This guide is a quick introduction to the Modern Language Association (MLA) 9th edition citation style. Be sure to consult the MLA handbook or the online MLA Style Center for detailed standards and procedures. If your instructor has requested a different format or additional elements, use your instructor's preferences.
MLA Handbook
by
Relied on by generations of writers, the MLA Handbook is published by the Modern Language Association and is the only official, authorized book on MLA style. The new, ninth edition builds on the MLA's unique approach to documenting sources using a template of core elements--facts, common to most sources, like author, title, and publication date--that allows writers to cite any type of work, from books, e-books, and journal articles in databases to song lyrics, online images, social media posts, dissertations, and more. With this focus on source evaluation as the cornerstone of citation, MLA style promotes the skills of information and digital literacy so crucial today. The many new and updated chapters make this edition the comprehensive, go-to resource for writers of research papers, and anyone citing sources, from business writers, technical writers, and freelance writers and editors to student writers and the teachers and librarians working with them. Intended for a variety of classroom contexts--middle school, high school, and college courses in composition, communication, literature, language arts, film, media studies, digital humanities, and related fields--the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook offers *New chapters on grammar, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, numbers, italics, abbreviations, and principles of inclusive language *Guidelines on setting up research papers in MLA format with updated advice on headings, lists, and title pages for group project *Revised, comprehensive, step-by-step instructions for creating a list of works cited in MLA format that are easier to learn and use than ever before *A new appendix with hundreds of example works-cited-list entries by publication format, including websites, YouTube videos, interviews, and more *Detailed examples of how to find publication information for a variety of sources *Newly revised explanations of in-text citations, including comprehensive advice on how to cite multiple authors of a single work *Detailed guidance on footnotes and endnotes *Instructions on quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, and avoiding plagiarism *A sample essay in MLA format *Annotated bibliography examples *Numbered sections throughout for quick navigation *Advanced tips for professional writers and scholars
At the end of your paper, you will created a Works Cited page which will list each source you used to write your paper. Each entry on the Works Cited page will contain information (core elements) about the source, in a specific order. Typically, you will always include the author and the title of the source first, followed by the source's container if it is part of a larger whole (e.g.: journal article, book chapter, television episode as part of a series, etc.)
The components of a Works Cited entry, in order, are:
Format: Author Last Name, Author First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Container, Number, Publication Date, Location.
Example: Goldman, Anne. "Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante." The Georgia Review, vol. 64, no. 1, spring 2010, pp. 69-88.
Note: You will not include every single element of the container in each citation. The elements included will be based on the source used. You can find examples of different types of citations on the Citations section of this guide.