If Publishing is part of a publisher's name on the title page of my source, should I include that word as part of the publisher's name in my works-cited-list entry?

If Publishing is part of a publisher’s name on the title page of my source, should I include that word as part of the publisher’s name in my works-cited-list entry?

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.

The MLA Handbook recommends omitting business words like Company, Corporation, and Incorporated (1.6.3) because the publisher can generally be identified without them. In our editorial practice, we retain Publishing if it is part of the publisher’s name on the title page of the source because it may be a helpful descriptive term. In the handbook, two sample works-cited-list entries list “Ablex Publishing” as the publisher (114). If you don’t find the term useful, you may omit it, but whatever you decide, be consistent.

Work Cited

MLA Handbook, 8th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2016.