Making a Right Essay Format
Each paper is organized in a certain essay format such as APA or MLA. The former is mostly applied to essays prepared in sciences. The latter is used for producing pieces of writing in humanities.
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In case you have any problems with these two essay formats, consider the following instructions. These styles have a lot in common, but they still differ from each other.
Formatting
When writing papers in APA essay format as well as in MLA, we use double spacing, Times New Roman 12 font, and 1inch margins on all sides. The work formatted in APA comprises a title page, abstract, body, and reference list. The abstract is about 150-250 words and gives a brief summary of the major points of the project. It also includes a topic, discussed items, research methods, analysis, and conclusion. The abstract is written in one double-spaced paragraph.
A work formatted in MLA does not necessarily include a title page. It consists of the body and a works cited page.
Title Page
Writing projects formatted in APA have a running head at the top of each page. Page numbers are inserted flush right and the title of the work – flush left. The title page contains the title of the paper, writer’s name, and your institution.
An MLA essay format paper has the following peculiarities:
- A title is on the first page double-spaced from the essay.
- The author’s name, your professor’s name, the course, and the date are put on the first page in the upper left corner.
- Other pages should contain a header in the right upper corner including the number of each page and the author’s last name.
In-Text Citations
Citing quotations in the MLA academic essay format differs from that in APA. The first one uses the author-page style, the second follows the author-date method. In MLA, the author's last name and the page numbers appear in parentheses. In APA, the writer’s last name and the publication year go after the text you are making reference to.
References
In the APA style, a reference list goes on a separate page, called “References”. In another essay format, i.e. MLA, this page is entitled “Works Cited”. Both present all the used sources. They are put in alphabetical order according to the last name of the author. When writing a paper in APA, two publications of the same author have to be listed in chronological order starting from the earlier published work. In MLA, sources are organized according to the title of the entry. After the first item, three hyphens are placed instead of the author’s name. Besides, the first line of paragraphs has to be indented five spaces from other lines. In APA, after the first line, the source is indented one-half inch from the margin.