What is the history of MLA style?

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.

You can find a brief discussion of the origin and history of MLA style on pages x–xi of the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. You can find a list of the years in which the various editions have been published on the copyright page. Read more about the style’s history in our time line.