How does the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook compare with the eighth edition?

The ninth edition retains the MLA’s unique system of documentation established in the eighth edition. New to the ninth edition are hundreds of additional example citations and visuals; expanded guidance on formatting papers, citing sources, quoting and paraphrasing, and avoiding plagiarism; and entirely new sections on inclusive language, annotated bibliographies, and notes. The chart below gives a head-to-head comparison of the two editions.


	MLA Handbook, 9th edition	MLA Handbook, 8th edition
Publication date	April 2021	April 2016
Audience	students, teachers, librarians, advanced scholars, writers, and editors	students, teachers, librarians and advanced scholars
Format	paperback, hardcover, spiral, e-book 400 pages 142 visuals	paperback, large print, e-book 160 pages 24 visuals
Sample citations	333 sample citations in the text, with an appendix of over 200 additional examples by publication format	164 sample citations in the text
Citing sources	✓ newly expanded guidance spans 3 chapters	✓
Paper-formatting guidelines	✓ plus new guidelines on group projects, title pages, and lists
Writing advice	punctuation; capitalization; styling terms, names, and titles in prose; and more	✓
Inclusive language guidelines	tips to help writers use language thoughtfully when discussing race and ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ability, age, and economic or social status
Plagiarism guidelines	✓ with new advice on common knowledge, passing mentions, allusions, and epigraphs	✓
Annotated bibliographies	✓
Quoting and paraphrasing sources	✓ with new guidance on differentiating one’s own ideas from those of the source, punctuation and capitalization with quotations, and more	✓
Footnotes and endnotes	✓
Abbreviations lists	✓ with a new list demonstrating how to create abbreviations for any title	✓