Formatting and Style Guidelines: MLA and APA
Barry Mauer and John Venecek
We discuss the following topic on this page:
Formatting and Style Guidelines: MLA and APA
Scholars format their work using the style guidelines provided by professional organizations such as the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA). These two are the most common, but far from the only, style guidelines used by researchers in the Humanities. Most student projects rely on these guidelines for document formatting, in-text citation, and works-cited lists. Your instructor should let you know which formatting style is required or whether you are allowed to choose one. Listed below are a few resources that will help get your citations right.
- UCF Libraries Research Guides
- MLA Style Guide, 9th edition. This is a quick reference guide to the 9th edition of the MLA handbook. It includes general formatting guidelines, examples of common in-text citation, examples of how to format a works cited page, and links to other resources.
- APA Publication Manual, 7th edition: As above, this guide includes general formatting guidelines, examples of the most common citations, and links to other resources.
- Style Guides in the UCF Libraries
- University Writing Center Resources
- Resources Page: The University Writing Center resources page contains a wealth of information about citation styles as well as grammar and punctuation assistance, academic writing guidelines, and more.
- Modern Language Association (MLA) Style Center
- MLA Style Center: The MLA Style Center provides a wealth of support for the new 9th edition including an overview of how to format a research paper, practice templates, sample papers, and more.
- American Psychological Association (APA) Style Center
- APA Style Center: Much like the MLA site, the APA also offers online assistance including video tutorials, handouts, and sample papers. Click Style & Grammar Guidelines and Instructional Aids at the top of the page for a full list of free resources.
- Chicago Style Center
- Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide: Chicago is another style that is frequently used in humanities research. Chicago has two types of citation styles: (1) notes and bibliography and (2) author-date. Humanities research more frequently uses the author-date style.
