When a writer is citing a source within the text, MLA style requires him to provide the name of the author and the page number in parentheses without any form of punctuation. A basic MLA in-text citation is in the following format: (Smith 19).
APA style requires the author's name, the year of publication and the page number. These items are separated by commas. APA style also uses the designation "p." before page numbers. A basic APA citation is in the following format: (Smith, 1998, p. 19).
When you cite a title in your reference list, MLA style requires that you capitalize the first letters of all words in the title except those that contain three letters or fewer. For example:
The Best Hotels in Wisconsin.
In contrast, APA style dictates that you capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the title, and the first letter of any proper noun. For example:
The best hotels in Wisconsin.
In APA style, if there is a subtitle, you must also capitalize the first letter of the subtitle. For example:
The best hotels in Wisconsin: Finding the perfect deal.
In addition, the titles of lesser works such as articles, poems, and web documents should appear in quotation marks if you are using MLA style, and without quotation marks if you are using APA style.
MLA: "The Best Hotels in Wisconsin."
APA: The best hotels in Wisconsin.
Dates are formatted differently in APA and MLA styles. According to MLA style, dates listed on a reference page should appear in a day-month-year format, and the names of months other than May should be abbreviated. For example:
21 Apr. 2010.
APA format requires a year-month-day format. Dates are placed within parentheses, and a comma separates the year and the month. The names of months are not abbreviated. For example:
(2010, April 21).
Both APA and MLA style require that a reference entry begin with the name of the author, but author names are formatted differently. Author names include only the last name and first initial in APA style, whereas MLA style requires the last name and first name. For example:
APA: Smith, M.
MLA: Smith, Michael.
When you cite an Internet source, APA format requires that you include the full URL in your reference entry. This is in the following format:
Retrieved from http://www.website.com/something/blahblah&pstghfg
In contrast, MLA style no longer requires the use of URLs. However, if you wish to include a URL, you must position it as the last line of your reference entry and enclose it in angle brackets. For example:
<http://www.website.com/something/blahblah&pstghfg>
What MLA style does require you to list is the date on which you accessed the website. APA style does not require a date of access for electronic sources.
Both MLA and APA styles require a very specific order of information for each type of source. These are almost always different from each other. For example, the basic reference format for a book in MLA style is:
Author. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.
The basic reference entry format for a book in APA style is:
Author. (Year of publication). Title of Book. Location: Publisher.