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Should I Use APA Or MLA In Political Science Paper? Writing Guide | 2021 Guide

APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Languages Association) are both quite similar. While writing a political sciences paper, both of these styles are used, depending upon the kind of paper and nature of reference materials being used. An essay writer can pick either one of the two as it suits the requirements of your paper.

To help you along, here is a list of some comparisons to give you an idea of APA vs. MLA so that you don’t have to know which one to use for your essay or any future papers or essays you may need to write.

First of all, in both the styles, the font remains Times New Roman, the font size is 12, the lines are double-spaced with one margin. All new paragraphs will be indented. However, there are a number of differences between the formatting and citation rules of both styles.

The Title Page…

When it comes to a title page, APA requires one which shows the author’s name, the title of the essay, and the name of the institution with which the author is affiliated. MLA does not include a title page.

The Running Head…

There is a running head in APA that sits at the top left corner of the paper and comprises a short title of the write my paper (maximum fifty characters). MLA style has a running head as well but it rests at the top right corner and has information regarding the author’s last name and the page number.

All About the Headings…

Although the title in both these styles is centralized and not in bold, the level one headings are different. In APA, all level one headings are centralized and in bold whereas they are aligned to the left (also bold) in MLA format. Level two headings in APA are the same as level one headings in MLA. In MLA, level two headings are aligned left and italicized (not in bold).

When it comes to level three headings, MLA has them centralized and bold whereas APA has them bold and aligned left but with an indent. Fourth level headings in APA tend to be indented, bold, and italicized. In MLA, they are centralized and italicized.

Level five headings in APA are the same as level four ones besides the fact that they are not bold. In MLA, level headings are left-aligned and underlined.

Citations and References…

The next difference is in the way that in-text citations are given in both the formats. Where APA gives the last name of the author followed by a year of publication in parenthesis, MLA provides the last name of the author followed by the page number from which the information has been extracted (in parenthesis as well).

As you provide a list of sources at the end, you will include a heading of “references” in APA and “Works Cited” in MLA. The references themselves are different as well. APA chooses to mention the last name followed by initials of the first name before the date of publication. Whereas MLA cites the last name followed by the first name before mentioning the date of publication.

Due to these differences, APA tends to be more focused on the author and year of publication of the source whereas MLA gives you a chance to provide page numbers. You can decide which style you may need based on your sources and the requirements of your paper writing service.

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