MLA Handbook by The Modern Language Association (MLA) style for writing a research paper is used primarily in the humanities. The MLA Handbook is in paper format only and can be found at the Reference Desk in the library. In the MLA Handbook you will find useful tips on how to correctly format your paper and how to cite the resources you used in your paper. Some example citations of MLA style can be found in the tabs above for various resources. There are also several print and online resources that outline the formatting and citation structure used in MLA style. A few of these resources are listed below.
The MLA Handbook, 8th edition presents a chart or worksheet to create proper MLA formatted citations. The rationale is that all sources will have similar elements regardless of their format. Some sources may not have a particular element (e.g. version), so you can skip to the next element. For instance, a journal article should have an Author, Title of source (Article title), Container (Name of journal), Numbers (Volume and issue) and Location (Page numbers) but adding a publisher is not necessary. Online resources will not have page numbers but should have a url, doi, or permalink to indicate the Location element.
| 1. |
Author. |
| 2. |
Title of source. |
| 3. |
Title of container, |
| 4. |
Other contributors, |
| 5. |
Version, |
| 6. |
Number, |
| 7. |
Publisher, |
| 8. |
Publication date, |
| 9. |
Location. |
