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

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

Where do I place the period when the Title of Source element ends with a single and a double closing quotation mark?

A period is always used after the Title of Source element in a works-cited-list entry, as described in section 5.120 of the MLA Handbook (217). 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

I am citing two editions of the same novel. How do I order the entries in the list of works cited, and how do I distinguish the editions in the in-text citation?

Order the entries by the most important unique piece of identifying information. This is usually the date. You can list entries either in chronological order… 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 cite a letter from a personal collection that is not addressed to me?

Follow the MLA format template. List the author of the letter in the “Author” slot and provide a description of the letter in the “Title… Read More