Works-cited-list entries in MLA style are based on the template of core elements. Each element should generally be included in your works-cited-list entry when relevant to the work you’re documenting. Sometimes, however, you may need or want to supply additional information about a work. You can do so by adding supplemental elements to the template. A supplemental element should be inserted after the Title of Source element if it does not pertain to the entry as a whole. Otherwise, it should be inserted at the end of the entry. Exceptionally, it may be placed between containers if it applies only to the preceding container and not to the container following it.
For more details about supplemental elements, as well as examples, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook.
18 Comments
Shiva 03 September 2017 AT 04:09 AM
Thank you. Shiva Raj Panta, Nepal.
Diane Garcia 24 April 2020 AT 04:04 PM
I want my students to give credit to the reporters/correspondents for news stories from the MORNING EDITION podcasts. Which optional slot would be appropriate for this information? Currently I have them putting the reporter and the host as part of the "Author" slot and specifying their roles as follows:
Walsh, Steve, correspondent. Rachel Marting and Steve Inskeep, hosts.
Angela Gibson 27 April 2020 AT 09:04 AM
For a collaborative work like this where there is no single person or entity who created the material, we'd recommend listing the work by title and placing contributors (like a correspondent or host, if including them) in the "Other contributors" element.
Tihomir Zivic 30 April 2020 AT 08:04 AM
In case that we decide to use the final optional-element slot to provide the book series detail, how should an entry be properly styled if there is also a book series editor name to be mentioned in addition to the book number within the series? E.g., I'd like to add an information that Daniel J. Boorstin edited The Chicago History of American Civilization Series, in which Nathan Glazer's book (i.e., American Judaism) is the 7th in the series.
Angela Gibson 06 May 2020 AT 12:05 PM
Separate the information with commas in the final optional element: Chicago History of American Civilization Series, edited by Daniel J. Boorstin.
Tihomir Zivic 28 May 2020 AT 01:05 PM
Thanks, Angela!
FrancMor 23 October 2020 AT 12:10 PM
Good morning! I cited a certain chapter of a book, and I think it is useful to provide the original publication date of the whole work, not only of the chapter. Where in the entry should I insert this optional element? This is the chapter as cited: Chamoiseu, Patrick. "Un rapport problématique". 𝘓'𝘦́𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢̀ 𝘭𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘦́𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴, edited by Lise Gauvin, 2nd ed, Éditions Karthala, 2009. [The first edition was issued in 1997.]
Jennifer A. Rappaport 26 October 2020 AT 08:10 PM
Thanks for your question. Please consult Ask the MLA: https://style.mla.org/category/ask-the-mla/
Brian Mountford 21 December 2020 AT 09:12 PM
Thanks for this helpful information about optional elements. If I want to put both an original publication year and a section translator in the middle optional element, what is the ordering? For instance, if The Singing of the Stars was like your Milton example, and existed in two different versions, would I say:
Fagih, Ahmed Ibrahim al-. The Singing of the Stars. Translated by Leila El Khalidi and Christopher Tingley, 1992. Short Arabic Plays...
or:
Fagih, Ahmed Ibrahim al-. The Singing of the Stars. 1992. Translated by Leila El Khalidi and Christopher Tingley. Short Arabic Plays...
And would the two items be separated by a comma or a period?
Thanks!
Angela Gibson 31 December 2020 AT 01:12 PM
Thanks for the question! The order is up to the writer, but following the template order when it applies would provide consistency. Separate the elements with a comma.
Gilberto Reyna 21 March 2021 AT 05:03 PM
Ms. Angela Gibson, I don't have words to tell you to thank you. I have been issues trying to submit the proper MLA' format form paper. Thank you very much!
Jennifer M. 06 September 2021 AT 06:09 AM
I am writing a paper about a single picture book - referencing the same illustrator's illustrations throughout. There are no page numbers or figures. I am including quotes for text without parenthetical page numbers, but is there a proper way to cite illustrations from the same book when there are no page numbers? Or do I just use prose to describe those illustrations? Thanks.
Laura Kiernan 24 September 2021 AT 02:09 PM
Since there are no page numbers or figure numbers to refer to, we would recommend describing those illustrations and their locations in the volume.
Leanne W. 28 September 2022 AT 08:09 PM
If I need to add two supplemental elements to describe a piece of artwork (say medium and size), is it best to add these elements to the end of the citation or to include them after the title? Also, would the two supplemental elements be separated by full stops, or commas? Thank you for this wonderful service!
Laura Kiernan 24 October 2022 AT 04:10 PM
For guidance on including supplemental elements, see 5.105–5.119 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook.
Debbie Abilock 04 April 2023 AT 12:04 PM
Angela, you say above to put the correspondent in other contributors - but how?
Correspondent Ramita Navai doesn't seem to fit the pattern of name then role?
"Afghanistan Undercover." Correspondent Ramita Navai, directed by Karim Shah, produced by Karim Shah. Frontline, season 2022, episode 20, KQED, 9 Aug. 2022. PBS, www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/afghanistan-undercover/.
Angela Gibson 12 April 2023 AT 12:04 PM
Not every role will fit that pattern. See examples featuring a general editor in the handbook:
Marvell, Andrew. “The Mower’s Song.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature, M. H. Abrams, general editor, 4th ed., vol. 1, W. W. Norton, 1979, p. 1368.
Barbara 02 April 2024 AT 04:04 PM
If a student wants to include a page of supplemental materials in addition to a works cited page, does it go before or after the works cited page? Thank you!
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