Research Guides: Citation and style manuals: Modern Language Association (MLA)

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. MLA style features brief parenthetical citations in the text keyed to an alphabetical list of works cited that appears at the end of the work. The MLA citation style has undergone significant changes with the release of the newest edition. We recommend that you check with your instructor about which edition of MLA you should follow.

Style manuals

MLA Handbook [Print] by The Modern Language Association of America
Call Number: LB2369 .G53 2016
ISBN: 9781603292627
Publication Date: 2016-04-01
MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing [Print] by Modern Language Association of America Staff
Call Number: PN147 .G444 2008
ISBN: 9780873522977
Publication Date: 2008-01-01
MLA Style Center [Online]
Call Number: Website
The MLA Style Center, published by the Modern Language Association, is the only authorized Web site about MLA style. This free, evolving resource is designed as a companion to the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook.

Example sites

MLA formatting and style guide from Purdue's OWL (8th edition)
MLA guide from UIUC Writing Center (8th edition)
MLA documentation guide from UW-Madison Writing Center (7th edition)

Citing data sets

Minimum requirements based on instructions and examples for books and web publications:

Milberger, Sharon. Evaluation of Violence Against Women With Physical Disabilities in Michigan, 2000-2001. ICPSR version. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, 2002. Web. 19 May 2011.

With optional elements:

Milberger, Sharon. Evaluation of Violence Against Women With Physical Disabilities in Michigan, 2000-2001. ICPSR version. Detroit: Wayne State U [producer]. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2002. Web. 19 May 2011. doi:10.3886/ICPSR03414