How do I cite a clip of a film on a website?

Whenever you cite a republished excerpt, you should document the work in which the excerpt appears, not the original source. Thus, to cite a scene… Read More

How do I style the names of wars?

We follow the guidelines in The Chicago Manual of Style, which notes that full names of most wars are capitalized and that generic terms are… Read More

Can I cite a museum visit in my works-cited list?

No. A works-cited list documents works. Since a museum visit is not a work, it cannot be cited. If you discuss in you paper several… Read More

I am citing several television episodes titled “Pilot.” How do I differentiate among them in my parenthetical citations?

There is more than one way to distinguish among several television episodes titled “Pilot.” Here are two options. Option 1 List each episode in your… Read More

How do I style compound modifiers that express number ranges?

The MLA follows The Chicago Manual of Style’s rules for hyphening number ranges in modifiers  (“Hyphenation Guide”). When the compound is an adjective, the compound… Read More

If I am citing a work based on another person’s writings, should I cite both authors in my works-cited-list entry?

No. When you cite a work, you should list the creator of the version of the work you are using. Many works are based on… Read More

In MLA style, should an ampersand in a publisher’s name be changed to and?

Yes. Just as you would change an ampersand in a title to and, change an ampersand to and in a publisher’s name in your prose and… Read More

If I cite a slide lecture uploaded to an online course, should I list the date the lecture was written or the date of the course?

As the MLA Handbook notes, “When a source carries more than one date, cite the date that is most meaningful or most relevant to your use… Read More

How do I quote English-language sources in a foreign-language paper?

To quote an English-language source in a foreign-language paper, follow the guidelines in section 1.3.8 of the MLA Handbook on translating quotations (90–91). Let’s say you… Read More

Should the serial comma be used before an ampersand?

Omit the serial comma when using an ampersand: Shelley bought all the vintage Earth, Wind & Fire albums she found at the yard sale. Ampersands… Read More