MLA Style Manual facts for kids
MLA Handbook, 9th ed.
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| Original title | MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Style guide |
| Publisher | Modern Language Association of America |
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Publication date
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2021 |
| Pages | xxx + 367 |
| ISBN | 9781603293518 |
| LC Class | LB2369 .M52 2021 |
The MLA Handbook is a helpful guide for students and writers. It teaches you how to properly list your sources when you write school papers. This is called "documenting sources."
The book is currently in its 9th edition, published in 2021. It was once known as the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. The Modern Language Association (MLA) publishes this guide. They are an organization based in the United States.
The MLA style is used all over the world. Many schools, teachers, and publishers use it. It helps make sure everyone cites their information in the same way. This makes it easy to understand where information comes from.
The MLA Handbook started as a shorter version of another guide, the MLA Style Manual. Both guides help people write and cite research. They are often used in subjects like English, other languages, and literature. They are also used in media studies and cultural studies. The MLA Handbook is mostly for high school and college students.
In 2016, the MLA announced that the MLA Handbook would be the main guide for MLA style. They decided to stop publishing the larger MLA Style Manual.
Contents
What is MLA Style?
MLA style is a set of rules for writing and citing sources. It helps you organize your research papers. It also shows you how to give credit to the authors whose ideas you use. This is very important to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism is using someone else's work without giving them credit.
Using MLA style makes your papers look professional. It also helps your teachers easily find the sources you used.
How the Handbook Changed Over Time
The MLA Handbook has changed many times to keep up with new ways of finding information.
It started as a small guide called the MLA Style Sheet in 1951. This guide was only 28 pages long. The first full MLA Handbook came out in 1977. For a while, its title included "Theses, and Dissertations." This part was removed in 2003.
Important Updates to the Handbook
The seventh edition (2009) made some big changes. It told writers to always say if a source was from a book (Print) or a website (Web). It also suggested not listing full website addresses (URLs) in your works cited list. This edition also said to use italics for titles instead of underlining them.
The eighth edition (2016) changed how sources were listed even more. It focused on the idea of documenting sources, no matter where they came from. It added abbreviations like "vol." for volume and "p." for page. It also started using URLs more often, but preferred DOIs. A DOI is a special number that helps find online articles.
The ninth edition (2021) is the most recent version. It gives even more examples to help students. It also suggests using language that is more inclusive. This edition says that URLs are optional. It prefers DOIs or permalinks, which are stable links to online content. The ninth edition also includes rules for annotated bibliographies. These are lists of sources that also include a short summary of each source.
Editions of the Handbook
Here are the years each edition of the MLA Handbook was published:
| Edition | Year |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1977 |
| 2 | 1984 |
| 3 | 1988 |
| 4 | 1995 |
| 5 | 1999 |
| 6 | 2003 |
| 7 | 2009 |
| 8 | 2016 |
| 9 | 2021 |
About the MLA Style Manual
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| Original title | MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Style guide |
| Publisher | Modern Language Association of America |
|
Publication date
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2008 |
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Published in English
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May 2008 |
| Media type | Print; large print; also listed as available as audiobook |
| Pages | xxiv & 336 |
| ISBN | 978-0-87352-297-7 |
| OCLC | 191090459 |
| 808/.027 22 | |
| LC Class | PN147 .G444 2008 |
| Preceded by | MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (2nd ed., by Joseph Gibaldi)' |
The MLA Style Manual was another guide published by the MLA. It was for more advanced writers, like graduate students and professors. It was first published in 1985. The last edition came out in 2008.
In 2016, the MLA decided to stop publishing the MLA Style Manual. They said the MLA Handbook would now be the main guide for MLA style. They also planned to create new guides for professional scholars.
See also
- Comparison of reference management software
- Parenthetical referencing
- APA style
