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MLL Student Reference Guide: Citation in the APA Format

This guide is a resource for college students of all ages who need support while performing online research

APA format

In High School, you may have become familiar with the MLA format for citing your sources. Most college professors will favor the APA or Chicago Citation style. It may seem intimidating to learn a new format, but it is fairly easy to make the switch

Similarities to MLA

The Papers follow the same format:

  • 1 Inch Margins
  • Size 12 Font
  • Times New Roman
  • References at the end
  • Page numbers at the top
  • Double Spaced

APA Also has a format for in-text citations. Make sure you are favoring paraphrasing over direct quotes and have a citation to back up all of the claims you make and the information you give. As a rule, if it is not something that is commonly understood, it will require a citation 

Citation tip:

Formatting Guide

Differences from MLA

In-text citation format will be different:

For the purposes of this example assume we are citing Joseph Jones from page 131 of a 2016 article.

  • MLA Format: According to Jones, learning makes you smarter (131).
  • APA Format: Jones (2016) states that learning makes you smarter.

*This is a general rule, double-check the APA writing guide for specific instances.

The formatting for block quotations is different. A block quotation is a long direct quote from the text that must be indented 2 tabs over (MLA) or 5 Spaces over (APA).

  • MLA: 4 Lines or longer
  • APA: 40 words or longer

*These should be used sparingly-paraphrasing is MUCH more effective

Citation tip: