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Citing Sources: MLA (Modern Language Association)

Purdue Owl

Purdue Online Writing Lab maintains one of the most complete and easy to use citing sources section.  Remember the OWL as you write your paper!  This link takes you to their MLA page.

MLA 8th edition changes

  • If a core element does not exist or cannot be found, simply omit the element from the Works Cited entry. Placeholders including "n.d." for "no date" and "n.p." for "no publisher" are no longer used.
  • For sources with three or more authors, list the first author's name followed by ", et al.".
  • The city of publication for books is no longer included.
  • Journal volumes and issues are now formatted: "vol. 12, no. 3,".
  • If a journal issue includes a publication month or season include that in the publication date, like: "Spring 2016," or "Jan. 2016,".
  • If an organization is both the author and the publisher, list the organization only once as the publisher and begin the citation with the title.
  • Include a DOI (digital object identifier) when available using the format "doi:############." If a DOI is not available, use a stable URL.
  • The URL, without http:// or https://, should be included for Web sources. Angle brackets are no longer used.
  • The source's medium (Print. Web., etc.) is no longer included.
  • In the Works Cited entry, "p." is used before citing a page number and "pp." is used before citing a page range. These are not used in the in-text citation.

Read more about the changes to the new edition in this article from the Modern Language Association.

Straight from MLA

MLA format is generally used for literature, art, and the humanities.