APA vs. MLA formats

Papers are written with different audiences in mind, and therefore use different organizing formats to reflect purposes.

MLA, Modern Language Association, is a format used in the humanities to stress authorship. In the citation, the author's first and last names are shown in full. Also, the bibliography page is called Works Cited.

APA, American Psychological Association, on the other hand, is a format used in the sciences to stress the date a work was created...it is date driven. Researchers use APA because they are building on the most recent information possible. The citation will show the author's last name and first initial of their first name, and date. The bibliography page is call References.

Examples for this blog about clearing out my garage and studios:

APA -- Greenberg, M. (2014, January 16). The Psychology of Scarcity. Psychology Today. Retrieved September 1, 2014 from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express /201401/the-psychology-scarcity.

MLA -- Greenberg, Melanie. "The Psychology of Scarcity." Psychology Today. 16 Jan. 2014. Web. 1 Sept. 2014. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express /201401/the-psychology -scarcity>.

Notice how the date moves from a place of prominence in the APA citation version to after the publisher's name in the MLA version.