APA style requires in-text citations so that readers know what information is being used. In-text citations for works by a single author should have the author's last name and the publication year are inserted at the end of the sentence. If the author's name is used in the sentence, cite only the year.If there is more than one author, list all last names with an ampersand in between them and the publication year on the first reference. Afterward, it is only necessary to list the first author's name and "et al" which is a Latin term meaning "for others".
If there is no author, the title should be cited with the publication year.
If the author is an association, write out the association's name with the publication year. APA Style also requires that specific quotes have a citation with a page number for in-text citations. If it is a Web page or electronic source, provide the paragraph number instead.
As opposed to APA style's emphasis on publication year, MLA style always requires page numbers, but never publication year. A source with a single author would have the author's last name and page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence with the information in it.
MLA style also allows writers to use only page numbers if one work is cited throughout a single paragraph or section after the first reference. MLA style also allows writers to condense internal citations to the first author's last name if it is a source written by multiple authors.
APA Style refers to the bibliography as a "Reference List." MLA style calls this page a "Works Cited" page. In both cases, they are at the end of a research paper. APA Style requires sources to be arrange alphabetically by the authors last name. In MLA style, the sources are arranged alphabetically by the first element in the bibliography, which in some cases, may not be the author's last name. MLA style specifies that this page should be double-spaced.
MLA style and APA styles also differ in the order of information needed and sometimes the punctuation marks separating them. For example, the APA style for citing a book authored by one person is:
Last name, First. (Year) Title. City: Publishing company.
The MLA style is as follows:
Last name, First. Title. City: Publishing company, year.
APA style requires multiple authors to be separated by an ampersand. MLA style requires that the word "and" be written out.
APA style requires that either p. or pp. be in front of a reference for which pages were used. MLA style does not require this.
APA Style requires that writers use italics for the titles of books and journals. MLA style requires that writers underline the titles of books and journals.
Depending on the source, various information should be gathered. It is best when picking sources, to write down all available information so that you will have it if you need it. Some information that is normally required includes page numbers, authors' names, publication place, publication company, year of publication, edition number, article title and book title.