How do I cite an unpublished translation?

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.

Cite an unpublished translation by following the MLA format template. List the author of the work, the title of the translation in quotation marks (since it is an unpublished work), and the name of the translator. In the optional-element slot at the end of the entry, indicate the format:

Wallace, David Foster. “Ludus infinitus.” Translated by Publius Vergilius Maro. Typescript.

When you refer to the translation in your prose, indicate the original title:

In what follows, I provide a thorough analysis of “Ludus infinitus,” the Latin translation of David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest