When is mla used

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Toggle menu visibility. Ask A Question. You give us this information in two places: In the paragraph where you are quoting or paraphrasing. This is called a Parenthetical Citation because you will put brief information about the work in parentheses.

In the Works Cited page at the end of the paper. This is where you put all of the information we need to find a copy of the works you used in your paper. What is APA format? Citing Sources.

Odds are that your instructor wants you to use MLA Style if you are in an English class or other humanities class such as art, literature, etc. MLA Style creates rules for students to follow when writing and formatting papers. Using MLA Style not only helps your instructors read and understand your work, but the act of creating citations and citing sources helps prevent plagiarism. Plagiarism is when you use a quote, idea, or any other kind of information from a source and present it as your own.

If you don't cite your sources then you risk committing plagiarism, which is a serious academic offense that will or can get you expelled from school. So, to sum up the benefits of using MLA Style:. How do I use this guide? It helps you to break down citing paintings, books, and other literature. This format makes citing journals and technical reports a breeze. While you can write a paper in either format, using the right style can make your life a whole lot easier. Therefore, it is important to break down the differences of each.

The APA citation page , on the other hand, will be labeled References. Both titles will be centered at the top of the page and the list of references will be double spaced. The title is an easy way to know which one you are looking at. Each different style formats how they attribute the author a little differently, as well.

And, if you get into multiple authors, this is unique too. Check out each in turn to examine the difference in making a citation. The formatting of the author will vary based on how many there are. Gillespie, Paula and Neal Lerner. In APA format , you only write out the last name followed by the first and middle initial.

When it comes to multiple authors in APA , you have three different categories. Look at a few examples to really understand.