MLA Style (8th/9th Ed.)

Remember,  the MLA 8th Edition does not provide rules for citing specific types of resources. The guidelines for citing any type of material or online resource are based on use of the core elements. 

If you are uncertain about how to cite a resource after reviewing this guide, please check with your instructor.

If your source is quoting another source, known as an indirect source, do your best to find the original source. If you cannot find the original see this example. 

Major Changes:

Abbreviations

• n.d. for no date and n.p. for no publisher are no longer used
• Common terms in the works-cited list like editor, translator and review of are no longer abbreviated, use "editor" - "translator" etc. 
• Abbreviate a title for in-text citations if it is longer than a few words. If it starts with a noun phrase shorten it to only the noun phrase. Start in-text citation with the word used to alphabetize it in the works cited list. (pp.117 -118)
• The eight edition provides a list of recommended common academic abbreviations (pp. 96-97)

Authors

• When a source has three or more authors, use et al. after the first author.  Previously this was done when a source had four or more authors. (p. 22)

Books and Other Printed Works

• In the works cited list, page numbers are preceded by p. or pp. Previously just the page numbers were given. (p. 46)
• The place of publication is no longer given for books except books published before 1900.
• Provide the publisher's full name.  Omit business words such as Company (Co.), Corporation (Corp.), Incorporated (Inc.) and Limited (Ltd.). 
• Replace University Press with UP. (p. 97)

Journals

• Volume and Issue numbers of scholarly journals are now labeled as vol. and no. e.g. for 73.6 you would now use vol. 73, no. 6 (pp. 39-40.)
• If an article appears on non-consecutive pages use the first page number and a plus sign: p.50+.
•  Rather than the URL cite the DOI (digital object identifier) if one is available (preceded by doi:). (p. 110)
• Include the A, An, or The if the journal title (name) begins with A, An, or The. 

Online Works

• The URL is now given for a web sources.  Omit the http:// or https://.  Angle brackets are no longer used around it. (pp. 48, 110)
• Date accessed for online resources is no longer needed. (p. 53)

Miscellaneous

• More than one publisher? Use a forward slash to separate them in the citation.
• For works in a language not written in the Latin alphabet, writers must choose between giving titles and quotations in romanization or in the language’s writing system (pp. 74, 91).
• Two forward slashes (//) mark stanza breaks in run-in quotations of verse (p. 78).
• If a block quotation of prose contains internal paragraphing, the first line of the quotation now begins without a paragraph indention even if one is present in the source (p. 77).