MLA 9 Basics

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MLA 9 Basics

A collaboration of �鶹ֱ�� Writing Center and Library, spring 2026

RESOURCES

Online

MLA Handbook Plus, digital edition: access through the Metro Library using Star ID.

Book
MLA Handbook. 9th ed., The Modern Language Association of America, 2021.

IN-TEXT CITATION EXAMPLES

Parenthetical Citations: Placed at the end of a sentence before the period; location or page at the end in parentheses for quotations.

… the end of sentence (Porter 41).

… the end of sentence (Shaffer and Barrows).

… the end of sentence (“Smoking” 0:08:22).

Citations in Prose: Author(s) name is incorporated into a sentence; place location or page at the end of that sentence in parentheses for quotations.

Emmanuel Adeniyi and Paul Ayodele Onanuga seek to “deepen the consciousness of human-nature mutualism in Africa” (263).

REFERENCE ENTRY EXAMPLES

BOOKS

Authored Book

Shaffer, Mary Ann, and Annie Barrows. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The Dial Press, 2008.

Edited Book

Moua, Mai Neng, editor. Bamboo Among the Oaks: Contemporary Writing by Hmong Americans. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2002.

Chapter in an Edited Book

Porter, Joy. “Historical and Cultural Contexts to Native American Literature.” Cambridge Companion to American Literature, edited by Joy Porter and Kenneth M. Roemer, Cambridge UP, 2006, pp. 39-68. Cambridge Core, doi-org.mtrproxy.mnpals.net/10.1017/CCOL0521822831.

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Adeniyi, Emmanuel, and Paul Ayodele Onanuga. “Language, Literature and the Environment: Eco-Criticism from the African Perspectives.” Green Letters, vol. 27, no. 3, 2023, pp. 263–68, doi.org/10.1080/14688417.2023.2280304.

FILMS, VIDEOS, AND TV EPISODES

Claydream. Directed by Marq Evans, Oscilloscope Laboratories, 2021. Kanopy, www.kanopy.com/en/product/13003469?vp=metrostate.

Jackson, Justin A. “Opening Lines of Beowulf in Old English.” YouTube, uploaded by Hillsdale College, 29 April 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH-_GwoO4xI

��ٳ��ǰ쾱�Բ�.” Abbott Elementary, season 3, episode 4, ABC Television Network, www.hulu.com.

PAINTINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS

Buffalohead, Julie. The Measurement. 2014, M: Minnesota Museum of American Art, mmaa.org/portfolio-item/julie-buffalohead-2/.

Parks, Gordon. American Gothic. 1942, Minneapolis Institute of Art, https://new.artsmia.org/stories/the-minnesota-legacy-of-gordon-parks-a-life-of-seeing-and-being-seen.

WEB PAGES AND NEWS WEB PAGES

The Rise of Gothic Fiction in England & the United States. Tufts University, 5 June 2024, researchguides.library.tufts.edu/c.php?g=&p=5882489.

Edwards, Christian. “Han Kang Wins Nobel Prize in Literature for ‘Intense Poetic Prose’ Confronting Human Fragility.” CNN, 11 Oct. 2024, www.cnn.com/2024/10/10/style/han-kang-nobel-prize-literature-intl/index.html.

AI TOOLS AND CHATS

Disclosure statements detailing the use of AI in developing the piece are encouraged.

See the MLA Style Center entry titled “How do I cite generative AI in MLA style? (Updated and Revised)” for guidance.

“Describe the theme of nature in Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park” prompt. ChatGPT, model GPT-4o, OpenAI, 23 Sept. 2024, chatgpt.com/share/66f1b0a0-d704-8000-be9a-85f53c850607.