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Shared by Megan Springs

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Shared by Beth Gulley

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MLA 8 We Are Here But Should We Have Come

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Shared by Megan Springs

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What is the value of teaching a documentation style?

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What is the value of teaching a documentation style?

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Here is a compilation of the responses teachers gave to the question "What is the value of teaching a documentation style?"

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What Is the Value of Teaching a Documentation Style

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Is MLA 8 Easier or Harder to Learn Than MLA 7?

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Is MLA 8 Easier or Harder to Learn Than MLA 7?

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According to the people who are currently teaching MLA 8 and answered the question, MLA 8 is easier to learn than MLA 7.

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Bar chart for MLA 8 easy or hard to learn

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Of the people who responded to the survey, all but four are currently teaching MLA 8. Of the four who are not, two are teaching MLA 7, and the other two are teaching APA.

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Shared by Eva Payne

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We are a globally renowned resource that provides assistance with English to students, teachers, professionals, and organizations across the world. Our goal is to assist clients in their development as writers - no matter their skill level.

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Purdue OWL® - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University

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We are a globally renowned resource that provides assistance with English to students, teachers, professionals, and organizations across the world. Our goal is to assist clients in their development as writers - no matter their skill level.

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Some Advice and Lesson Suggestions for Teaching MLA 8

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Some Advice and Lesson Suggestions for Teaching MLA 8

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Here are a few of the suggestions I collected from teachers across the United States regarding the teaching of MLA 8.

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Shared by Jeff Boyer

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MLA 8 Presentation for American History Class

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MLA 8 Presentation for American History Class

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Shared by Anna O'Connell

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Shared by Maureen Fitzpatrick

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Shared by Jeff Boyer

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The eighth edition of the MLA Handbook, published in 2016, rethinks documentation for an era of digital publication. The MLA now recommends a universal set of guidelines that writers can apply to any source and gives writers in all fields-from the sciences to the humanities-the tools to intuitively document sources. Learn more below about the changes to MLA guidelines.

The List of Works Cited

The eighth edition of the MLA Handbook introduces a new model for entries in the works-cited list, one that reflects recent changes in how works are published and consulted. Previously, a writer created an entry by following the MLA's instructions for the source's publication format (book, DVD, Web page, etc.). That approach has become impractical today, since publication formats are often combined (a song listened to online, for example, could have been taken from a record album released decades ago) or are undefinable.

In the new model, the work's publication format is not considered. Instead of asking, "How do I cite a book [or DVD or Web page]?" the writer creates an entry by consulting the MLA's list of core elements-facts common to most works-which are assembled in a specific order. The MLA core elements appear below:

In the new model, then, the writer asks, "Who is the author? What is the title?" and so forth-regardless of the nature of the source.

Because of this fundamental change, the works-cited-list entries produced by the two approaches are different. Below are differences that might be overlooked by writers making the transition from the seventh edition.

Abbreviations

Common terms in the works-cited list like editor, edited by, translator, and review of are no longer abbreviated. The eighth edition provides a shorter list of recommended abbreviations (96-97).

Authors

When a source has three or more authors, only the first one shown in the source is normally given. It is followed by et al. (22). (Previously, the omission of coauthors was limited to sources with four or more authors and was presented as an option.)

Books and Other Printed Works

Page numbers in the works-cited list (but not in in-text citations) are now preceded by p. or pp. (46).

For books, the city of publication is no longer given, except in special situations (51).

Journals

Issues of scholarly journals are now identified with, for instance, "vol. 64, no. 1" rather than "64.1" (39-40).

If an issue of a scholarly journal is dated with a month or season, the month or season is now always cited along with the year (45).

Online Works

The URL (without http:// or https://) is now normally given for a Web source. Angle brackets are not used around it (48, 110).

The citing of DOIs (digital object identifiers) is encouraged (110).

Citing the date when an online work was consulted is now optional (53).

Placeholders for unknown information like n.d. ("no date") are no longer used. If facts missing from a work are available in a reliable external resource, they are cited in square brackets (2.6.1). Otherwise, they are simply omitted.

Publishers

Publishers' names are now given in full, except that business words like Company (Co.) are dropped and, for academic presses, the abbreviations U, P, and UP are still used (97).

A forward slash (/) now separates the names of copublishers (108).

The kinds of publications that don't require a publisher's name are defined (42).

When an organization is both author and publisher of a work, the organization's name is now given only once, usually as the publisher (25). No author is stated.

Miscellaneous

Full publication information is now given for widely used reference works. Page-number spans are given for articles in alphabetically arranged reference books in print. In other words, reference works are treated like other works and are no longer subject to exceptions.

The medium of publication is no longer stated, except when it is needed for clarity (52).

In-Text Citations

The principles behind in-text citations in MLA style are unchanged. A few details have been added or clarified, though:

For time-based media like video, times are now cited in the text (57).

The use of my trans. to identify the writer's translation of a non-English quotation is described (90-91).

How to shorten long titles when they have to be included in a parenthetical citation is clarified (117-18).

The common practice of documenting borrowings from Greek, Roman, and medieval works with part numbers, not page numbers alone, is described (122).

The punctuation used when various items are combined in one parenthetical citation is summarized (126-27).

Ways of formatting citations in research projects other than traditional papers are suggested (127-28).

Other Aspects of Writing

Following are new points that concern the writing in a research project:

When the title of a periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper) begins with an article (A, An, The), the article is now treated as part of the title: the article is italicized and its first letter capitalized. For example, the handbook previously specified "the Georgia Review" in text and "Georgia Review" in the works-cited list but now specifies "The Georgia Review" in all contexts.

For works in a language not written in the Latin alphabet, writers must choose between giving titles and quotations in romanization or in the language's writing system (74, 91).

Two forward slashes (//) mark stanza breaks in run-in quotations of verse (78).

If a block quotation of prose contains internal paragraphing, the first line of the quotation now begins without a paragraph indention even if one is present in the source (77).

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The eighth edition of the MLA Handbook, published in 2016, rethinks documentation for an era of digital publication. The MLA now recommends a universal set of guidelines that writers can apply to any source and gives writers in all fields-from the sciences to the humanities-the tools to intuitively document sources.

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Shared by Shannon Dahmes

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documenting sources : quick help : student writing support : center for writing : university of minnesota

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student writing support center for writing writing.umn.edu

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Shared by Debbie Abilock

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Shared by Darina

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The MLA 8th Edition handbook, released in April 2016, includes major changes to the citation process. This page highlights a few of the differences between MLA 7 and MLA 8.
Summary

Earlier editions of the MLA citation style placed emphasis on the importance of following specific and required guidelines for citation formatting. The 8th edition of MLA style, however, focuses on the process of research and writing. It seeks to provide a style guide to students and researchers that is applicable to any source type. Rather than mandating that writers adhere to strict citation formulas, it instead shifts the focus onto the writer's own insights. The goal is for the writer to be able to create a document and a list of sources that is clear and consistent to all readers.

To learn more about how to cite your sources in MLA 8, check out our full citation guide here.
1. One standard citation format that applies to every source type
Key differences in MLA 8th Edition
2. Inclusion of "containers" in citations.
In previous editions of the MLA Handbook, researchers were required to locate the citation format for the source that they used. For example, if a magazine was used, researchers needed to locate the specific citation format for periodicals. Due to the various ways that information is now received, in books, websites, lectures, tweets, Facebook posts, etc, it has become unrealistic for MLA to create citation formats for every source type. Now, there is one standard, universal format that researchers can use to create their citations.
3. The ability to use pseudonyms for author names
Containers are the elements that "hold" the source. For example, if a television episode is watched on Netflix, Netflix is the container. Both the title of the source and its container are included in a citation.
Example:
It is now acceptable to use online handles or screen names in place of authors' names.
4. Adding the abbreviations vol. and no. to magazine and journal article citations.
@WSJ. "Generation X went from the most successful in terms of homeownership rates in 2004 to the least successful by 2015." Twitter, 8 Apr. 2016, 4:30 p.m., twitter.com/WSJ/status/718532887830753280
Example of a journal article citation in MLA 7:
In MLA 7, there was no indication that the numbers in periodical citations referred to the volume and issue numbers.
An example of a journal article citation in MLA 8:
DelGuidice, Margaux. "When a Leadership Opportunity Knocks, Answer!" Library Media Connection 30.2 (2011): 48-49. Print
5. Inclusion of URLS
DelGuidice, Margaux. "When a Leadership Opportunity Knocks, Answer!" Library Media Connection, vol. 30, no. 2, 2011, pp. 48-49.

In previous versions of the MLA handbook, it was up to the discretion of the instructor whether URLs should be included in a citation. In MLA 8, it is highly recommended to include a URL in the citation. Even if it becomes outdated, it is still possible to trace the information online from an older URL.
6. Omitting the publisher from some source types
Omit "http://" or "https://" from the URL when including it in the citation.
7. Omitting the city of publication
It is not necessary to include the publisher for periodicals or for a web site when the name of the site matches the name of the publisher. For periodicals, the name of the publisher is generally insignificant.

In previous versions of the MLA handbook, researchers included the city where the publisher was located. Today, this information generally serves little purpose and the city of publication can often be omitted.
Features that have not changed, and are the same as MLA 7:
Only include the city of publication if the version of the source differs when published in a different country (Example: British editions of books versus versions printed in the United States), or if the source was published before 1900.

The overall principles of citing and plagiarism

The use of in-text citations and works cited pages

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The MLA 8th Edition handbook, released in April 2016, includes major changes to the citation process. This page highlights a few of the differences between MLA 7 and MLA 8. Earlier editions of the MLA citation style placed emphasis on the importance of following specific and required guidelines for citation formatting.