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MLA Style (8th/9th Ed.)

Core Elements Format

The MLA 8th ed. does not provide rules for citing specific types of resources.  They provide a universal set of guidelines for any type of material based based on the core elements.  

Encyclopedia or Dictionary Entry (Online) with an Author

FORMAT 

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary, Publication Date or Last Update Date, Name of Website. URL.

EXAMPLE 

Friesen, Gerald. "Assiniboia." The Canadian Encyclopedia, 3 Apr. 2015, Historica Canada. www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/assiniboia/.

In Text: (Friesen)

Encyclopedia or Dictionary Entry (Online) without an Author

FORMAT 

"Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary, Publication Date or Last Update Date, Name of Website. URL. Date Accessed.

EXAMPLE

"Maelstrom." Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2017, Merriam-Webster. www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maelstrom. Accessed 19 Oct. 2016.

In Text: ("Maelstrom")

Encyclopedia or Dictionary Entry (Print) with an Author

FORMAT 

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary, edited by Editor's First Name Editor's Last Name, Edition if not the first edition, vol. #, Publisher, Year of Publication, pp. xx-xx.

EXAMPLE

Lewisohn, Leonard. "Sufism." Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Donald Borchert, 2nd ed., vol. 9, Thomson Gale, 2006, pp. 300-314.

In Text: (Lewisohn, 307)

NOTE Citing an encyclopedia article is similar to citing a chapter in an anthology.

Encyclopedia or Dictionary Entry (Print) without an Author

FORMAT  

"Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia, edited by Editor's First Name Editor's Last Name, Edition if not the first edition, vol. #, Publisher, Year of Publication, pp. xx-xx.

EXAMPLE 

"Mystic." Oxford Concise Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by Elizabeth Knowles, Oxford UP, 2003, p. 349.

In Text: ("Mystic" 349)