Trout Library Blog

MLA Handbook by The Modern Language Association of America

• More detailed and comprehensive instructions for creating a Works Cited page
• Detailed examples of how to find publication information for different types of sources
• A new appendix containing a large number of examples of how to create citation entries on the Works Cited page for different categories of sources
• A more extensive explanation of how to create in-text citations
• Instructions on quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, and avoiding plagiarism
• Annotated bibliography examples
• A sample paper in MLA format

For more information on new features in the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook, click here.

Some specific changes to MLA format and style can be found under the MLA 9th Citation Style tab in our Cite Sources Library Guide. In contrast to when MLA 8 came out, there are few changes to the citation style itself from the guidelines presented in the previous edition. One change involves adding the format, such as "MP3 format," if you are citing an audiovisual source. There are quite a few changes that involve using more inclusive language. For example, the new instructions are to use terms that avoid specifying a person's ethnicity, religion, gender, social orientation, disability, age, or social status if these elements are not critical to the context. For example, a writer would use "Latinx" rather than "Latino" or "Latina," and "human-made" rather than "man-made." Another change is that native grammar and punctuation should be used when citing or quoting a foreign language source.

Please free free to contact us in the Library for any help with citations or research.