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Writing Intensive Courses

All writing intensive courses have learning outcomes related to research. This page provides research guidance for students enrolled in writing-intensive courses.

What is a "Style Guide?"

MLA stands for Modern Language Association, the organization that developed and updates this style guide.

APA stands for American Psychological Association, the organization that developed and updates this style guide.

Each of these resources provides extensive guidance beyond how to format a citation. This guidance includes things like

  • How a paper is structured, for example do you use headings or not? If you do, are they bold? Are they centered?
  • How a writer should deal with bias in language or in historical texts
  • Small details like do you write the number ten as a numeral (10) or a word (ten); do you capitalize all the nouns in a title or just the first one?
  • Soooo much more....

Why are APA & MLA different? What are the differences?

Which style should I use?

Always check with your professor and/or the assignment description to see which style you should use, but here is some general information.

MLA APA

MLA style is most commonly used in Humanities (English, history, philosophy) art, and language courses.

APA style is most commonly used in social sciences (psychology, sociology), health sciences, and education courses.

In-Text Citations

also known as parenthetical citations

MLA APA

An in-text citation in MLA format includes the author's last name and page number (if available).

Why doesn't MLA style include the date? In the humanities, it is less important when something was published, however the date is always included in the citation in your references.

Example: (Martinez 142).

If your source doesn't include an author, which is common for websites, include a shortened version of the source title. 

Example: ("The Gifts of the Seven Grandfathers")

An in-text citation in APA format includes the author's name, the publication year, and the page number (if available).

Why does APA include the date? Because in science and social science when something is published is very important.

Example: (Kowalski, 2021, p. 76).

If your source doesn't include an author, which is common for websites, include a shortened version of the source title and the date it was published or last updated.

Example: (Four sacred medicines, 2012).

More information about when to use in-text citations and formatting is below.

Bibliography / Works Cited / References

MLA and APA style guidelines for your bibliography have some important differences. A few of the big differences are included below.

MLA APA
MLA calls this page "Works Cited." APA calls this page "References."

In MLA Style, the words in titles are capitalized with the exception of words like a, an, the. This is called title casing. 

All sources are listed alphabetically by author's last name.

In APA style, journal titles, magazine titles and newspaper titles are capitalized like MLA style with title casing; all other sources use sentence casing which means only the first letter of the first word is capitalized.

All sources are listed alphabetically by author's last name.

I have more questions

For more detailed information, consult additional resources on this page or talk to a librarian. For example:

  • How to format a citation using hanging indent
  • What if there are multiple authors?
  • Should I use page numbers?

When to use In-Text Citations

What should be documented?
Your essay or paper needs to have evidence, or support, or proof of the points you are making. The main evidence you use in a literature essay comes in the form of ideas or words from the text you are analyzing. Below is a list of the situations where you should acknowledge the sources of information you use.

A) Quoting: You use an author's exact words.

Walker states that "womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender," but does not stop at defining herself as a feminist (173).

B) PARAPHRASING: if you use your own words, but you use another author's ideas.
The aristocratic heroic and kinship values of Germanic society continued to inspire both clergy and laity during Christian times (Smith 323).

C) SUMMARIZING: if you summarize one or more points in another author's writing.
The Renaissance was seen as a time of upheaval of traditional art forms and societal values, paving the way for a more enlightened and broad view of the foreign world (Rahemtulla 988).

D) STATISTICS OR FACTS: if you use a fact or a statistic that is not common knowledge.
The Dutch Crown’s overseas territories were vastly increased in 1667 (Charland 301).

Klassen, C., J. Robinson and  M. Stainsby. "In Text Citation Using MLA Style." Douglas College. Douglas College. 2012. Web.  22 July 2015.

MLA in-text Citations

For print sources (books and articles)

These guidelines apply to articles in PDF form found online or through databases, and ebooks in PDF format (that include page numbers)

  •  the author's last name
  • the page number (if available)

Examples

The following examples refer to this citation which would appear in a works cited list at the end of the paper:

Villar, Camille Francesca. “The Modern-Day ‘Rest Cure’: ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ and Underrepresentation in Clinical Research.” Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine : PEHM, vol. 19, no. 1, 8, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1186/s13010-024-00158-8.

Book / journal in-text citation-parenthetical style (direct quote)

The doctor has complete authority over her treatment and "neglects— his patient’s perspective on how the Rest Cure handicaps her sense of self. (Villar 4).

Book / journal in-text citation-narrative style (paraphrase)

Villar claims that the doctor in The Yellow Wallpaper inadequately cares for his patient. (4).

The author's name is omitted in the parenthetical because she was introduced in the narrative of the paper. The reader can find her name in the list of works cited for the full information about the article. The page number is indicated here in order to locate the quote.

For websites or media sources.

The following examples refer to these citations for a film and website that would appear in full at the end of a paper:

Film

  • “Classical Greek Philosophy.” Films for the Humanities & Sciences, Ancient and Medieval History, 2004. Ancient and Medieval History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=0&itemid=WE49&vid=8255.

Website

  • “The Canadian Shield.” Geoscience.Blog, 22 Jul. 2025, https://geoscience.blog/the-canadian-shield/.

Use the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (for example: author name, article name, website name, film name).

Film in-text citation example (quote)

While most people can agree that Western philosophy originated in Greece, more specifically, it "can be traced to the seaport town of Miletus, on the western coast of Ionia in Asia Minor" ("Classical Greek Philosophy")

Website in-text citation example (paraphrase)

The age of the rocks in the Canadian Shield are between 2.5 and 4.2 billion years old ("The Canadian Shield").

APA In-Text Citations

For print sources (books and articles)

These guidelines apply to articles in PDF form found online or through databases, and ebooks in PDF format (that include page numbers)

  •  the author's last name
  • the page number (if available)

Examples

The following examples refer to this citation which would appear in a works cited list at the end of the paper:

Tsai, M. V., Kuper, L. E., & Lau, M. (2024). Transgender Youth Readiness for Health Care Transition: A Survey of Youth, Parents, and Providers. Transgender Health, 9(1), 53–60. https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2022.0032

Book / journal in-text citation-parenthetical style (direct quote)

 "Youth rated themselves as more competent in several skills related to gender-affirming hormone therapy and communication than parents or providers" (Tsai et al 2024, p.8).

Book / journal in-text citation-narrative style (paraphrase)

Tsai et al. (2024) argue that transgender youth have a better understanding of therapy options than their parents (p.8).

The author's name is omitted in the parenthetical because the author was introduced in the narrative of the paper. 

For websites or media sources.

The following examples refer to these citations for a film and website that would appear in full at the end of a paper:

Film

  • Burke, M. (Director). (2005). Spirit doctors [Streaming]. https://www.nfb.ca/film/spirit_doctors/

Website

  • Four Sacred Medicines -‘Muskiiki.’ (2012). Turtle Mountain Chippewa Heritage Center. http://www.chippewaheritage.com/heritage-blog2/four-sacred-medicines-muskiiki

Use the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (for example: author name, article name, website name, film name).

Film in-text citation example (paraphrase)

Dr. Mary Louie picks up rock moss and describes how it can be used on sores that have not healed (Burke, 2025).

Website in-text citation example (quote)

Tobacco is in important plant in this culture and is described as "the first plant that the Creator gave to the Anishinabe people" ("Four sacred medicines," 2012).