MLA Citation Style
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is frequently used in arts and humanities disciplines. MLA uses an author-page method of in-text citations. For example, (Steinbeck 250).
MLA uses a style of documentation that is based on a general method that may be applied to every possible source. This is intended to be a flexible method that is universally applicable.
When deciding how to cite your source, refer to the list of core elements (see chart below). These are the general pieces of information that MLA suggests including in each Works Cited entry. In your citation, the elements should be listed in the following order followed by the punctuation mark indicated in the chart.
Works Cited example of a citation from a journal article:
Duvall, John N. "The (Super)Marketplace of Images: Television as Unmediated Mediation in DeLillo's White Noise." Arizona Quarterly, vol. 50, no. 3, 1994, pp. 127-53.
- Purdue OWL - MLA styleThis unofficial but authoritative website introduces you to the Modern Language Association Style for writing and formatting research papers.
The following is a video from Kyle Stedman, an assistant professor of English at Rockford University, that discusses the various changes in MLA style in the new, 8th edition. He talks quickly, so put on the Closed Captioning by clicking the "CC" button on the video when it starts playing.
MLA Style Guide at the University Library of Columbus
MLA Handbook by Call Number: LB2369 .G53 2016ISBN: 9781603292634Publication Date: 2016-04-01The Modern Language Association, the authority on research and writing, takes a fresh look at documenting sources in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook, the official guide to MLA format. Works are published today in a dizzying variety of ways: a novel, for example, may be read in print, online, or as an e-book--or perhaps listened to as an audiobook. Writers of research papers routinely need to know how to cite works on Web sites, videos on platforms like YouTube, interviews and other works created by multiple authors, journal articles contained in databases, online images, posts on social media sites, song lyrics, and more. Instead of providing separate instructions for each format, the MLA's unique, innovative approach recommends one set of guidelines that writers can apply to any type of source. This groundbreaking edition of the MLA's best-selling handbook is short and designed for easy use. It guides writers through the principles behind evaluating sources for their research and thus focuses on the key skills of information and digital literacy. It then shows writers how to cite sources in their writing, offering detailed guidance on in-text citations, quoting and paraphrasing, avoiding plagiarism, and more. Intended for students, teachers, librarians, and advanced scholars, the handbook is an indispensable resource in composition, communication, literature, language arts, film, media studies, digital humanities, and related fields.
