The Modern Language Association (MLA) Citation Format is the preferred citation format for the humanities (literature, philosophy, arts, sometimes history). There are two primary reasons for citing your sources:
1. Citations provide information that readers need to identify and locate the sources you use in your research
2. You must give credit to the people who wrote or created the sources you used in your project. Doing so ensures that you do not commit plagiarism.
The MLA style provides extensive specific guidelines for researching and formatting your paper. This guide shows you the format for creating Works Cited Lists and parenthetical in-text citations.
This guide is valid for both the 8th and 9th editions of the MLA Handbook. Those of you who are familiar with previous editions will notice some changes, such as
This is a guide to some of the more commonly used types of sources. For complete searchable guide to MLA formatting--or for anything that is not included here--consult the MLA Handbook Plus. The print version can be found at the Reference Desk:
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