MLA vs APA Title Case: What Is the Difference? | TitleCasePro
MLA and APA title case are nearly identical: both lowercase all prepositions. The real difference is in reference lists. See the full comparison and examples.
Quick answer: MLA and APA title case are almost identical — both capitalize major words and lowercase all prepositions regardless of length. The real differences appear in reference-list formatting and a few edge cases, not in the basic title case rules.
MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association) are the two dominant academic style guides, and students often need to switch between them. The good news: their title case rules are nearly the same.
The Core Rule They Share
Both MLA and APA use the same fundamental approach to prepositions:
Shared rule: Both MLA and APA lowercase all prepositions regardless of length. About, between, through, and without all stay lowercase in both styles — unlike Chicago and AP, which capitalize longer prepositions.
This means that for the vast majority of titles, MLA and APA produce identical output.
Side-by-Side Examples
| Title | MLA | APA |
|---|---|---|
| Writing about the World | Writing about the World | Writing about the World |
| Learning through Practice | Learning through Practice | Learning through Practice |
| The Effects of Sleep on Memory | The Effects of Sleep on Memory | The Effects of Sleep on Memory |
In all three cases, the title case output is the same.
Where MLA and APA Actually Differ
The differences are not in basic title case — they are in how each style handles titles in different contexts.
| Aspect | MLA | APA |
|---|---|---|
| Paper title | Title case | Title case |
| Headings in the paper | Title case | Title case (Levels 1–2) |
| Titles in Works Cited / References | Title case | Sentence case |
| Journal names in references | Title case | Title case |
⚠️ The biggest practical difference: In MLA, article and book titles in the Works Cited list use title case. In APA, those same titles in the reference list use sentence case (only the first word and proper nouns capitalized).
MLA Works Cited: Jones, Anne. “Writing about Violence in Modern Literature.” Journal of Literary Studies, 2024.
APA References: Jones, A. (2024). Writing about violence in modern literature. Journal of Literary Studies.
Notice the article title is title case in MLA but sentence case in APA.
Quick Comparison Table
| Rule | MLA | APA |
|---|---|---|
| First and last word | Capitalize | Capitalize |
| Major words (nouns, verbs, etc.) | Capitalize | Capitalize |
| All prepositions | lowercase | lowercase |
| Articles (a, an, the) | lowercase | lowercase |
| Coordinating conjunctions | lowercase | lowercase |
| Infinitive to | lowercase | lowercase |
| First word after colon | Capitalize | Capitalize |
| Reference-list titles | Title case | Sentence case |
Which Should You Use?
- Use MLA for literature, languages, cultural studies, and most English / humanities courses.
- Use APA for psychology, education, nursing, business, and the social sciences.
For title case purposes, if you format a title correctly in one, it is almost always correct in the other. The difference only matters when you reach your bibliography.
Try Both on Your Title
Use the compare tool to see your title in MLA, APA, and all other styles at once. Or use the dedicated capitalizers:
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