How do I cite a traveling art installation?

Whether and how to cite a traveling art installation depends on how you refer to it in your paper. If you mention it in passing,… Read More

How do I cite a book chapter my instructor handed out in class?

If your instructor provides the publication details for the book on the handout, you can generally use this information to create your works-cited-list entry. You… Read More

How do I cite nonconsecutive lines from a poem like Homer’s The Odyssey?

The order of information in your citations should always match the order in which you present information in your text. Thus, when you cite nonconsecutive… Read More

How do I punctuate parenthetical citations that include an author’s name and “introduction”?

Separate the items with a comma: You Must Change Your Life is “a portrait of two artists fumbling through the desultory streets of Paris, finding… Read More

How do I alphabetize several letters by the same author written to different recipients?

In a works-cited-list, when you list several letters by the same author to different recipients, alphabetize the letters according to the names of the recipients. Read More

How do I cite from a play that has both verse and prose sections?

Citing from a play that has both verse and prose sections—whether the play is William Shakespeare’s Macbeth or August Wilson’s Fences—is no different from citing… Read More

How do I cite a dictionary definition that I find in Google search results?

Google search results are not a reliable source of dictionary definitions. When you need to cite a dictionary definition, use an established print or electronic dictionary. Read More

How do I alphabetize a title that starts with a number in my works-cited list?

When you alphabetize your works-cited list, treat numbers in titles as though they were spelled out. Let’s say, for example, you need to alphabetize entries… Read More

How do I cite material posted to a social media site like Snapchat?

Below are examples of how to cite a photo, video, story, show, and profile on Snapchat. For explanations, see our post on citing social media. Read More

When a publisher’s name appears as an acronym on the title page but is spelled out on the copyright page, which do I use?

Page 41 of the MLA Handbook advises writers to first look for the publisher’s name on the title page, so in your works-cited-list entry, use… Read More