Welcome to the MLA 8 Research Guide!
Modern Language Association (MLA) Style is commonly used in Humanities courses, such as English, for citing references in papers.
There are 2 parts to documentation in MLA Style:
Things to note about Core Elements of the Works Cited:
The general format for the Author element:
Last Name, First Name, Middle Initial.
Example:
Potter, Harry, J.
*The general format for a source with two authors: Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name.
Potter, Harry J., and Ronald Weasley.
*The general format for a source with three or more authors: Last Name, First Name Initial., et al.
Potter, Harry J., et. al
The Author element can be:
| author | editor | translator | creator | performer |
| director | illustrator | organization | corporate author | pseudonym |
The general format for the Title of source element:
Example:
Concussion.
or
"Spring, Mountain, Sea." contained in The Secrets of a Fire King.
The Title of source element can be:
| book | article | collection | essay | story |
| poem | play | television series | television episode | website |
| song | description | tweet | email subject |
The general format for the Title of container element:
Title: Subtitle,
Example:
The Secrets of a Fire King, containing "Spring, Mountain, Sea."
or
Academic Search Complete, containing AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, containing "It's in Our Blood."
The Title of container element can be:
| book | collection | journal | magazine | newspaper |
| periodical | play | television series | website | comic book series |
| digital database | streaming media provider | online network | digital platform |
The general format for the Other contributors element:
contributed by First Name Last Name,
Example:
edited by John W. Chalmers, et al.,
or
Created by I. Marlene King,
The Other contributors element can be:
| editors | translators | creators | adaptors | illustrators |
| narrators | performers | directors |
The general format for the Version element:
xxth Canadian ed., (ed.=edition)
Example:
2nd ed.,
or
version 1.2.1,
The Version element can be:
| edition | version | other notation |
The general format for the Number element:
vol. xx, no. xx, (vol.=volume; no.=number)
Example:
vol. 11, no. 2,
or
season 4, episode 9,
The Number element can be:
| volume | issue number | season | episode | division number |
The general format for the Publisher element:
Producer of Source, (city of publication is omitted unless it is pre-1900)
Example:
Oxford UP, (UP=University Press)
or
Quat'sous Films / Wild Bunch,
The Publisher element can be:
| publisher | producer | distributor | organization | institution |
| blog network | division of company |
The general format for the Publication date element:
xx Mon. YEAR, xx:xx a.m./p.m.,
Example:
19 May 2016, 1:55 p.m.,
or
May-Jun. 2016,
The Publication date element can be:
| year | month/year | day/month/year | day/month/year, time |
The general format for the Location element:
pp. xxx-xxx. or www.xxxx. or doi:xx.xxxx. or place.
Example:
pp. 29-30.
or
youtu.be/upsZZ2s3xv8. (URL/web address without http://)
or
Chateau Lacombe Hotel, Edmonton. (live presentation or a physical object seen in person)
The Location element can be:
| page number | range of page numbers | URL | DOI | disc number |
| place and city | city | archive number | venue and city |
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