APA and MLA are the two citation styles students run into most often, and mixing them up — using an MLA-style in-text citation in an APA paper, for instance — is one of the most common formatting errors instructors flag. They’re built around different fields’ conventions: APA (currently in its 7th edition) is standard in the social sciences, education, and nursing; MLA (currently in its 9th edition) is standard in literature, languages, and other humanities disciplines. Here’s how they actually differ. For the full mechanics of each style side by side with Chicago, IEEE, Harvard, and Vancouver, see our complete citation styles guide.
In-Text Citations
- APA 7: author-date format — (Chen, 2021) for a paraphrase, (Chen, 2021, p. 45) for a direct quote.
- MLA 9: author-page format, no year — (Chen 45) for both paraphrases and quotes, since MLA doesn’t include the publication year in-text at all.
This is the single biggest mechanical difference: APA always includes the year in the parenthetical citation; MLA never does (the year appears only in the Works Cited entry). For the full set of APA in-text citation rules, including multiple authors and organizations as authors, see our guide to APA 7 in-text citations.
The Reference List Itself
- APA 7 calls it the “References” page.
- MLA 9 calls it the “Works Cited” page.
Both are alphabetized by author surname and both use a hanging indent, but the entry formatting itself differs — APA emphasizes the publication date prominently near the start of each entry; MLA places it near the end.
Author Name Formatting
- APA 7: Last name, First initial. — “Chen, A.”
- MLA 9: Last name, First name — “Chen, Amara” (full first names are used, not initials)
Titles of Works
- APA 7: sentence case for article and book titles (“The effects of sleep on memory”), title case for journal names.
- MLA 9: title case for nearly everything (“The Effects of Sleep on Memory”).
Page Setup and Front Matter
- APA 7 (student papers) typically requires a title page with the paper title, author name, institution, course, instructor, and date, plus a running header with the page number; an abstract is often required for professional papers but not always for student papers, depending on the assignment.
- MLA 9 generally skips a separate title page — instead, the first page includes the author’s name, instructor, course, and date in the upper left corner, followed by the title, centered. A header with the author’s surname and page number appears on every page.
This is a detail that catches many students switching between styles for different classes — an MLA-style first page (no separate title page) looks incomplete by APA standards, and an APA-style title page looks like an unnecessary extra page by MLA conventions.
Which Fields Use Which
- APA: psychology, education, nursing and other health sciences, and most social sciences
- MLA: English and comparative literature, languages, cultural studies, and other humanities fields
If you’re not sure which your program requires, check your assignment guidelines or department style guide first — some interdisciplinary programs specify a style that doesn’t match the “default” for their broader field, and some instructors within traditionally MLA-using departments still ask for APA for specific data-driven assignments.
A Quick Side-by-Side Example
APA 7 in-text: “(Chen, 2021, p. 45)” — APA 7 reference: Chen, A. (2021). Sleep and memory in early adulthood. Journal of Cognitive Science, 12(3), 40–55.
MLA 9 in-text: “(Chen 45)” — MLA 9 works cited: Chen, Amara. “Sleep and Memory in Early Adulthood.” Journal of Cognitive Science, vol. 12, no. 3, 2021, pp. 40-55.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a paper switch between APA and MLA in different sections? No — pick one style for the entire document, including any appendices or supplementary material.
Which style is easier to learn first? Neither is inherently harder, but MLA’s author-page in-text format is simpler for short papers with few dates to track, while APA’s structure scales a bit more naturally to longer research papers with heavy literature reviews, since the year is visible at a glance throughout.
Do citation management tools handle both equally well? Yes — Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote all support both styles and can switch a document between them automatically, though it’s worth spot-checking the output against the rules above.
Switching a full document between styles — or just making sure every citation is internally consistent — is meticulous work, especially in a document with dozens of sources. Our reference and citation formatting service handles exactly this, in APA, MLA, and every other major academic style. Get in touch if you’d like help.