MLA style is primarily used by writers in the disciplines of humanities and has more guidelines on preparing a manuscript and the mechanics of writing. APA style is used in the social sciences primarily for scientific writing and includes more rules on formatting numbers, statistics, tables and figures within a research paper or document than MLA.
APA style places emphasis on avoiding biased language that has the potential to offend individuals of a specific group based on such factors as age, nationality, race or sex. Language should be people-first when discussing individuals with a disability. As an example, instead of "breast cancer victims," a writer would state "women with breast cancer." MLA style emphasizes readability and simplicity to avoid distracting the reader with unnecessary information. MLA style is also flexible; writers are able to apply the basic format of citation even in instances where a specific format is unclear or unknown.
For citation, MLA style places emphasis on the author and page number while APA style places greater emphasis on the date. Compare the citation for the book "Your Backyard Herb Garden" written by Miranda Smith in 1997 and published by Rodale Books:
APA
(Smith, 1997)
MLA
(Smith 42)
Note the difference in the placement of the date between APA and MLA style:
APA
Smith, M. (1997). Your Backyard Herb Garden (italicized). Emmaus, PA: Rodale Books.
MLA
Smith, Miranda. Your Backyard Herb Garden (italicized). Emmaus, PA: Rodale Books, 1997. Print.
MLA style uses footnotes or endnotes linked to the Works Cited page (referred to as a Reference List in APA style) while APA discourages the use of footnotes or endnotes. (Footnotes are used to provide additional detail regarding viewpoints, sources or supplementary material relating to the text that would distract the reader if included in the body of the text).