75 MLA and APA: A Point-by-Point Comparison
Christina Frasier
Learning Objectives
- Differentiate between the main components of MLA and APA formatting styles
| APA | MLA | |
| Title page | Title (in bold), writer’s full name, date submitted, course OR college name, all centered | No title page |
| First page of paper | Center title (in bold); begin body on next double-spaced line | Center title; begin body on next double-spaced line |
| Title case | Titles of articles, books, reports, and other works appearing in the text of the paper; title of the paper; titles of periodicals; table titles; figure titles. NOTE—article titles in the Reference entries do not use title case. | Titles of articles, books, reports, and other works appearing in the text of the paper; title of the paper; titles of periodicals; table titles; figure titles |
| Page numbers | Upper right corner | Upper right corner |
| Margins | 1” top, bottom, and sides | 1” top, bottom, and sides |
| Spacing | Double-spaced | Double-spaced |
| Font | Legible font (generally Times New Roman 12 point) | Legible font (generally Times New Roman 12 point) |
| Citations | Parenthetical in-text with author, year, and either page number OR paragraph number | Parenthetical in-text with author and page number |
| Sources | References (in bold): only include sources cited in text; double -space entries with no extra spaces in between entries | Works Cited: sources cited in-text or consulted; double-space entries with no extra spaces in between entries. |