letter in each entry.
  • If you have a source with no author, then that source will be alphabetized according to the first letter of its title
  • The entries will not be numbered or presented as a series of bulleted points.

What about American Psychological Association (APA)?

The American Psychological Association, established in 1892, is “the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States” with approximately 117,000 members.  The American Psychological Association created its style guide in 1929 and is most often used in the social sciences such as psychology, education, and linguistics. Scholars in English rarely use APA; however, scholars in the field of Composition and Rhetoric do.

APA papers have title pages, abstracts, and multiple levels of headings which give it a distinct feel from MLA papers. That’s just in the formatting! APA also has differences in both in-text citations and the Works Cited page. If you are ever required to flip between the two, it is important to know that they are different.

APA In Text citation and Works Cited Differences

Again, it will be important to at least recognize the differences between MLA and APA depending on your instructors and your major in college. The purpose of this section is to provide you with information and examples about APA-style in-text citations.

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author’s last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998).

On the other hand, if you are directly quoting or borrowing from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for multiple pages) before listing the page number(s). Use an en dash for page ranges. For example, you might write (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp. 199–201).

Reference Page

• Every source that you quote, paraphrase, or summarize in an essay must be included in your Reference page.
• The Reference page should appear on its page. It should include the header (i.e. abbreviated title with the page number in the righthand corner).
• At the start of your list, at the top margin of the page, center the word “References.” Do not bold, italicize, or use quotation marks. Do not change the font, font size, or color.
• Reference page entries are in the same font and double spacing as the rest of the paper
• Like MLA Work Cited pages, Reference page entries use hanging (also known as reverse) indentation, in which the first line of an entry is not indented, but all successive lines are indented, by .5”.
• Sources need to be listed in alphabetical order by the first letter in each entry.
  • If you have a source with no author, then that source will be alphabetized according to the first letter of its title
  • The entries will not be numbered or presented as a series of bulleted points.

Example Entry:

Author’s last name, first initial. middle initial. (Year, Month Date Published). Title of the article. Title of the Academic Journal, Volume # (Issue #), page numbers, DOI.

Yancey, K. B. (2004). Made not only in words: Composition in a new key. College Composition and Communication, 56(2), 297-328. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4140651