A Refresher Course on Documentation

MLA vs. APA Citation

MLA 2009 RULES

A Quick Introduction / Review of

What’s New in MLA 2009?Getting Slanty With ItUse ITALICS now for large works, no more underlining.FOR EXAMPLE

Book Titles Play titles Movies Albums ETC

Of Mice and Men

The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 15 June 2011.

What’s New in MLA 2009?Medium Designation is a MustThe medium of the source consulted must now be designated in the Works Cited list.

EXAMPLE

Sewell, Said. “African American Religion: The Struggle for Community Development in

a Southern City.” Journal of Southern Religion 4 (2001): n. pag. Web. 29 Jan. 2008.

(Online journal)The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 15 June 2011.

What’s New in MLA 2009?Web Citation: Hold the URL Search engines have improved so much that MLA no longer requires URL addresses. Only insert them if your source would be difficult to find with a search engine!

The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 15 June 2011.

What’s New in MLA 2009?Indicate When Data is Missing  Use n.d. for the date for no date of

publication Use n.p. for no publisher or no place of

publication Use n. pag. for no page numbers. 

The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 15 June 2011.

What’s the Same?

Page Set-up Rules  1” margins all around Plain font (like Times New Roman), 12 point,

double-spaced Leave only one space after periods or other

punctuation marks Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-

inch from the left margin Create a header that numbers all pages

consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin.  The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 15 June

2011.

What’s the Same?

Page Set-up Rules  Do not make a title page for your paper

unless specifically requested In the upper left-hand corner of the first

page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date. Again, be sure to use double-spaced text

MLA recommends that when you divide an essay into sections that you number those sections with an arabic number and a period followed by a space and the section name. 1. Early Writings 2. The London YearsThe Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 15 June

2011.

What’s the Same?

In-Text Citations  Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was

marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263). 

Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).

Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).

Generally:(Author’s last name page number)

The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 15 June 2011.

What’s the Same?

Works Cited Still alphabetical by entry Still double-spaced throughout Follows the same basic format with the

aforementioned addendums

The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 15 June 2011.

APA 6TH ADDITION RULES

A Quick Introduction / Review of

When Should You Use APA?

APA is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences.

While we use MLA in our English classes, our colleagues use APA.

Our students need to know BOTH!

How is APA Like MLA?

The basic page formatting rules are the same: 12 point, Times New Roman,

Double-Spaced Font 1” Margins

The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 15 June 2011.

How is APA Unique?

Paper Sections and Set-Up Include a page header at the top of

every page Title page = Running head: TITLE OF YOUR PAPER All other pages= TITLE OF YOUR PAPER

 Has FOUR major sections: Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and

References. Title page with title of the paper,

the author's name, and the institutional affiliation. The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 15 June

2011.

First Page Side by Side Comparison

MLA

APA

vs.

The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 15 June 2011.

How is APA Unique?

In-Text Citations According to Jones (1998), "Students

often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199). 

Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?

Generally:(Last name, Year of Publication).The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 15 June

2011.

How is APA Unique?

References REFERENCES are listed at the end of

the essay, not Works Cited

The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 15 June 2011.

QUIZ TIMEGet it? Got it? Good!

Question One

True or False:

MLA and APA documentation both require the same size font in documents.

Question Two

True or False:

Aside from differences with in-text documentation, MLA and APA are virtually the same.

Question Three

Which type of documentation is typically used by the social sciences?

A. MLAB. APAC. Neither

Question Four

True or False:

MLA no longer requires URLs, as long as the source is easily found with search engines.

Question Five

True or False:

MLA recommends that writers underline titles of books,

movies, and the like.

ANSWERS

1. True –12 point font2. False –Paper requirements differ3. APA is used by social sciences4. True—remember, hold the URL5. False—writers should italicize

these items.

Putting it All Together

Please take a moment to reflect on this presentation. How likely are you to remember

this information when you present this to students in the fall?

What are the most significant distinctions to note about MLA and APA?

How comfortable are you with both MLA and APA documentation?

Questions?

What do you still want to know?

The End