MLA

About MLA

The MLA citation style uses parenthetical (in-text) citations to identify an alphabetical list of references (Works Cited list) that appears at the end of the paper. The style uses a template of core elements common to most sources, such as author, title and publication date.

• Access to the full style manual

  This guide is based on the MLA Handbook Plus. 9th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2021.

  The handbook is available from the library as an eBook.  Print copies are also available from Baillieu library. Please consult the official manual for more information.

  Handbook references in Re:cite are given for sections of the manual (eg: 5.1, 6.22), rather than page numbers. Section numbers are consistent across print and online formats.

  For further information about the style, see https://www.mla.org/MLA-Style.

  These online resources provide more detailed advice on how to cite in the MLA style:

  • FAQs: "Ask the MLA." MLA Style Center, style.mla.org/category/ask-the-mla.
  • MLA's The Source newsletters: "The Source Archive." MLA Style Center, style.mla.org/the-source-archive.

  MLA's Interactive Practice Template is a tool for learning MLA style, although it is not a citation generator.

• In text citations

  MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citations. The author's surname and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear in your Works Cited list.

  The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses.

  eg. (Hassan 128-9)

  In-text citations are brief, unobtrusive references that direct readers to the Works Cited list entries for the sources you consulted and, where relevant, to the location in the source being cited (6.1).

  Do not precede a page number with p. or pp., as you do in the list of works cited list (6.16).

  An in-text citation begins with the information that directs your reader to the entry in the Works Cited list. The in-text citation begins with whatever comes first in the Works Cited list: the author’s name or the title of the work. The citation can appear in your prose or in parentheses (6.2).

• Works cited list

  The Works Cited list is arranged in alphabetic order by the first element of each entry. This is usually an author surname or, for works listed by title, the first eligible word in the Title of Source element (5.123).

  References in the list of works cited at the end of the paper are to be arranged as follows (1.6):

  • Begin each entry flush with the left margin.

  • For entries that run for more than one line, indent the subsequent line or lines by half an inch from the left margin. This format is sometimes called hanging indentation.

  Entries in the Works Cited list are created using the MLA template of core elements - author, title, and publication date, etc. (fig. 5.1).

  The MLA style uses the concept of “containers”. A container is a work that contains another work. For example, a book is the container for a book chapter, YouTube is the container of a video clip (See 5.31 and fig. 5.2 of the Handbook for further explanation).  Print novels are self-contained.

  There can be more than one container. For further explanation see 5.33 of the Handbook.

  The MLA elements are listed below in the order they should appear in your citations. The highlighted elements below represent the “container” part of the citation.

  

  
  

  Periods are used after the Author element, after the Title of Source element, at the end of each container string, and at the end of each entry. Commas are used mainly between elements within each container and between the surname and the first name when the name in the Author element is inverted (5.120).

  Omit any element that does not apply except Title of Source (5.1).

  Note: an element name is not always literal and can be applied to a range of situations. For example, Publication Date can include an actual date of publication, a date of composition for unpublished material, the date a performance was attended, and other dates relevant to the work you are citing (5.2).

• A note about DOIs and URLs
  • DOIs are more reliable locators than URLs (the web addresses that appear in your browser window), because DOIs remain attached to their sources even if the URLs change.  DOIs are therefore more stable, and often more concise (5.84).

  • In deciding when to include a URL, follow the preferences of your instructor, institution, or publisher (5.84: see also 5.96 for guidance on shortening URLs).

  • An access date for an online work should generally be provided if the work lacks a publication date or if you suspect that the work has been altered or removed (5.111).