The Modern Language Association (MLA) referencing technique is widely used in academic disciplines. Basically, many students use this writing style to organize their academic papers. In turn, its unique features are beneficial to readers. Also, people need to know how MLA format paper looks like to understand the writing style. Hence, the MLA format is superior to other documentation systems because it achieves a balance between readability and the accuracy of evidence documentation.
MLA In-Text Citations and APA Style
The MLA in-text citation satisfies the needs of the target audience. In particular, people use the MLA documentation technique in humanities. It is because research in those disciplines focuses on the influence of an author’s work or opinion on other works. Besides, scholarly writing using the MLA citation is ideal in cases where the idea or opinion is more important than the publication date. In turn, the American Psychological Association (APA) style emphasizes the publication date of the source. It suggests that the intended audience has an interest in the chronology to establish a definitive timeline for the evolution of research on a topic. Hence, the design of the APA citation may not be useful for scholarly essays. Thus, the nature of a paper’s content is a critical factor. Also, it may undermine or improve the argument of the MLA format paper.
The Comparison of the MLA Format Paper with Chicago/Turabian and APA styles
The Chicago style, Turabian referencing, and APA format interfere with the prose of an essay to a large extent. For instance, the use of footnotes may appear to eliminate parenthetical citation. However, it causes more distraction by forcing the reader to refer to the footnotes. Also, the text of a Chicago/Turabian styled paper lacks any distractive textual content. In turn, the APA in-text citations are often longer because the guidelines allow an author to provide up to five surnames within the text. Moreover, most scholarly articles are collaborative works. It implies that there may be multiple lengthy citations in an essay. On the other hand, MLA guidelines limit the number of names in a parenthetical citation to two. In the MLA format paper, the length of in-text citations is somewhat fixed and more convenient for the text’s prose. Hence, the MLA format citation favor readability.
Other Features of the MLA Format
MLA parenthetical citations provide a specific location more readily than the APA style. For example, the APA citation format does not explicitly state that all in-text citation should contain a page number or any other locators. In this case, the flexibility on the need for locators makes it difficult for readers to identify the exact location of a borrowed idea because authors only provide a name and year. Conversely, the MLA format in text citation makes it more convenient for the reader to determine the location of a source because it uses the author-page format. Besides, page numbers are relevant to readers because they guide them in finding the position of pieces of information in large sources. In turn, the locators are readily provided when the author-page format is practiced.
Conclusion on the MLA Format Paper
The MLA format paper is more attractive to readers because it prioritizes readability while providing an accurate citation technique. Specifically, the short in-text citations improve readability. In this case, locators aid the documentation of evidence. Hence, the MLA format paper is a better documentation style. In turn, the nature of the content must be considered to follow the MLA format template and MLA example, covering the rules for the MLA textbook citation.