How to Change Works Cited from MLA to APA

A bibliography, or works cited page, is the last page of a written document that lists all the sources you consulted writing the paper. Sources included on a works cited page can either be formatted using the Modern Language Association (MLA) style or the American Psychological Association (APA) style. The style you use will depend on the subject matter of your document and which style your instructor prefers. A works cited page can easily be changed from MLA to APA format since both styles contain the same information.

Instructions

    • 1

      Read through your works cited list item by item. Identify what kind of source each item is, such as a book, website or television interview. Each kind of source should be cited slightly different depending what the source is. Sources formatted in the MLA and APA formats contain the same information but rearranged in a slightly different order. The first line of each APA source should also be indented five spaces.

    • 2

      Convert a book with a single author into APA format. A book cited in MLA format will look like: Jones, John. The Human Body. New York: Red Publishing House, 1994. The same source cited in APA style, however, will put the publication year near the beginning and look like: Jones, John. (1994). The Human Body. New York: Red Publishing House.

    • 3

      Rearrange your citation for a monthly magazine article. A monthly magazine article in MLA format will look like: Jones, John. "Exploring the Human Brain." Biology May 1999: 34-39. The name of the magazine (i.e. "Biology") should be underlined if handwritten or Italicized if typed. In APA style, the month and year of the magazine issue will be moved and "pp." will also be added before the article page numbers and will look like: Jones, J. (1999, May) Exploring the Human Brain. Biology, pp. 34-39.

    • 4

      Convert your citation for an encyclopedia article into APA format. An encyclopedia article cited in MLA format will look like: "Milky Way Galaxy." The Twenty-First Century Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. 2009. Print. Both the MLA citation and APA citation will have the name of the encyclopedia underlined if handwritten or Italicized if typed. The same source cited in APA style, however, will move around the publishing year, add where the encyclopedia was published and the name of the Publishing company to look like: (2009). Milky Way Galaxy. In The Twenty-First Century Encyclopedia (2nd ed, pp. 359-361). Portland, OR: Red Publishing House.

    • 5

      Rearrange your citation for a page on a website. A website citation in MLA format will look like: "Fun Science Experiments." Wonderful World of Science, 27 June 2005. Web. 16 March 2011. The URL of the website generally does not have to be included in the citation, according to the Purdue Online Writing Lab. In APA style, the date the date the website was created or last updated is moved up and the title of the page (i.e. Fun Science Experiments) is underlined if handwritten or Italicized if typed. The URL of the website must also be included so the citation looks like: Wonderful World of Science. (2005). Fun Science Experiments. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from http://www.wonderfulworldofscience.com/learning/fun-experiments.html

    • 6

      Consult an APA style guide book or website for formatting instructions for other types of sources. Find the correct format for each source on your works cited page, such as a book with a single author, an encyclopedia entry or an academic journal article. Briefly study the APA format and compare it to the MLA format that your sources are currently in. Notice the differences between each format and how the source information is arranged.

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