The 8th edition of the MLA handbook introduced one standard citation format that applies to every source type. Additionally, citations no longer indicate format. Instead, in the new MLA style, citations are built around the concept of containers. So what is a container?
A website, a book, a journal, and a newspaper are all examples of containers, because each contains content. You can have containers within containers too. It may sound complicated, but use the formula and fill in the information you have for a source and you'll soon have a citation. In the blue chart here, you can see the formula with some examples.
Below is a link to an MLA practice template that you can print and use to help you create citations.
MLA (Modern Language Association) Style is used in Literature, Arts, and Humanities disciplines. Always consult your assignment or ask your instructor for the correct citation style to use
| Part of the Formula | Examples and Explanation | Example of article citation from a database |
| Author. | • one author: Last Name, rest of name as presented in the source. (example: Williams, Fred Laurence.) • two authors: reverse name of first author followed by a comma, then second author’s first name and then last name. (example: Cordell, Barbara, and Jane Buckle.) • more than two authors: reverse the name of the first author, follow with a comma and et al. (example: Browne, Charlene, et al.) |
Cordell, Barbara, and Jane Buckle. |
| Title of Source. |
• Put name of source in italics. |
"The Effects of Aromatherapy on Nicotine Craving on a U.S. Campus: A Small Comparison Study." |
| Title of Container, |
• When the source is part of a larger whole, the larger whole can be thought of as a container (example: a whole book is a container for a book chapter) |
Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, |
| Contributors, | Example: edited by, | |
| Version, | Example: 7th ed., | |
| Number, | Any numbered sequence. Example: vol. 3, no. 7 | vol. 19, no. 8, |
| Publisher, | (however, no publisher is required for articles) | |
| Publication date, | date as given on source but following this date style: 28 Jan. 2020, | 1 Aug. 2013, |
| Location. |
• Example of website: www.cnn.com do not include http:// in the URL |
pp. 709-13. ProQuest Research Library, https://doi:10.1089/acm.2012.0537. |
