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MLA Citation Style

The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is widely used in the humanities, especially in the fields of language and literature. The current version is MLA 9th edition.

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MLA 9th Edition Format

MLA style requires specific formatting for in-text citations and works cited lists. Here's how to format different types of sources in MLA style:

Journal Article

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Journal Name, vol. Volume, no. Issue, Year, pp. Page range, DOI or URL.

Example: Smith, John D. "Effects of Climate Change on Marine Ecosystems." Journal of Marine Biology, vol. 45, no. 2, 2020, pp. 112-28, doi:10.1234/jmb.2020.45.2.112.

Book

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.

Example: Brown, Michael T. Introduction to Research Methods. Academic Press, 2019.

Website

Author's Last Name, First Name or Organization. "Title of Page." Site Name, Publisher (if different from site name), Date of publication, URL. Accessed Day Month Year.

Example: World Health Organization. "COVID-19 Vaccines." WHO, 10 May 2021, www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/covid-19-vaccines. Accessed 15 June 2021.

Key Features of MLA Style

  • Uses author-page citation system
  • Requires a works cited list at the end of the paper
  • Uses a hanging indent for works cited entries
  • Includes URLs for online sources
  • Uses title case for all titles
  • Abbreviates publisher names
  • Includes accessed dates for online sources

In-Text Citations

MLA style uses parenthetical citations that include the author's last name and the page number.

Narrative Citation

According to Smith, climate change has significant effects on marine ecosystems (114).

Parenthetical Citation

Climate change has significant effects on marine ecosystems (Smith 114).

Multiple Authors

Two authors: (Smith and Johnson 114)

Three or more authors: (Smith et al. 114)

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