APA and MLA Writing Styles
English writing style guides are plentiful. In this article, we discuss just two: APA and MLA writing styles. A writer's style is a distinctive signature that allows an individual to personalize not only the content of his or her message, but the manner in which that content is received. Communication is more than information exchange, and the manner in which we choose to interact with one another is almost as important as the meaning that is conveyed. So many different styles exist that when we come to write an essay or document, for example, we are almost using a whole new language. Here are some grammatical differences between APA and MLA writing styles: The Serial Comma Whenever you write a list of terms, items or phrases, grammatical guidelines dictate that you must separate each item with a comma. However, in the case of any list, there is inevitably a conjunction separating the final two items, and this comma often referred to as the "serial comma". The American Psychological Association (APA) and the Modern Language Association (MLA) writing style guidelines do require the use of a comma before the conjunction and the final term, whereas the Associated Press (AP) guidelines generally omit the serial comma unless the list is excessive, in which case a serial comma should be used to reduce ambiguity. Bullets The American Psychological Association does not use bullets, unless the information traditionally found in a bullet point appears in full sentence format as part of a numbered list. Similarly, the MLA writing style also discourages bullets that are not numbered with full and complete sentences. APA and MLA styles are typically associated with scholarly work, and abbreviated points do not usually provide the level of detail one would expect from work of this caliber. Citation The Modern Language Association encourages citation in two parts. First is the parenthetical reference, which appears at the end of the sentence in between the last word and the period. Material quoted directly from a secondary source must be identified in this manner, and the author's last number and the corresponding page number upon which the quotation can be found should appear at the end of the sentence:
This parenthetical reference must also be accompanied by a full citation that should appear on your Works Cited page, which must accompany your work: Author, Joe. How to Create a Proper Works Cited Page. London: Routledge Publishing (2009). As demonstrated here, the author's first name appears after the last name, followed by the title of the novel, the publication information and the year the book was published. Similarly, the American Psychological Association guidelines dictate a two-step citation process. As it is with the MLA writing style, APA requires that quoted material be accompanied by the author's last name and the page number, but also the year the information was published:
Again, this parenthetical reference must be accompanied by a citation that appears on the References page at the back of your paper: Author, J. (2009) How to Create a Proper Works Cited Page. London Routledge Publishing. Unlike the MLA style, the APA citation format dictates that the year must follow the author's name, and the title must appear in italics as opposed to being underlined. While both formatting styles have similarities, there are a number of differences that can be easily overlooked. You might find these easy writing style guides helpful: APA: The Easy Way!
Essay Writing Tips
APA and MLA Writing Styles to Outside the Box Writing Tips
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Make sure to become familiar with one writing style so that you naturally become more proficient with practice. 