MLA and APA Documentation
There are many types of documentation styles; however, the two you will use most consistently in college writing classes are MLA and APA. You might think that it doesn’t matter which one you choose, but it does.
A documentation style dictates how a manuscript is formatted, the way you cite outside sources inside the text (signal phrases and parenthetical citations), the way you cite bibliographic information (Works Cited or References), and the style of writing that you use.
For this course, you will be formatting your papers and your citations using MLA Style.
Modern Language Association (MLA)
The Modern Language Association began in 1883 as a “discussion and advocacy group for the study of literature and modern languages” (“Modern Language Association”). The style was created by this group in 1951 in order to provide scholars in this field with a set of shared writing and citation guidelines. MLA is mostly used in the humanities such as English and modern languages. You will likely also use MLA formatting in history courses.
MLA style is simplified, compared to some of the other styles. MLA does not use cover pages, headings, or footnotes. The manuscript style reflects the types of essays written in the humanities.
Essays and articles in the sciences and social sciences often use distinct sections that do not necessarily transition seamlessly. In a scientific journal article, for instance, one would expect to see an abstract, a summary of the experimental data, and an analysis of the data. There is less expectation to connect those parts with transitional elements, as scientific writing relies on clear headings an labels.
In the humanities, however, academic writing looks more like the essays you will write for this course. Writers addressing audiences in the humanities create arguments that build throughout the essay. In the humanities, writers are expected to use transitional elements to connect parts of the argument and paragraphs seamlessly.
Because academic writing in the humanities places value on written arguments that build throughout the essay, there is no need for headings or subheadings.
For more help with MLA please visit the OWL of Purdue’s MLA Guide.
MLA Format Requirements:
Font:
Your font should be a consistent size throughout the essay. Follow the specific formatting guidelines specified in the assignment.
If no formatting is specified, you should select either Times New Roman 12 pt or the default font for your word processor. In Microsoft Word, the default is Calibri 12pt. For Google Docs, the default font is Arial 11pt.
Do not attempt to use a larger or more creative font. Your essay will look different from the others and stand out for the wrong reasons.
Margins:
Use one-inch margins around the entire page.
Most word processing programs will have a default setting of one-inch margins, but check your settings before writing. Larger margins will make it appear that you’re trying to submit an essay tha