How Do I Know If I’ve Used Due to Correctly?

by Barney Latimer

"Due to," meaning “attributable to,” modifies noun phrases, not verb clauses. Read More

How do I make clear that a paraphrase is on the same page as a quotation I’ve given in the previous sentence?

The MLA Handbook (3.5) provides techniques for making citations more concise when a source is used more than once in succession. But it notes that you should… Read More

How do I style the names of functional elements of a website when I refer to them in my prose?

In its online and print publications, when the MLA refers in prose to the label or functional element of a website or other electronic device… Read More

Do I introduce an author’s full name and the full title of a work in each chapter of a book or dissertation?

It depends on the focus of your work. In a dissertation on a single author or title—say, Gabriel Marcel’s Being and Having: An Existentialist Diary—it… Read More

How do I cite a volume originally published in a multivolume work and republished as part of a different multivolume work?

To cite a volume originally published in a multivolume work and republished as part of a different multivolume work, cite the work as it appears… Read More

If I cite a work that has no page numbers and I give the author’s name at the beginning of my sentence, how does the reader know where the author’s idea ends, since there is no parenthetical citation?

As the MLA Handbook notes, when you borrow an idea from a source, “it is important to signal at the end . . . that you are… Read More

If I cite a passage that contains numerous quotations from other sources, how do I let my reader know the original sources of the quotations?

You are not obligated to tell your reader the original sources of the quotations. Nor should you include any note numbers or parenthetical documentation from… Read More

If more than one person is interviewed in the same interview, do I create separate entries for each person or treat them as coauthors in a single entry?

One interview is one work, no matter how many people are being interviewed or how many people are conducting the interview, so you should create… Read More

How do I create an in-text citation for a note or marginalia by an editor or translator in a work listed under the author’s name?

If you are citing an editor’s or translator’s note for a work listed under the author’s name, create a works-cited-list entry for the work as a… Read More

In an in-text citation, how do I shorten a title that appears in quotation marks when it starts with a title in quotation marks?

If you need to shorten a title within quotation marks that begins with a title in quotation marks, use the title within the title as… Read More