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MLA and APA in-text citations

The Modern Language Association (MLA) style and the American Psychological Association (APA) style both use citations in the text of a paper that refer to a list of works at the end of the paper. The systems work somewhat differently, however, because MLA style was created for scholars in English composition and literature, and APA style was created for researchers in the social sciences.

MLA IN-TEXT CITATION

Brandon Conran argues that the story is written from “a bifocal point of view” (111).

APA IN-TEXT CITATION

As researchers Yanovski and Yanovski (2002) have explained, obesity was once considered “either a moral failing or evidence of underlying psychopathology” (p. 592).

While MLA and APA styles work in a similar way, some basic disciplinary differences show up in these key elements:

author’s name
date of publication
page numbers
verb tense in signal phrases

MLA style, which gives the author’s full name on first mention, reflects the respect that English scholars have for authors of written words. APA style usually uses last names only, not out of disrespect but to emphasize the objectivity of scientific inquiry. APA style, which gives a date after the author’s name, reflects the social scientist’s concern with the currency of experimental results. MLA style omits the date in the text citation because English scholars are less concerned with currency; what someone had to say a century ago may be as significant as the latest contribution to the field.

Both styles include page numbers for quotations. MLA style requires page numbers for summaries and paraphrases as well. With a page number, readers can easily find the exact passage that has been summarized or paraphrased. While APA does not require page numbers for summaries and paraphrases, it recommends that writers use a page number if doing so would help readers find the passage in a longer work.

Finally, MLA style uses the present tense (such as argues) to introduce cited material, whereas APA style uses the past or present perfect tense (such as argued or have argued). The present tense evokes the timelessness of a literary text; the past or present perfect tense emphasizes that an experiment was conducted in the past.