MLA Style
MLA 9 (Modern Language Association)
When you use someone else's words or original ideas in a paper, you must give that person credit for his or her work. This is done either by parenthetical references within the body of your paper or by footnotes. At the end of your paper you provide a "Works Cited" list of all the books, journal articles, websites and other information resources that you used in your research.
Core Elements
Each entry in the list of works cited is composed of facts common to most works: the MLA core elements. They are assembled in a specific order:
1. Author.
2. Title of source.
3. Title of container,*
4. Other contributors,
5. Version,
6. Number,
7. Publisher,
8. Publication Date,
9. Location.
Optional Elements
date of original publication;
city of publication;
unexpected type of work (transcript, lecture, address etc.);
date of access
*Containers
The concept of containers is crucial to MLA style. When the source being documented forms part of a larger whole, the larger whole can be thought of as a container that holds the source.
For example, a short story may be contained in an anthology. The short story is the source, and the anthology is the container.
Sample Citation
Online Database
"Friedrich Engels." Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998. Biography in Context,
link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1631002042/BIC1?u=lcpsh&xid=e0e5ea11.
Accessed 23 May 2017.
In-Text Citations
In-Text Citations are brief references that direct readers to the works-cited-list entries for the sources you consulted and (where relevant) the location within the source.
In-Text Citations contain the following:
The author's name of the work. When no author exists use a shortened title of the work.
The page number, line number, or other indicator of the place in the work where the information can be found.
The citation can appear in your prose or in parentheses (Modern Language Association 227).
Additional Resources
MLA Works Cited: A Quick Guide
MLA Style - OWL Purdue - Purdue University
Evaluating Sources - (PDF on right) from Santa Barbara City College this checklist utilizes the P.R.O.V.E.N. method for evaluating sources for Purpose, Relevance, Objectivity, Verifiability, Expertise, Newness.
Know_More_Now_Guide_-_PROVEN_Source_Evaluation_Process.pdfCitation Generators
Remember, always double check any computer generated citations for formatting, capitalization, and punctuation errors.
