The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
Encyclopedia
The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (1977; 7th ed., 2009) is a publication of the Modern Language Association of America
, based on The MLA Style Manual
(3rd ed., 2008). According to the MLA, since its first publication in 1985, the MLA Style Manual has been "the standard guide for graduate students, scholars, and professional writers" ("What Is MLA Style?").
Like the MLA Style Manual, the MLA Handbook is an academic
style guide
widely used in the United States
, Canada
, and other countries, providing guidelines for writing and documentation of research in the humanities
, such as English studies
(including the English language
, writing
, and literature
written in English); the study of other modern language
s and literature
s, including comparative literature
; literary criticism
; media studies
; cultural studies
; and related disciplines ("What Is MLA Style?"). Released in March 2009, the seventh edition of the MLA Handbook (like its previous editions) is addressed primarily to secondary-school and undergraduate college and university teachers and students ("What Is MLA Style?"). According to the MLA, "For over half a century, the MLA Handbook is the guide millions of writers have relied on," and "It provides an authoritative presentation of MLA documentation style for use in student writing."
The title changed to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers in 2003 (6th ed.).
s, including the name or names of author(s) and/or short titles (as needed) and numbers of pages (as applicable), are used within the text. These are keyed to and direct readers to a work or works by author(s) or editor(s) and sometimes titles (if the works are anonymous), as they are presented on the list of works cited (in alphabetical order), and the page(s) of the item where the information is located (e.g. (Smith 107) refers the reader to page 107 of the cited work by an author whose surname is Smith). If there are more than one author of the same name and/or more than one title of works by that author or authors being cited, then a first name or initial and/or titles or short titles are also used within the text's parenthetical references to avoid ambiguity. (No "p." or "pp." prefaces the page numbers and main words in titles appear in capital letters, following MLA style guidelines.). However, if the entire paragraph is using only one source, the full citation of the source may be listed at the conclusion of the paragraph. There is no need for a complete bibliography at the end if this method is used. If multiple sources are cited within the paragraph, the full citations must be included in the list of "Works Cited."
To cite a work within an article, paper, or book, one inserts the author's name in a introductory phrase and then within parentheses inserts the page number of the work in which the information appears. For example:
Complete information about the publication by Lopez is listed alphabetically in the "Works Cited."
If the author is not mentioned in an introductory phrase, the author's name, followed by the page number, must appear in parentheses. Example:
When citing an entire work, or one without page numbers (or only one page), one writes only the author's name in parentheses.
If the whole paragraph references only one source, write the full citation on the next line.
The "Works Cited" (bibliography) may contain more than one work by an author. If the text preceding the citation does not specify the title of the work, there is a comma after the author's name followed by a shortened version of the title in question (or the entire title if it is short) and the page number. Such a short title may include the first significant word or words of the title:
with the title italicized for a book or within quotation marks for an essay, a poem, or a speech, as appropriate.
In the "Works Cited" or bibliography, three short dashes (––– if word processed; hyphens [---] when typed) are used when the author or authors' name is the same in subsequent works being listed.
These in-text parenthetical citations guide the reader to the pertinent entries in the attached list of "Works Cited":
[ one] cannot fit into the text should be omitted unless they provide essential justification or clarification of what [ one has] written" (MLA Style Manual 259). "[ One] may use a note, for example, to give full publication facts for an original source for which [ one cites] an indirect source" (MLA Style Manual 259). MLA style "content notes" use the same method of "Parenthetical Documentation and the List of Works Cited," with sources keyed to the list of "Works Cited", discussed in Section 7: "Documentation: Citing Sources in the Text" (MLA Style Manual 240–60).
Modern Language Association
The Modern Language Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature...
, based on The MLA Style Manual
The MLA Style Manual
The MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing is the third edition of The MLA Style Manual, first published by the Modern Language Association of America in 1985...
(3rd ed., 2008). According to the MLA, since its first publication in 1985, the MLA Style Manual has been "the standard guide for graduate students, scholars, and professional writers" ("What Is MLA Style?").
Like the MLA Style Manual, the MLA Handbook is an academic
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
style guide
Style guide
A style guide or style manual is a set of standards for the writing and design of documents, either for general use or for a specific publication, organization or field...
widely used in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and other countries, providing guidelines for writing and documentation of research in the humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
, such as English studies
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
(including the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, writing
Writing
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...
, and literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
written in English); the study of other modern language
Modern language
A modern language is any human language that is currently in use. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication and dead classical languages such as Latin, Attic Greek, Sanskrit, and Classical Chinese, which are studied for...
s and literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
s, including comparative literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
; literary criticism
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
; media studies
Media studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
; cultural studies
Cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
; and related disciplines ("What Is MLA Style?"). Released in March 2009, the seventh edition of the MLA Handbook (like its previous editions) is addressed primarily to secondary-school and undergraduate college and university teachers and students ("What Is MLA Style?"). According to the MLA, "For over half a century, the MLA Handbook is the guide millions of writers have relied on," and "It provides an authoritative presentation of MLA documentation style for use in student writing."
Catalogue description
According to the MLA book catalogue description and other information accessible from its website:Widely adopted by universities, colleges, and secondary schools, the MLA Handbook gives step-by-step advice on every aspect of writing research papers, from selecting a topic to submitting the completed paper. …
The seventh edition is a comprehensive, up-to-date guide to research and writing in the online environment. It provides an authoritative update of MLA documentation style for use in student writing, including simplified guidelines for citing works published on the WebWorld Wide WebThe World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
and new recommendations for citing several kinds of works, such as digital files and graphic narratives.
Every copy of the seventh edition of the MLA Handbook comes with a code for accessing the accompanying Web site (www.mlahandbook.org).
History
The first 5 editions, published between 1977 and 1999 were titled the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (WorldCat).The title changed to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers in 2003 (6th ed.).
Selected bibliography or Works consulted
In addition to "Works Cited", MLA style also provides other possible options for bibliographies, such as more-selective lists headed "Selected Bibliography" or "Works Consulted".In-text citations
In-text citations can vary depending on how many sources were used in the body of text. For example, if multiple sources are used in the paragraph, brief "Author-title" parenthetical citationParenthetical referencing
Parenthetical referencing, also known as Harvard referencing, is a citation style in which partial citations are enclosed within parentheses and embedded in the text, either within or after a sentence, as opposed to the footnote style...
s, including the name or names of author(s) and/or short titles (as needed) and numbers of pages (as applicable), are used within the text. These are keyed to and direct readers to a work or works by author(s) or editor(s) and sometimes titles (if the works are anonymous), as they are presented on the list of works cited (in alphabetical order), and the page(s) of the item where the information is located (e.g. (Smith 107) refers the reader to page 107 of the cited work by an author whose surname is Smith). If there are more than one author of the same name and/or more than one title of works by that author or authors being cited, then a first name or initial and/or titles or short titles are also used within the text's parenthetical references to avoid ambiguity. (No "p." or "pp." prefaces the page numbers and main words in titles appear in capital letters, following MLA style guidelines.). However, if the entire paragraph is using only one source, the full citation of the source may be listed at the conclusion of the paragraph. There is no need for a complete bibliography at the end if this method is used. If multiple sources are cited within the paragraph, the full citations must be included in the list of "Works Cited."
To cite a work within an article, paper, or book, one inserts the author's name in a introductory phrase and then within parentheses inserts the page number of the work in which the information appears. For example:
Complete information about the publication by Lopez is listed alphabetically in the "Works Cited."
If the author is not mentioned in an introductory phrase, the author's name, followed by the page number, must appear in parentheses. Example:
When citing an entire work, or one without page numbers (or only one page), one writes only the author's name in parentheses.
If the whole paragraph references only one source, write the full citation on the next line.
The "Works Cited" (bibliography) may contain more than one work by an author. If the text preceding the citation does not specify the title of the work, there is a comma after the author's name followed by a shortened version of the title in question (or the entire title if it is short) and the page number. Such a short title may include the first significant word or words of the title:
with the title italicized for a book or within quotation marks for an essay, a poem, or a speech, as appropriate.
In the "Works Cited" or bibliography, three short dashes (––– if word processed; hyphens [---] when typed) are used when the author or authors' name is the same in subsequent works being listed.
These in-text parenthetical citations guide the reader to the pertinent entries in the attached list of "Works Cited":
Content notes
In composing "content notes" (formatted as either footnotes or endnotes), one is directed to "avoid lengthy discussions that divert the reader's attention from the primary text" and advised: "In general, comments thatWorks cited
- Achtert, Walter S., and Joseph Gibaldi. The MLA Style Manual. New York: Modern Language AssociationModern Language AssociationThe Modern Language Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature...
(MLA), 1985. Print. - Modern Language Association of America. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New York: MLA, 1977. 7th ed. New York: MLA, 2009. ISBN 1603290249 (10). ISBN 9781603290241 (13). ISBN 1603290257 (10). ISBN 9781603290258 (13). Print.
- –––. MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly PublishingThe MLA Style ManualThe MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing is the third edition of The MLA Style Manual, first published by the Modern Language Association of America in 1985...
. 3rd ed. New York: MLA, 2008. ISBN 9780873522977 [S182C] (cloth). ISBN 9780873522984 (paper). Print. [Also available in a large-print ed.] - "What Is MLA Style?" Modern Language AssociationModern Language AssociationThe Modern Language Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature...
. Modern Language AssociationModern Language AssociationThe Modern Language Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature...
, (last updated) 29 Apr. 2008. WebWorld Wide WebThe World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
. 6 Mar. 2009.
External links
- MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Seventh Edition—dedicated "complementary Web site" (access requires activation code)
- "Frequently Asked Questions about the MLA Handbook"—Official "MLA Handbook FAQs"
- "MLA Formatting and Style Guide"—Purdue UniversityPurdue UniversityPurdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
Department of English guide to MLA Style - Modern Language Association / MLA—Official Website of the Modern Language AssociationModern Language AssociationThe Modern Language Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature...
- MLA Cover Page—Illustrations provided by WordPress