Demonstrate Your Knowledge of APA, Essay Example

The most important part of APA format is its cover page. As evaluation of the paper begins with title page, the reader may think that author lacks writing skills if some formatting mistakes are found. This can somehow affect credibility of the paper.

The most difficult part of APA format, as well as of MLA or Chicago styles, is reference page. One should perfectly know requirements for this style to cite sources properly. Unlike in-text citations, which consist of the last name of an author and the year periodical was published, reference list contain a lot more information. For instance, person needs to know what data should be put first. Improper sequence of the author’s name, title of the book, year of publication will result in formatting mistakes. Secondly, the use of brackets, full stops and commas is also essential.

Though MLA and APA styles are often considered to be similar, a lot of differences between them can be found. For instance, when using APA style writer includes running head, header with the short title on the cover of the paper. In MLA style these features are missing. Secondly, in-text citations in APA include the name of the author and the date of publication, while in MLA style they include the name of the writer and the page, where quote can be found. The primary difference between these styles lies in reference page. In MLA style writer includes last name of the author of the narrative, title of the book, publisher’s name, and the year of publication. In APA style person puts last name of the author, year of publication, title of the book, and publisher name. The sequence of data indicates the most visible difference of these citation styles.