MLA Handbook
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Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
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| Template | Example | |
| Parenthetical Citation | (Artist Last Name/ Band name, Year). | (Coldplay & BTS, 2021). |
| Narrative Citation | Artist Last Name/ Band name (Year) | Coldplay & BTS (2021) collaborated on this song. |
| Full Citation- single song on an album | Artist Last Name/Band name. (Year). Title [Type of work]. On Album. Music label.* | Coldplay & BTS. (2021). My universe [Song]. On Music of the spheres. Parlophone; Atlantic. |
| Full Citation- recording of classical music by another artist | Composer Last Name, Composer Initials (Year of Recording). Title [Song recorded by Recording Artist]. On Album title. (Original work published Original Date) | Bach, J.S. (2005). Jesu, joy of man's desiring [Song recorded by Yo-Yo Ma]. On The essential Yo-Yo Ma. (Original work published 1716) |
*Multiple music labels score be separated by a semicolon.
| Template | Example | |
| Parenthetical Citation | (Composer Last Name, Year) | Villa-Lobos (1948) wrote a composition that adapted baroque music into a Brazilian context. |
| Narrative Citation | Composer Last Name (Year) | (Villa-Lobos, 1948). |
| Full Citation- Physical Score |
Composer Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of score [Type of score]*. Publisher. |
Villa-Lobos, H. (1948). Bachianas brasileiras no. 1 for orchestra of violoncelli [Musical score]. Associated Music Publishers. |
| Full Citation- Republished | Composer Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of score [Type of score]. Publisher (Original work published Date). | Mendelssohn, F. (1976). Octet for strings : op. 20 [Musical score]. Library of Congress (Original work published 1836). |
*Type of score could include: Musical score, Vocal score, Piano score, Study score.
| APA | MLA | |
|---|---|---|
| In-text citations | (Tisby, 2019) or (Tisby, 2019, pg. 57) | (Tisby 57) |
| Reference page title | References | Works Cited |
| Subjects used for | Sciences | Languages & Literature |
| Author names in references | Tisby, J. | Tisby, Jemar |
| Capitalization of titles | The color of compromise: The truth about the American Church’s complicity in racism (sentence case) | The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism (title case) |
| Reference format | Acu, A. (2016). Time to work for a living: The Marvel Cinematic Universe and the organized superhero. Journal of Popular Film & Television, 44(4), 195–205. https://doi.org/10.1080/01956051.2016.1174666 | Acu, Adrian. “Time to Work for a Living: The Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Organized Superhero.” Journal of Popular Film & Television, vol. 44, no. 4, Oct. 2016, pp. 195–205. EBSCOhost, doi.org/10.1080/01956051.2016.1174666 |
The American Psychology Association (APA) citation style is most commonly used in disciplines such as social sciences, business, nursing, and education.
| In-Text Citation for Direct Quotes | In-Text Citation for Information | Works Cited Page | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journal Article | (Yodovich, 2021, p. 872) | (Yodovich, 2021) |
Yodovich, N. (2021). Defining conditional belonging: The case of female science fiction fans. Sociology, 55(5), 871–887. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038520949848 |
| Journal Article with Multiple Authors | (Fulkerson et al., 2006, p. 530) | (Fulkerson et al., 2006) |
Fulkerson, J. A., Neumark-Sztainer, D., & Story, M. (2006). Adolescent and parent views of family meals. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 106(4), 526–532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2006.01.006 |
| Book | (Golding, 2019, p. 20) | (Golding, 2019) |
Golding, D. (2019). Star wars after Lucas: A critical guide to the future of the galaxy. University of Minnesota Press. |
| AI | (OpenAI, 2023) | (OpenAI, 2023) | OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat |
*If you introduce the author(s) in the text, you don't need a full in-text citation, just the year in parenthesis after the author. For example, you could say, "Fulkerson et al. (2006) found that as a child ages, the frequency of family meals decreases."
Always check with your professor and syllabus for specific information on how you should use and cite AI-generated sources.
APA Style Simplified
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Gordon College is New England’s top Christian college, located on the North Shore of Boston in Wenham, MA.
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