Should college essays be APA or MLA? I'm getting conflicting advice from professors.

[EricaBusk]

I'm a sophomore and I've already had three professors ask for three different formats. One wanted MLA, one wanted APA, one said "any consistent format is fine." I'm so confused about what I'm supposed to use and when.

I thought I had it figured out: humanities use MLA, sciences use APA. But then my history professor (humanities) wanted Chicago style. My psychology professor (science) wanted APA. My literature professor (humanities) wanted MLA. That matches, right? But then my sociology professor wanted APA even though sociology is social science, not hard science. And my philosophy professor said "I don't care as long as it's consistent."

So when people ask "should college essays be APA or MLA?" the real answer seems to be: it depends on your major, your class, and your professor's personal preference. That's not helpful for a freshman trying to figure out what to learn.

Here's what I've figured out after two years of confusion:

MLA (Modern Language Association): Used in humanities — literature, language, cultural studies. Focuses on author and page number because they care about exact sources.

APA (American Psychological Association): Used in social sciences — psychology, sociology, education. Focuses on author and date because they care about currency of research.

Chicago/Turabian: Used in history and some humanities. Uses footnotes/endnotes. Older field, older style.

IEEE/ACS/etc: Used in STEM fields. Varies by discipline. Often focused on citation numbers rather than author names.

"Whatever you want" style: Some professors genuinely don't care as long as you're consistent. These are the best professors.

My advice to new students:

1. Ask your professor what format they prefer
2. If they say "any," pick one and stick to it consistently
3. Learn the basics of MLA and APA at minimum (they're the most common)
4. Use citation software (Zotero, EndNote, etc.) to save your sanity

I wish someone had explained this to me as a freshman. Would have saved so much stress. Anyone else have formatting wisdom to share?

 

[Samantha]

Great post, Erica! One thing that tripped me up was business classes. They sometimes use APA, but also have their own weird in-house styles for case studies. And don't even get me started on nursing students—they have their own version of APA with specific headings. It's like every discipline wants to feel special. My advice? Make friends with the librarians. They are citation wizards and can figure out any format you throw at them. Seriously, best resource on campus.