APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association) are two very common types of citation formatting used in higher education.  There are others, as well, but we’ll be talking specifically about APA and MLA this quarter.

APA is typically used for science courses, including nursing.  MLA, on the other hand, is the usual style for humanities and social science courses.  You’ll probably be asked to use both of them during your time in college, so I want you to be prepared to handle each of them when need be.

First, visit the APA and MLA Citation Game Home Page by the University of Washington’s TRIO Training program.

Then, complete the writing task below.

Assignment Requirements

For this assignment, I’d like you to write a 2-paragraph (3+ sentences per paragraph) commentary on your familiarity with APA and MLA right now.

• In the first paragraph, describe your reaction to the citation work you’ve done so far in your academic life.  Which style have you used more often so far?  Which style seems more natural to you?  Which style is more likely to be the one used in your degree program?
• In the second paragraph, discuss the mechanics of APA and MLA citation as you understand them right now.  Did the questions in this game make sense to you?  Do you have questions about why things are formatted in citations the way they are?  Do you have comments about what information needs to be included in a citation, and why that information is necessary?

Extra Credit Opportunity

While the overall quiz is pretty accurate, it does contain a few minor mistakes in the way it lists authors and dates.  You can earn 1 extra credit point for each inaccuracy you find, up to 5 points maximum.

For each extra point, you must tell me

• which page of the quiz the error is on
• what specifically is wrong
• what the correct format should be instead