Should I credit the reviewers of an online article?

It is not necessary to credit the reviewers of an online article, since they may not have contributed any content, but if you wish to… Read More

When citing a work on a website, should I use the original publication date or the last-updated date?

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 of… Read More

How do I cite an essay from a database that was first published in a journal and later anthologized?

Cite the version of the essay that is contained in the database because that is the version you are using. Let’s say, for example, you… Read More

When citing an article with no DOI that appears in a database, should I provide the URL specific to my institution?

Provide the information that is most useful for your reader. If your readers are composed exclusively of people at your institution, use the institution-specific link;… Read More

Should a Norton Critical Edition be listed as a version or as a series in a works-cited-list entry?

As the following example from the MLA Handbook demonstrates, a Norton Critical Edition should be listed in the “Version” slot (107):  Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Edited… Read More

How do I cite in my prose an untitled poem known by its number in a collection?

If you are citing an untitled poem known only by its number, a generic description of the poem can be substituted for the title in… Read More

Should italics or quotation marks be used for a character’s internal thoughts?

Styling a character’s internal thoughts in italics or with quotation marks depends on whether you are quoting from a source that shows a character’s thoughts,… Read More

If I need to separate titles styled in quotation marks by semicolons in my parenthetical citations, should the semicolons go inside or outside the quotations marks?

The semicolons should be placed outside the quotation marks: Sweden took in more than 160,000 asylum seekers in 2015 (Henden, “Sweden Election Polls”; Hernroth-Rothstein; Milne;… Read More

How does the MLA style 9/11, when it refers to the attacks on the United States on that date?

In our publications, we allow either September 11 or 9/11. Whichever form is chosen must be used consistently throughout a work. Read More

If I am defining in my paper specialized terminology that I learned in class, do I need to cite a source?

No. Specialized terminology learned in a class can be considered a kind of common knowledge in the context of an essay written for that class,… Read More