Citation Styles: MLA - Modern Language Association

This is the place to go for questions on MLA 9th Ed! Also included in the MLA Handbook Plus is an instructional course called MLA Style 101. More courses will be added over time!

Some library databases provide citations that you can copy and paste into your works cited list. Check your pasted citations carefully to make sure they follow MLA 9th Edition, as there was a recent change. For some sources, you will need to create your citations by hand or use a citation generator. Please be careful, as citation generators are not always correct. Double check your citations in the MLA Style Handbook, 9th Ed.

USC Upstate Library - Citation Documentation Philosophy

The USC Upstate Library supports student learning and information literacy.  Therefore, the library offers tools and resources for students to create their own citations and make informed decisions about citation styles.  The experience of creating citations offers students the opportunity to learn about the parts and elements of citations.  The process of creating citations strengthens both decision making and critical thinking skills.  The familiarity of citation principles is imperative when the accuracy of a citation comes into question. The library offers many print and online citation style resources.  The library encourages students to consult these resources to create their own citations basing them on established guidelines. 

While the format for citations has not changed in the MLA Handbook, 9th edition, there have been some updates to the content of the Handbook itself. Below is a quick guide to some of the newest features of the Handbook and where to find that information:

• Guidance on each of the MLA Core Elements (author, title of source, title of container, other contributors, version, number, publisher, publication date, and location), with examples of what the element is, where to find it, and how to cite it.
  • Information on Author: pp. 107-120
  • Information on Title of Source: pp. 121-133
  • Information on Title of Container: pp. 134-145
  • Information on Other Contributors: pp. 145-153
  • Information on Version: pp. 154-157
  • Information on Number: pp. 158-164
  • Information on Publisher: pp. 164-172
  • Information on Publication Date: pp. 173-186
  • Information on Location: pp. 187-197
• An updated appendix with hundreds of examples for citations, such as books, scholarly articles, audiovisual sources, reports, and more (pp.303-346).
• Updated guidelines on in-text citations. Please note that the formatting for in-text citations has not changed, but the 9th edition provides guidance for more nuanced in-text citations, such as citations for two authors with the same last name, how to cite using a time stamp, and more (pp. 227-286). 
• Updated guidelines for students about why citations matter and how to avoid plagiarism in writing (pp. 95-102).
• Recommendations for how to include inclusive language in writing (pp. 89-94).
• Guidelines on how to format a paper in MLA format (pp. 1-14). Please note that the formatting has not changed, but the 8th edition of the MLA Handbook did not include this information.
• Guidelines on spelling, punctuation, and grammar in MLA format (pp. 15-87).
• Guidelines on using notes in MLA style (pp. 287-291).