MLA Handbook

MLA Handbook (9th ed., 2021), formerly MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (1977–2009), establishes a system for documenting sources in scholarly writing. It is published by the Modern Language Association, which is based in the United States. According to the organization, their MLA style "has been widely adopted for classroom instruction and used worldwide by scholars, journal publishers, and academic and commercial presses".[1]

MLA Handbook
MLA Handbook, 9th ed.
Original titleMLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectStyle guide
PublisherModern Language Association of America
Publication date
2021
Pagesxxx + 367
ISBN9781603293518
LC ClassLB2369 .M52 2021
Websitestyle.mla.org
Style guides

MLA Handbook began as an abridged student version of MLA Style Manual. Both are academic style guides that have been widely used in the United States, Canada, and other countries, providing guidelines for writing and documentation of research in the humanities, such as English studies (including the English language, writing, and literature written in English); the study of other modern languages and literatures, including comparative literature; literary criticism; media studies; cultural studies; and related disciplines.[2] Released in April 2016, the eighth edition of MLA Handbook (like its previous editions) is addressed primarily to secondary-school and undergraduate college and university teachers and students.[3]

MLA announced in April 2016 that MLA Handbook would henceforth be "the authoritative source for MLA style", and that the 2008 third edition of MLA Style Manual would be the final edition of the larger work. The announcement also stated that the organization "is in the process of developing additional publications to address the professional needs of scholars."[4]

History

MLA Handbook grew out of the initial MLA Style Sheet of 1951[5] (revised in 1970[6][7]), a 28-page "more or less official" standard.[8] The first five editions, published between 1977 and 1999 were titled MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. The 2003 sixth edition changed the title to MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

The seventh edition's main changes from the sixth edition were "no longer recogniz[ing] a default medium and instead call[ing] for listing the medium of publication [whether Print or Web or CD] in every entry in the list of works cited", recommending against listing URLs, and preferring italics over underline.[9] Additionally, the seventh edition included a website with the full text of the book.[10] Later online additions allowed for citation of e-books[11] and tweets.[12]

The eighth edition's main changes from the seventh edition are "shift[ing] our focus from a prescriptive list of formats to an overarching purpose of source documentation".[8] Released in spring 2016, it changes the structure of the works cited list, most directly by adding abbreviations for volumes and issues (vol. and no.), pages (p. or pp.), not abbreviating words like "editor" or "translator", using URLs in most instances (though preferring DOI, as in APA), and not favoring the medium of publication.[13] The ninth edition, in 2021, provides more examples, advises more inclusive language, and advises that URLs are optional, with DOI and permalinks being preferred.[14][15] The ninth edition also provides rules for annotated bibliographies.[14]

Editions

The table below identifies the year of publication of each edition of MLA Handbook.

Edition Year
1 1977
2 1984
3 1988
4 1995
5 1999
6 2003
7 2009
8 2016
9 2021

MLA Style Manual
MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing
Original titleMLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectStyle guide
PublisherModern Language Association of America
Publication date
2008
Published in English
May 2008
Media typePrint; large print; also listed as available as audiobook
Pagesxxiv & 336
ISBN978-0-87352-297-7
OCLC191090459
808/.027 22
LC ClassPN147 .G444 2008
Preceded byMLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (2nd ed., by Joseph Gibaldi)' 

MLA Style Manual, formerly titled MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing in its second (1998) and third edition (2008), was an academic style guide by the United States-based Modern Language Association of America (MLA) first published in 1985. MLA announced in April 2016 that the publication would be discontinued: the third edition would be the last and was to be "taken out of print". The announcement also said that what began as an abridged version for students, MLA Handbook, was to be after that point "the authoritative source for MLA style", and that the organization was "in the process of developing additional publications to address the professional needs of scholars".[16]

Usage

MLA documentation style is used in scholarship throughout the humanities, especially in English studies, modern languages and literatures, comparative literature, literary criticism, media studies, cultural studies, and related disciplines.

MLA Style Manual was one of two books on MLA documentation style published by the MLA. While MLA Handbook is aimed at secondary and post-secondary students and their teachers, the intended audience of MLA Style Manual primarily consisted of graduate students, academic scholars, professors, professional writers, and editors.[17]

History

Both MLA Handbook and MLA Style Manual were preceded by a slim booklet titled MLA Style Sheet, first published in 1951 [18] and revised in 1970.[19] The Style Sheet was allowed to go out of print after the commercial success of the Handbook, creating the need for the Manual as a companion to the Handbook.[20]

MLA Style Manual was scheduled to go out of print in 2016.[4] In April 2017, the organization said it would be "developing additional publications to address the professional needs of scholars".[21]

See also

References
  1. "MLA Style". Modern Language Association. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  2. "What is MLA Style". MLA. Archived from the original on 2012-03-10.
  3. Feal, Rosemary G. (2016). "Foreword". MLA Handbook. Modern Language Association. pp. vii–viii. ISBN 978-1-60329-262-7.
  4. "Ask the MLA: Is a new edition of the MLA Style Manual going to be published?". The MLA Style Center. Modern Language Association. April 8, 2016. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  5. "The MLA Style Sheet". PMLA. 66 (3): 3–31. 1951. doi:10.2307/2699076. ISSN 0030-8129. JSTOR 2699076. S2CID 170456871.
  6. Kennedy, Scott (1999). Reference Sources for Small and Medium-sized Libraries. Chicago and London: American Library Association. p. 779. ISBN 978-0-8389-3468-5.
  7. Achtert, Walter S.; Gibaldi, Joseph (1985). The MLA Style Manual (First ed.). New York: Modern Language Association of America. p. vii. ISBN 978-0-87352-136-9.
  8. Fitzpatrick, Kathleen (2016). "Preface". MLA Handbook (8th ed.). Modern Language Association. pp. ix–xiv. ISBN 978-1-60329-262-7.
  9. "What is new in the seventh edition of the MLA Handbook?". MLA. 3 February 2012. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013.
  10. Nicholls, David G. (2009). "Preface". MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed.). New York: MLA. pp. xvii–xix. ISBN 978-1-60329-024-1.
  11. "How do I cite an e-book?". MLA (7th ed.). Archived from the original on 11 March 2015.
  12. "How do I cite a tweet?". MLA (7th ed.). Archived from the original on 10 November 2013.
  13. "What's New in the Eighth Edition". Modern Language Association. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  14. MLA Handbook (9th ed.). New York: Modern Language Association of America. 2021. pp. xxv–xxvi, 187–188. ISBN 978-1-60329-351-8. OCLC 1192304724.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  15. "MLA 9th Edition Changes". Purdue Writing Lab. Purdue University. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  16. "Ask the MLA: Is a new edition of the MLA Style Manual going to be published?". MLA Style Center. Modern Language Association. April 8, 2016. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  17. Gibaldi, Joseph (1998). MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (Second ed.). New York: Modern Language Association of America. p. iv. ISBN 0-87352-699-6.
  18. "The MLA Style Sheet". PMLA. 66 (3): 3–31. 1951. doi:10.2307/2699076. ISSN 0030-8129. JSTOR 2699076. S2CID 170456871.
  19. The MLA Style Sheet (2nd ed.). New York: Modern Language Association of America. 1970. ISBN 978-0-87352-002-7.
  20. Achtert, Walter S.; Gibaldi, Joseph (1985). The MLA Style Manual (First ed.). New York: Modern Language Association of America. p. vii. ISBN 978-0-87352-136-9.
  21. "The MLA Style Manual". Modern Language Association. Archived from the original on 2017-04-20. Retrieved 19 April 2017.

Bibliography
  • Achtert, Walter S.; Gibaldi, Joseph (1985), The MLA Style Manual, New York: MLA.
  • Modern Language Association (2008), MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.), New York: MLA, ISBN 978-0-87352-297-7.
  • Modern Language Association (2009), The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed.), New York: MLA, ISBN 978-1-60329-024-1.
  • "What Is MLA Style?", Modern Language Association, 2011, retrieved 2011-01-31.
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