“We are the Wolfpack! Inspired to be the best through compassion, pride for our community, and passion for success!!”
Return to LincolnCSD.com
MLA vs APA Style
The citation style you choose will be based upon the discipline in which you are writing. Usually your teacher will assign a style to you. For the most part the humanities will use MLA and the social sciences will use APA. This guide by University of Washington Libraries provides an excellent breakdown of the styles.
MLA Style
MLA (Modern Language Association) is widely used in the humanities - especially in writing on language and literature.
MLA uses brief parenthetical citations within the text that refer to an alphabetical list of works cited appearing at the end of the work
MLA Formatting and Style Guide
This section of the OWL at Purdue offers very detailed information using MLA 8th edition.
Guidelines for referring to the work of others in your text using MLA style are covered in the MLA Handbook but this section of the OWL at Purdue offers basic in-text citation rules.
If you are a visual learner, here are MLA citation samples with color codes for title, author, etc.
APA Style
APA (American Psychological Association) Style is used in the social sciences, business and some of the life sciences. It uses brief in-text citations within the text that refer to an alphabetical list of references appearing at the end of the work.
APA Formatting and Style Guide
This section of the OWL at Purdue offers very detailed information using APA 7th edition.
Guidelines for referring to the work of others in your text using APA style are covered in the APA Publication Manual but this section of the OWL at Purdue offers basic in-text citation rules.
If you are a visual learner, here are APA citation samples with color codes for title, author, etc.