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Citing Sources

MLA Overview

Published by the professional association for teachers and professors of languages and literature - The Modern Language Association - the MLA Handbook is used by disciplines in English and other modern languages, as well as being widely adopted and taught in high schools and colleges as a basic style format.  It was significantly revised in 2016 and versions published before 2016 are considered outdated.  The current edition provides a brief overview of why documentation is important, how to gather and think about your sources, and plagiarism and academic honesty, but the majority of the Handbook presents a new look at citation and documentation "for the digital age" - as stated on the back cover of the book.

The 2016 edition of the MLA Handbook is kept at the Jones Library Information Desk and there are a few copies in the Moody General Collection.

MLA Handbook. 8th edition, MLA, 2016. LB2369.G53 2016

Please see the links in the box below for more specific help

For More Help with MLA Style

The changes made in the 2016 edition of the MLA Handbook also signal a fundamental change in the approach to documentation. The staff at Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) have an amazing website on MLA style, so please check it out : 

 to learn the style or answer any questions you may have.

You can also make an appointment with a consultant at the Writing Center, a service of the English Department.

The Modern Language Association has an online MLA Style Center with printable templates to help you learn the elements of documentation and citation, a Q&A section you can browse, and further information on MLA Style. Check it out!

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