Table Of ContentMLA Handbook
Ninth edition
The Modern Language Association of America
New York 2021
© 2021 by The Modern Language Association of America
Published by The Modern Language Association of America
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www.mla.org
All rights reserved. MLA and the MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION are trademarks owned
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Name: Modern Language Association of America.
Title: MLA handbook / Modern Language Association of America. Other titles: MLA handbook for
writers of research papers.
Description: Ninth edition. | New York, New York : The Modern Language Association of America,
2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020039581 (print) | LCCN 2020039582 (e-book) | ISBN 9781603293518
(paperback) | ISBN 9781603295611 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781603295628 (spiral bound) | ISBN
9781603293525 (EPUB)
Subjects: LCSH: Report writing—Handbooks, manuals, etc. | Research—Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Classification: LCC LB2369 .M52 2021 (print) | LCC LB2369 (ebook) | DDC 808.02/7—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020039581
LC e-book record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020039582
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Formatting Your Research Project
[1.1] Margins
[1.2] Text Formatting
[1.3] Title
[1.4] Running Head and Page Numbers
[1.5] Internal Headings and Subheadings
[1.6] Placement of the List of Works Cited
[1.7] Tables and Illustrations
[1.8] Lists
[1.9] Integrated into Your Prose
[1.10] Set Vertically
[1.11] Lists introduced with a complete sentence
[1.12] Lists that continue the sentence introducing them
[1.13] Paper and Printing
[1.14] Proofreading and Spellcheckers
[1.15] Binding a Printed Paper
[1.16] Electronic Submission
2. Mechanics of Prose
[2.1] Spelling
[2.2] Dictionaries
[2.3] Plurals
[2.4] Punctuation
[2.5] Commas
[2.6] When a comma is necessary
[2.7] Before a coordinating conjunction joining independent clauses
[2.8] Between coordinate adjectives
[2.9] To set off parenthetical comments
[2.10] After long introductory phrases and clauses
[2.11] With contrasting phrases
[2.12] In series
[2.13] With dates and locations
[2.14] With nonrestrictive modifiers
[2.15] When a comma is incorrect
[2.16] Subject and verb
[2.17] Verb and object
[2.18] Parts of a compound subject
[2.19] Parts of a compound object
[2.20] Two verbs that share a subject
[2.21] Two subordinate elements that are parallel
[2.22] When a comma is optional
[2.23] With short introductory phrases and clauses
[2.24] Around specific words
[2.25] Before some coordinating conjunctions
[2.26] Semicolons
[2.27] Colons
[2.28] Dashes and Parentheses
[2.29] To enclose an interruption
[2.30] To prevent misreading
[2.31] To introduce an elaboration or an example
[2.32] To introduce a list
[2.33] Hyphens
[2.34] When to hyphenate compound adjectives before a noun
[2.35] Adverbs
[2.36] Number-noun combinations
[2.37] Prepositional phrases
[2.38] Clarity
[2.39] When not to hyphenate compound adjectives before a noun
[2.40] Adverbs
[2.41] Comparatives and superlatives
[2.42] Familiar compound terms
[2.43] Foreign language terms
[2.44] Proper nouns
[2.45] Hyphens before suppressed words
[2.46] Hyphens with prefixes
[2.47] Hyphens in fractions
[2.48] Hyphens versus en dashes
[2.49] Apostrophes
[2.50] Singular and plural nouns
[2.51] Proper nouns
[2.52] Nouns expressing shared possession
[2.53] Letters
[2.54] Plural abbreviations and numbers
[2.55] Quotation Marks
[2.56] To flag provisional meaning
[2.57] To mark translations of words or phrases
[2.58] Slashes
[2.59] Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation Points
[2.60] Italics in Prose
[2.61] Words and Phrases Referred to as Words
[2.62] Letters Referred to as Letters
[2.63] Foreign Words in an English-Language Text
[2.64] Capitalization of Terms
[2.65] English
[2.66] French
[2.67] German
[2.68] Italian
[2.69] Spanish
[2.70] Latin
[2.71] Names of Persons in Your Prose
[2.72] First Uses of Personal Names
[2.73] Surnames Used Alone
[2.74] English
[2.75] French
[2.76] German
[2.77] Italian
[2.78] Spanish
[2.79] Latin
[2.80] Asian languages
[2.81] Premodern names
[2.82] Transliterated Names
[2.83] Titles with Personal Names
[2.84] Suffixes with Personal Names
[2.85] Given Names and Personal Initials
[2.86] Names of Fictional Characters
[2.87] Names of Organizations and Groups
[2.88] Names of Literary Periods and Cultural Movements
[2.89] Titles of Works in Your Prose
[2.90] Capitalizing Titles in English
[2.91] Capitalizing Titles in Languages Other Than English
[2.92] French
[2.93] German
[2.94] Italian
[2.95] Spanish
[2.96] Latin
[2.97] Other languages in the Latin alphabet
[2.98] Languages in non-Latin alphabets
[2.99] Punctuation of Titles
[2.100] Serial comma
[2.101] Subtitles
[2.102] Alternative titles
[2.103] Dates appended to titles
[2.104] Multivolume works
[2.105] Punctuation around Titles
[2.106] Styling Titles
[2.107] Italicized titles
[2.108] Italicized titles of works contained in a larger work
[2.109] Titles in quotation marks
[2.110] Titles with no formatting
[2.111] Titles within Titles
[2.112] Surrounding title in quotation marks
[2.113] Surrounding title in italics
[2.114] Surrounding title with no formatting
[2.115] Quotations within Titles
[2.116] Foreign Language Terms and Titles within Titles
[2.117] Styling
[2.118] Capitalization
[2.119] Titles within titles
[2.120] Shortened Titles in Your Prose
[2.121] Subtitles
[2.122] Conventional forms of titles
[2.123] Very long titles
[2.124] Punctuating shortened titles
[2.125] Translating Titles in Languages Other Than English
[2.126] Numbers
[2.127] Use of Numerals or Words
[2.128] Number-heavy contexts
[2.129] Street addresses
[2.130] Decimal fractions
[2.131] Percentages and amounts of money
[2.132] Items in numbered series
[2.133] Large numbers
[2.134] Plural forms
[2.135] At the start of a sentence
[2.136] In titles
[2.137] Commas in Numbers
[2.138] Dates and Times
[2.139] Number Ranges
3. Principles of Inclusive Language
4. Documenting Sources: An Overview
[4.1] Why Plagiarism Is a Serious Matter
[4.2] Avoiding Plagiarism
[4.3] Careful Research
[4.4] Giving Credit
[4.5] Paraphrasing
[4.6] When to paraphrase
[4.7] How to paraphrase
[4.8] How to paraphrase and give credit
[4.9] Quoting
[4.10] When to quote
[4.11] How to quote and give credit
[4.12] When Documentation Is Not Needed
[4.13] Common Knowledge
[4.14] Passing Mentions
[4.15] Allusions
[4.16] Epigraphs
5. The List of Works Cited
[5.1] Creating and Formatting Entries: An Overview
[5.2] The MLA Core Elements
[5.3] Author: What It Is
[5.4] Author: Where to Find It
[5.5] Author: How to Style It
[5.6] One author
[5.7] Two authors
[5.8] Three or more authors
[5.9] Names not reversed
[5.10] Languages that order surname first
[5.11] Lack of surname
[5.12] Variant forms of a personal name
[5.13] Different spellings
[5.14] Pseudonyms and name changes
[5.15] When not to supply information, cross-reference, or use the published form
of a name
[5.16] Online handles
[5.17] Organizations, groups, and government authors
[5.18] Listing by name
[5.19] Avoiding redundancy
[5.20] Government authors
[5.21] Standardizing and supplying information
[5.22] Consolidating entries
[5.23] Title of Source: What It Is
[5.24] Title of Source: Where to Find It
[5.25] Title of Source: How to Style It
[5.26] Shortened titles
[5.27] Sections of a work labeled generically
[5.28] Description in place of a title
[5.29] Quoted text in place of a title
[5.30] Translations of titles
[5.31] Title of Container: What It Is
[5.32] Works that are self-contained
[5.33] Works with more than one container
[5.34] Determining when a website is a container
[5.35] Apps and databases
[5.36] Title of Container: Where to Find It
[5.37] Title of Container: How to Style It
[5.38] Contributor: What It Is
[5.39] Key contributors
