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MLA Citation Style

New Version: MLA 9th edition

A brand new version of MLA was released in 2021.

The MLA Handbook 9th edition is available online.

We are working on updating this guide. Until it is updated, please check with your professor regarding which style is required for your assignments, and consult the online manual as needed.

Generic Citation

The generic MLA citation is the same regardless of what source you are citing.  It is the core elements in this order with this punctuation no matter whether you are citing print, multimedia or electronic source:

Author. Title of Source. Title of the Container. Other Contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.

Optional elements can be added to citation when they assist the reader to locate the work cited:

Date of Original Publication. City of Publication, Other Facts about the Source. Date of Access.

Constructing a Citation

  • When citing any source in MLA 8th edition, the format does not matter
  • Match the information about the source to the appropriate element of citation
  • Elements missing information are omitted
    • When there is no author or other creator, use title to start the citation
    • Placeholders for unknown information like n.d. (“no date”) are no longer used
    • If missing information can be found from reliable external resource, it is included in square brackets.

Example 1: Chapter in a Book

  • Author. Chiavaroli, Neville  and Constant J. Mews, translators.
  • Title of source. "Ex epistolis duorum amantium (From the letters of two lovers)."
    • Title of container, The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard: Perceptions of Dialogue in Twelfth-Century France,
    • Other contributors, Constant J. Mews,
    • Version,
    • Number,
    • Publisher, Palgrave,
    • Publication date, 2001,
    • Location.  pp. 181-289.

Chiavaroli, Neville  and Constant J. Mews, translators. "Ex epistolis duorum amantium (From the letters of two lovers)." The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard: Perceptions of Dialogue in Twelfth-Century France, Constant J. Mews, Palgrave, 2001, pp. 181-289.

Additional MLA Resources

Additional information on MLA style may be found at these websites:

Need More Help?

For additional assistance with citation styles, consult your professor or the research help service at the Mount Library. 

You can reach the Library by email: library@msvu.ca.  Please note: The Library will help you as much as possible but they may also refer you back to your professor.

MLA Handbook

MLA Handbook 9th edition

The MLA Handbook provides detailed guidelines for using MLA style. This style is common in the humanities (including English).

Copies of the MLA Handbook are available online, at the Reference Desk and in the Reference shelves:
REF LB2369 M52 2021

Citation

Modern Language Association of America. MLA Handbook. Ninth ed., The Modern Language Association of America, 2021.