MLA and APA Style - The Basics

Academic Year :2014-2015
Department :English Language and Literature

Filire
: English Studies
Semester
: 6, Modules 34/35
Course
: End of Studies Project
Facult des Lettres
APA and MLA Style

The Basics
Dr. Taoufik Allah Afkinich

6th Edition of APA
Todays Goals
Learn what a style sheet is and why it is important

Learn about the standard MLA and APA title page format
Learn basic documentation for books, journals, and websites
Learn the differences between methods of source integration:
summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting
Learn how to use signal phrases and in-text citation to avoid
plagiarism
Learn about writing a summary,
Learn about how to use notes,
Learn about how to use ibid and op cit
Learn how and what to check in our ESP.
Pr. Afkinich
End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

Basics
INTRODUCTION
APA and MLA Sylesheets are standard ways of laying
out text on the page,
The format they suggest provide researchers in the
human sciences fields with a simple, neat, and
effective way of :
presenting information, and
communicating ideas;
Anyone doing research (at whatever level) is required

to adopt a style, and conformity henceis required.
Generally speaking, Literature papers use MLA and
Linguistics ones use APA, or a modified version thereof;
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Basics
What is a style sheet , and why use it?
American Psychological Association (APA); (

Modern Language Association (MLA)
APA Style established in 1928 by Social Science professionals
MLA founded in 1883 by literature professionals and the MLA
style sheet was established in 1951 by Modern Language
Association; the first MLA handbook was established in 1977;
APA Style provides guidelines for publication in Social Science
Journals (such as Psychology, Sociology, Linguistics Education,
and Nursing) and the MLA one in Humanities, literature, and
Arts;
In both conceptions, style is claimed to lend consistency and
to make texts more readable by those who assess or publish
them
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Basics
An APA Title Page
Header : APA:
The words Running head: One space then BRIEF

TITLE
Example: Running head: BRIEF TITLE
(Upper Right Corner) Page Number (number only)
MLA: Create one 1,27 cm from top with your last name
Upper Left Corner
and the page number in numerical (Often on right corner

Title and Identification
APA (Center of Page, Double Spaced) MLA (1/3 from the top
of page)
APA : Full Title (Balance title over 2 lines rather than go to the far edges)
MLA: Brief Title
Author(s) Name(s) (Only MLA: 2.54 cm under the title)
For MLA: 1st Line, use the word by, 2nd line , double space under by then 1st and Last
name,
(MLA: 2,54 cm under Name ; (APA: School (ex. University of North

Alabama) or Course Number and Title (ex. EN 099: Basic Writing) (MLA
mentions Professors name before Course #) ASK YOUR PROFESSOR
Date (Month date, year format) ASK YOUR PROFESSOR
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Basics
An APA Title Page

No example of an MLA one)
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Basics
ESP title
page
should
look like
this
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Basics
An Abstract (Only APA mentions this)

An ABSTRACT is a brief summary of the entire
study (paper) presented at the beginning,
directly after the Title Page, (generally located
on page 2).
An ABSTRACT contains specific information:
introduction (purpose), methods, results, and
discussion
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Basics
APA Body Pages
Body Pages in APA Style Reflect the

Brief Title and Page Numbers in the
heading like the Title Page but do not
include the words Running head:
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Basics
APA Body Pages
On the second page only, the title of the paper is typed in the
top, center of the first line before the prose begins.
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10
Example MLA First Page
Documentation
Refers to the References list (APA) / at the end

of the paper & in-text citation
Documentation is placed in a specific order:
Who? When? What? Where?
The List
is labeled (APA:References / MLA: Works Cited (centered, no font
changes)
starts at the top of a new page
continues page numbering from the last page of text
is alphabetical
is double spaced
Uses a hanging indent (1,27 cm can be formatted from the Paragraph
dialog box in MS Word)
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12
Documenting Authors
One Author: Both APA and MLA (Authors last name, first name
Koch Jr., R. T. (2004).
Stewart, T., & Biffle, G. (1999). For MLA: list first authors last name, first
name, and second authors first name last name:
Stewart, Jessica, and Gail Smith. Panic: Writing Research Papers.
Wells, H. G., Lovecraft, H. P., Potter, H. J., Rowling, J. K., & Kirk, J. T. (2005).
Smith, M., Flanagan, F., Judd, A., Burstyn, E., Bullock, S., Knight, S.,
Garner, J. (2002). MLA
Two Authors: (Only APA refers to this number)

Three to Seven Authors APA:
MLA: list first authors last name, first name, et al. or list first
authors last name, first name, then remaining authors first names
last names
More than Seven Authors
Same author? List by Year. Same year? Alphabetize by source title

and add a letter to the year (1984a). For MLA: on the second entry
of the same author insert three hyphens and a period
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13
Model:
Documenting Books
APA: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of

book. City: Publisher.
Sample:
Perrin, R. (2007). Pocket guide to APA style (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton
Mifflin.
MLA: Author As last name, first name, and Author Bs first
name last name. Title of Book. City: Publisher, Year. Medium

of Publication
Sample:
Williams, Ron, and Harrison Ford. A Large, Boring Book. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 2005. Print.
Internationally recognized cities do not need two letter

state abbreviations. (APA: Publishers do not need Co.,
Ltd., etc.
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14
Documenting Journals
Model: APA
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of
article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number if
available), page numbers.
Sample:
Koch Jr., R. T. (2006). Building connections through reflective
writing. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 10(3), 208-213.
MLA
Author As Last Name, Author As First Name, and Author Bs First
Name Last Name. Title of Article. Title of Journal
Volume.Issue (Year): pages. Medium of Publication.
Sample:
Jacobson, Will, and Brick Davis. A Big Adventure in Central
Park. Educational Psychology 11.1 (2006): 144-155. Print.
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15
Documenting Online Journals
APA: Journals listed on databases no longer

require a retrieval date or a URL if a print copy of
the journal exists. In this case treat source like a
print version (previous slide).
Strictly online journals will require either a URL or

(more favorable) a DOI.
MLA:
Authors Last Name, First Name. Title of

Article. Online Journal Volume.Issue (Year): n. pag.
Medium of Publication. Day Month Year <website>.
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16
Documenting Online Journals

DOI Sample:
Kenneth, I. A. (2000). A Buddhist response to the

nature of human rights. Journal of
Buddhist Ethics,
8. doi:0000000/000000000000
URL Sample:
Whitmeyer, J.M. (2000). Power through appointment

[Electronic version]. Social
Science Research,
29, 535-555. Retrieved from http://www.address.com/
entire/address
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17
Documenting Websites
Model for an authored document that is a whole site:
APA: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article/document. Retrieved from
http://Web address
MLA: Author/Creators Last name, First name. Title of Web Site. Version number. Name of
organization associated with the site. Date of Posting on Website. Medium of Publication.
Day Month Year accessed.
Model for an authored page/article from a site:

APA: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article/document. Retrieved
from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
MLA: Authors Last name, First name. Name of Page on Website. Main Website. Name of
organization associated with the site. Medium of Publication. Day Month Year accessed.
Sample (no author, article found on resource website):

APA: Nebraska school nurse honored during 100th Anniversary Celebration. (2007).
Answers4Families. Retrieved from http://nncf.unl.edu/nurses/info/ anniversary.html
MLA: "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow.com. eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.
No Author? List page title or articleEndtitle
first. No page title? List site title. No Date? Use (n.d.)
of Studies Project: APA Style: The
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18
Documenting Company Websites

(Only APA)
T-Mobile USA, Inc. (2013a). Cell phone services. Retrieved
from http://www.t-mobile.com/
cell-phone-services
(Note, websites rarely have authors, so look at the top for the
company name and/or at the bottom of the webpage where the
copyright information is located.)
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19
Documenting Online Communities

(ONLU APA)
Message posted to a newsgroup, online forum, or discussion

group
Rampersand, T. (2005, June 8). Re: Traditional
knowledge and
traditional cultural expressions [Online forum comment]. Retrieved
from http://www.wipo.int/roller/comments/ipisforum/
Weblog/theme_eight_how_can_cultural#comments
Blog post
PZ Myers. (2007, January 22). The unfortunate prerequisites
and consequences of partitioning your mind [Web blog post].
Retrieved from http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/01/
the_unfortunate_prerequisites.php
(If needed, break URL at appropriate points.)
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20
More Online Documentation (APA)
Online Magazine Article
Author, A. (Year, Month). Title of article. Title of Magazine, Vol

Number (Issue). Retrieved from URL.
Clay, R. (2008, June). Science vs. ideology: Psychologists fight
back about the misuse of research. Monitor on
Psychology,
39(6). Retrieved from http://www. apa.org/monitor/
Online Newspaper Article
Author, A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of
Newspaper. Retrieved from URL.
Brody, J. (2007, December 4). Mental reserves keep brain
agile. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://
www.nytimes.com
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21
Elements of Good Research and Writing
Each paragraph or section of a research paper needs to have three distinct parts:
claim, evidence, and discussion.
The CLAIM is the paragraphs or sections main idea, and it refers back to the thesis
(the main idea of your paper).
EVIDENCE is the information you find in your research that supports your claim.
Last, the DISCUSSION explains how the evidence given is relevant to the claim.
Simply presenting the evidence is never enough.
Always explain how the source can be used to support the claim as well as how it
helps develop the overall purpose of the paper. It is better to have one or two
sources that are thoroughly explained than to have three or four sources which
have no content or explanation.
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22
Why Source Integration

(APA & MLA)
Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries

provide support for claims or add credibility to your writing
refer to work that leads up to the work you are now doing
give examples of several points of view on a subject
call attention to a position that you wish to agree or disagree with
highlight a particularly striking phrase, sentence, or passage by
quoting the original
distance yourself from the original by quoting it in order to cue
readers that the words are not your own
expand the breadth or depth of your writing
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23
Choosing Text to Integrate

1. Read the entire text, noting the key points and main
ideas.
2. Summarize in your own words what the single main
idea of the essay is.
3. Paraphrase important supporting points that come
up in the essay.
4. Consider any words, phrases, or brief passages that
you believe should be quoted directly.
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24
Summarizing
When you summarize, you put the main

idea(s) into your own words, including only
the main point(s).
Summarized ideas must be attributed to the
original source.
Summaries are significantly shorter than the
original.
Summaries take a broad overview of source
material.
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25
Summarizing
Summarize any ideas or text that you believe are important.
Proper summarization should condense the main idea or text of
several pages (or even the entire source!) into a brief overview.
By summarizing you save many paragraphs or pages of
unnecessary text. When using in-text citations for summaries,
you must always cite the author and publication year. If there is
no author listed, cite the article name. Summaries do not require
page numbers; this is because the text summarized will usually
cover several pages of text.
EX: Studies show that throughout colleges and universities
teachers are often hired from one area of study to teach a
different area of study (Carpini, 2004; Wilson, 1998).
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26
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source

material into your own words.
Attribute paraphrases to their original sources.
Paraphrases are usually shorter than, but may be the same
length as the original passage.
Paraphrases take a more focused segment of the source
and condense it slightly.
EX: Lorties (1975) research reveals that classroom experiences

as well as interactions among peers and colleagues contribute to
teacher learning (p. 79).
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27
Quoting
Quotations must be identical to the original.
Quotations use a narrow segment of the source.

They must match the source document word for word and
must be attributed to the original author.
Use quotes when the actual words are so integral to the
discussion that they cannot be replaced.
Use quotes when the authors words are so precisely and
accurately stated that they cannot be paraphrased.
EX: Stenberg and Lee (2002) agree that teacher
learning is an intellectual and ongoing

process (p. 327).
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28
Signal Phrases and In-Text Citation

Signal phrases introduce someone elses work they signal
that the words and ideas that are about to be offered belong
to someone other than the author of the paper.
In-text citations are the parenthetical pieces of information
that appear usually at the end of a quote, paraphrase, or
summary (though they sometimes appear before).
A simple rule:
Author or Title, Year, and Page: what isnt signaled up front must
be cited at the end.
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29

(continued)
Limited signal, everything in citation
. . . end of paraphrased sentence, in which you convey the

author's ideas in your own words (Krepp, 1985, p. 103).
(MLA: Krepp 103)
" . . . end of quoted sentence" (Krepp, 1985, p. 103). (MLA:
Krepp 103)
Author and year in signal, page in citation
In 1985, Krepp reported that . . . (p. 103).

Krepp (1985) tells us that . . . (p. 103). (For MLA, no date is
needed here)
According to Krepp (1985), ". . ." (p. 103). (For MLA, same as
above)
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30

(continued)
Multiple Authors signaled (Alphabetical)
No Author
Only MLA: Citing Sources with Same Last Name
Studies (Jones, 1966; Krepp, 1985; Smith, 1973) have shown that .
. . (For MLA, the date is not to be mentioned)
APA: ("Stocks Lose Again," 1991, p. B16).

According to the news article Stocks Lose Again (1991) end
paraphrase or quote (p. B16).
MLA: An anonymous Twain critic once stated that Twain was
actually a female (Twain is a Female 100).
The big red tracker was the largest (R. Williams 100) However, the
blue tracker was often stated as being the largest (Z. Williams 670
No Page Number
Provide other information in signal phrase (MLA example:

paragraph #)
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p.c.
31
Personal Communications
APA
Where information is obtained
by letter,only)
interview, email etc, it is referenced in the
text only (personal

bibliography).
Examples:
communication is not listed in the
It is claimed that addiction to gambling is on the increase in Morocco,

particularly amongst females aged 18-30 years (Tayiii, Dr, Sociologist,
2010, personal communication / p.c.), 14 January).
or
or
In a telephone conversation on 3 January 20100, Dr Tayiii, Sociologist, suggested

that
In an email communication on 4 January 2010, Dr Tayiii, Sociologist, claimed
that
Note that the in-text reference information is:

Name
Position, occupation or role
Date
By including the position, occupation or role of the person with whom you have had
the personal communication, the reader can then judge the degree of expertise of
that person for the particular topic.
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End of Studies Project
Ibid and op cit
32
NOTES
The notes are to be numbered consecutively in the
order in which they appear in the manuscript with
superscript Arabic numerals,
The note number always follows any punctuation
mark except a dash,
No note numbers should appear in text headings,
When placed at the end, they should normally be
after the references / Works Cited list
Two kinds of notes are to be distinguished:
Content notes, and
Bibliographic (MLA) / Copyright (APA) notes
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33
Content notes
In this type of notes, the writer gives the reader
comments, explanation, or information that the text
cannot accommodate,
One is advised to avoid lengthy discussions in this type
of notes because of the risk that they would divert the
attention of the reader from primary text,
Generally, comments that cant be fit into the text
SHOULD be avoided unless they are thought of as
providing a justification for what is written in the text
(eg. To explain why you worked on a secondary
source),
A content note should convey just ONE idea
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34
Bibliographic / Copyright notes

They would contain either:
a reference to several sources,

Permission or
Evaluative comments on sources
Example:
many observers concluded that health care in the US is inadequate.1

Technological advancements have brought advantages as well as
unexpected problems.2
1.
2.
Notes
For strong points of view on different aspects of the issue, see Public Agenda
Foundation 1-10 and Sakala 151-88.
2. For a sampling of materials that reflect the range of experiences related to recent
technological changes, see Taylor A1; Moulthrop, pars. 39-53; Armstrong, Yang, and
Cuneo 80-82. ( MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers , p.230-31)
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35
THE USE OF ibid and Op cit

The terms ibid and op cit are used in referencing
to avoid duplicating the same reference details in
the body of your text and in your reference list,
The term ibid is short for the Latin
ibidem meaning 'in the same place' and is used
when the next reference is the same as the last
one;
The term op cit is short for the Latin opere citato,
meaning 'in the work cited' and is used when the
same reference is cited elsewhere in the body of
your text, but is not the most recent citation.
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SAMPLE OUTLINE 36
A FINAL WORD
And finally, a note on professors who require variations on

MLA Style:
Periodically, you will run across professors who insist on minor

variations from MLA pr APA Style.
If they want a cover page, give them their cover page.
If they want the title in block capitals, give them their block
capitals.
Remember, the professor is the one who will give you your
grade.
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37
Sample Paper
Perdue - Online Writing Lab (OWL)
APA Format:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu//media/pdf/20090212013
008_560.pdf
MLA Format:
https://owl.english.perdue.edu/media/pdf/20090
701095636_747.pdf
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38
References
American Psychological Association. 201). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (6th ed.). Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association.
APA formatting and style guide The OWL at Purdue. 200). Purdue University Online Writing
Lab. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Berke? Jacqueline . 1995. Twenty Questions for the Writer. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovitch.
Documenting sources at SNHU: APA style. n.d.. Southern New Hampshire University.
Retrieved from
http://acadweb.snhu.edu/documenting_sources/apa.htm#Use%20a%20citation%20when%20you%20paraphrase
.
Homepage: APA style. 2007. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://apastyle.apa.org .
Modern Language Association of America. 2009. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: MLA
Association of America,
Perrin, R. (2007). Pocket guide to APA style (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. (2004). Purdue University Online Writing Lab. Retrieved from
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_quotprsum.html.
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39

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Academic Year :2014-2015

Department :English Language and Literature

APA and MLA Style

Dr. Taoufik Allah Afkinich

Learn what a style sheet is and why it is important

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

Anyone doing research (at whatever level) is required

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

What is a style sheet , and why use it?

American Psychological Association (APA); (

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

An APA Title Page

The words Running head: One space then BRIEF

Upper Left Corner

and the page number in numerical (Often on right corner

(MLA: 2,54 cm under Name ; (APA: School (ex. University of North

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

An APA Title Page

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

An Abstract (Only APA mentions this)

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

APA Body Pages

Body Pages in APA Style Reflect the

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

APA Body Pages

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

Example MLA First Page

Refers to the References list (APA) / at the end

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

Koch Jr., R. T. (2004).

Two Authors: (Only APA refers to this number)

Same author? List by Year. Same year? Alphabetize by source title

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

APA: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of

name last name. Title of Book. City: Publisher, Year. Medium

Internationally recognized cities do not need two letter

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

Documenting Online Journals

APA: Journals listed on databases no longer

Strictly online journals will require either a URL or

Authors Last Name, First Name. Title of

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

Documenting Online Journals

Kenneth, I. A. (2000). A Buddhist response to the

Whitmeyer, J.M. (2000). Power through appointment

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

Model for an authored document that is a whole site:

Model for an authored page/article from a site:

Sample (no author, article found on resource website):

Documenting Company Websites

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

Documenting Online Communities

Message posted to a newsgroup, online forum, or discussion

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

More Online Documentation (APA)

Online Magazine Article

Author, A. (Year, Month). Title of article. Title of Magazine, Vol

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

Elements of Good Research and Writing

End of Studies Project: APA Style: The

Why Source Integration