What citation style should I use for my personal blog?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook.

Using MLA style for your personal blog has several advantages:

  • MLA style is reader friendly. It uses in-text citations and avoids bibliographic notes, so the reader won’t have to switch between your prose and notes that appear elsewhere (usually at the bottom of the page but sometimes in online contexts along the side or in hover text).
  • MLA style is focused on people and their work. MLA in-text citations also foreground the humanistic aspects of sources, keying to the author of a work and, when needed for clarity, the title (instead of the date).
  • MLA style is streamlined. Citations are kept to a minimum, and all the reference material is collected in one place: the works-cited list.
  • MLA style allows you to cite any type of source. There are no special rules for different publication formats, just a basic set of principles you can use to cite any source. This is ideal if you want to blog about a range of subjects.

Whatever citation style you choose for your blog, good luck with your project!