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MLA: MLA

MLA 8 Guiding Principles

The MLA Handbook 8th Edition provides a "universal set of guidelines" for citing sources across all format types. 

These guidelines indicate that these nine major elements should be provided within the citation, whenever possible.

1. Author.
2. Title of Source.
3. Type of container,
4. Other contributors,
5. Version,
6. Number,
7. Publisher,
8. Publication date,
9. Location.

Please note: In this context, a container refers to the larger whole of what you are citing. A container might be an anthology, a periodical, a Web site, a TV program, a database, an online archive, etc.

Works Cited Format Examples

Book,
Single Author
Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. Love in the Time of Cholera. Vintage, 1988.
Book,
Two Authors
Casell, Kay Ann and Uma Hiremath. Reference and Information Services
in the 21st Century: An Introduction
. Neal-Schuman, 2004.
Book,
Three or More Authors
Robbins, Chandler S., et al. Birds of North America: A Guide to Field
Identification
. Golden, 1966.
A Work (e.g., essay, short story)
in an anthology or compilation
Kimball, Jean. "Growing Up Together: Joyce and Psychoanalysis, 1900-1922."
Joyce through the Ages: A Nonlinear View, edited by Michael Patrick Gillespie,
UP of Florida, 1999, pp. 25-45.
Book,
with Translator or other Contributors
 
Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Robert Fagles, Viking, 1996.
Article,
Print Journal
Hannah, Daniel K. "The Private Life, the Public Stage: Henry James in
Recent Fiction." Journal of Modern Literature, vol.30, no.3, 2007, pp. 70-94.
Article,
Online Library Database
Hannah, Daniel K. "The Private Life, the Public Stage: Henry James in Recent
Fiction." Journal of Modern Literature, vol.30, no.3, 2007, pp. 70-94. JSTOR,
jstor.org.ezproxy.lib.uwf.edu/stable/30053134.
Article,
Web Page
"Depression." mayo Clinic, 7 July 2014,
mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/basics/
definition/con-20032977.
Website,
Whole Site
The Purdue Owl Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at
Purdue and Purdue U, 2008, 
owl.english.purdue.edu/owl.
Video RotoBaller. "RotoBaller MLB: Top Fantasy Baseball Catcher
Dynasty League Prospects for 2016." YouTube, commentary
by Raphael Rabe,21 Mar. 2016,
youtu.be/gk645_7TA6c.
Personal Interview Smith, Jane. Personal interview. 19 May 2014.

NOTE: When formatting your works cited page, make sure your citations are double spaced with a hanging indent.

MLA Handbook 8th Edition

Examples in this guide are based on:


MLA Handbook. 8th edition.
New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2016.
 

Additional MLA Resources

Writing Assistance

Wilmer Writing Center