MLA Citation: Core Elements for Works Cited Page

The main goal of the vidcast is to provide a basic understanding of MLA citation elements for creating a Works Cited page.

### Understanding MLA Works Cited: A Comprehensive Guide
* 📝 MLA's eighth edition citation format includes 8 core elements: **Author, Title of Source, Container, Version, Volume and/or Issue Number, Publisher, Publication Date, and Location**.
* 👤 The author's last name is written first, followed by a comma and then the **first name**, followed by a period.
* 📚 The title of the source is written in **standardized capitalization**, *italicized* for larger works, and in "quotation marks" for smaller works within a larger work.
* 🗃 The container is *italicized* and follows **standardized capitalization rules**, with a comma after the title.
* 👥 "Other contributors" are mentioned if the source is **adapted, directed, illustrated, edited, or translated by someone else**.
* 📖 The version, if applicable, is written after the **container and edition number**, if any, is noted.
* 🔢 Volume and issue numbers are now written directly after the container and separated by a comma, with "**vol.**" and "**no.**" preceding the numbers.
* 📅 The date is placed after the publisher, followed by a comma, and should include the **full date: day, month, year**.
* 📍 Location specifics depend on the medium, with page numbers written as "**p.**" for single pages and "**pp.**" for page ranges. DOIs are used for journal articles, with the database name italicized and followed by the **DOI number**.
* 🎓 The guide is presented by Derek Sherman in cooperation with Purdue Online Writing Lab, offering **detailed explanations and examples** for each core element.

[♪piano♪] MLA Style: List of Works Cited. A vidcast
lecture brought to you by Derek Sherman in cooperation with Purdue Online Writing Lab. [♪piano fades out♪] Core Elements to Citing: There are eight elements to citing a source
in MLA's eighth edition. The following are the core elements to citing: Author, Title of Source, Container, Version,
Volume and/or Issue Number, Publisher, Publication Date, and Location. The goal of this video is to provide you with
a basic understanding of these terms as well as how to put together a citation using this
information for a Works Cited page. For in-text citations, please see the additional
in-text citations video provided on OWL's YouTube page. Author. The author is usually prominently displayed
on the source that you are consulting. For example, on a database article, the author
will usually appear on the first information page or directly on the first page of the
source.

Therefore, the author will often be near the title of the work. Once you have found the author, now is the time to begin working on citing the author's name. You will need to start your works cited entry with the author's last name, followed by a comma, and then the author's first name, followed by a period. See that in this example, the author's last name is written first, followed by a comma. After the comma, the author's first name is written and followed by a period. Title of Source. The title of the source, like the author, is usually prominently displayed on the work and is in a larger font for easy visibility. On a database article, the title is the first item listed on the information page. On a book, the title is mostly on the front cover or spine of the book. When you go to cite the title, make sure you have already cited the author. Once you are ready to begin the citation of the source title, you need to make sure you follow three

rules. First, make sure you use standardized capitalization. Second, if it is the name of a larger work, for example a book, you will need to italicize the title. Third, if it is the name of a smaller work contained within a larger work, for example a chapter in a book, an article, etc., you will need to make sure it is in quotation marks. After placing the title of the source, make sure you have ending punctuation. Meaning, you need to place a period, exclamation point, or question mark. Notice that this example has a smaller work contained within a larger work. Therefore, the title of the work is in quotation marks rather than in italics. So, the title starts with the opening quotation marks, followed by the title in standardized capitalization. Once the title is written, the ending punctuation is placed and followed by the closing quotation marks. Container. The container is simply the larger source that your article or chapter is contained

within. Examples of containers include: a book that
is a collection, a periodical, a television series, a website, or even an issue of a comic
book. So, if you are citing an entire book, then
you would not have to place anything in this position, because you have already cited the
container. However, if you are citing a smaller work
within a larger work, then the container citation is necessary, so that the reader can access
your source. If citing a container, make sure it is always
italicized and follows standardized capitalization protocol. When writing the container in your citation,
make sure you place a comma after the container, especially since the next information describes
this container. In this example, is italicized and is directly
after the title of the smaller work. Once the container is written with standard
capitalization rules, a comma is placed after the title. Other contributors. Other contributors is not something unusual
in citations, but you may not have called

it this before. This portion of a citation does not apply
to all works, but it is still important to note in case you do have a work that utilizes
other contributors. This portion of a citation occurs if you are
working with a source that is adapted, directed, illustrated, edited, or translated by someone
else. Additionally, works that include an introduction
by, narrated by, or a performance by are included in the other contributors section as well. Notice in this example that after the container
comes the other contributors portion. The other contributors portion starts with
edited by, and is followed by the author's first name and then last name. After the author's last name, a comma is placed. Version. Not all sources will have a version, but if
they do, it could fall under one of the following categories: a numbered edition, a revised edition, an
authorized Bible version, an updated edition, an expanded edition, or a director's cut.

Most of your journal citations will not contain a version; however, if you do have a source that contains a version, it would look like the following. Notice in this example that there is no other contributors, so if there are no other contributors, you skip that portion of the citation. Notice that we are using the entire container in this citation rather than a chapter or portion. So the container is in italics, in standardized capitalization, followed by a period. The edition then follows the container. If you do have an edition, you would need to write it as follows: 5th ed., followed by a comma. Volume and Issue Number. Volume and issue number are not new things to enter in MLA citation; however, the way they are written is different compared to the previous edition. Most sources that will contain a volume and/or issue number include multi-volume book sets, journal issues, comic books, and seasons of a television series, which are written out as season number followed.

by the episode number. For a journal article, the volume and issue
can usually be found on the first printed page of a journal article, or it will appear
in the corner of the first page of the article. However, journals are different, so you may
have to hunt for this part. In this example, we see that there is a volume
number and an issue number, which are written differently than previous editions of MLA. In the eighth edition of MLA, you need to
place the volume and issue number directly after the container, and they are separated
by a comma rather than by parentheses. So, you will need to write out the volume
as vol., followed by the number, which is then followed by a comma. After that comma, place the number issue,
which is written out as no., followed by the number. Once the number is typed, you need to place
another comma, so that you may continue describing the container. Publisher.

Publishers are simply the organization that is responsible for making the source available to the public, so think book publisher. Book publishers can easily be found on the copyright page, which is usually located on the left-hand side of the page after the title page. However, you can also find book publishers on the spine, front, or back cover of a book as well. For web sources, the publisher could range from museums, libraries, universities and their departments. To find the publisher, look down at the bottom of a home page or on an information page provided by the website. The publisher in this example is written directly after the other contributors portion because there is no edition or volume and/or issue number. The publisher is simply written out and followed by a comma, so that you may continue further describing the container. Date. Date is a staple in MLA citations because it lets your reader know that you have an updated source or that you are using a specific historical source.

Depending on the type of the source, the date
can be found in a variety of locations. For example, a journal article that is downloaded
from a library's database should have the date on the information page or the first
page. Additionally, the date can be found on the
copyright page in a published book. If you are citing a website, the date should
be easily located, so your citation should carry the entire date: day, month, year. Notice in this example that the date is written
directly after the publisher. The date is followed by a comma. In this journal citation, the date is directly
after the volume and issue number. If you have a date with a month attached,
make sure the month is abbreviated with the exception of four-letter months. In both examples, regardless, the date is
followed by a comma so that the container can continue being described. Location: Specifying the location of a work depends
on the medium the source is located.

If you are citing a specific page, you will need to write p. followed by the page number; however, if you have multiple pages, you will need to write pp. followed by the page range. The first example shows what a page range would look like written out with the pp. followed by the range of numbers. In this second example, there is only a page, so only p. is placed and followed by the page number. However, there is also something known as a DOI or Digital Object Identifier, which is used for journal articles. The DOI will be located on the information page of the printed article or will be found on the first page of the article. If the article you have has a DOI, please make sure you provide the name of the database where you accessed the source. Therefore, you put the name of the database in italics with standardized capitalization followed by a comma, which is then followed up by the DOI.

In this example, we see that the DOI is preceded by the name of the database. Therefore, the database is followed by a comma. Once the comma is written, the DOI number is placed, and the citation is concluded with the placement of a period. [♪piano♪] Thank you for watching this Purdue Online Writing Lab video production. For additional citation videos or writing help, please make sure you visit the Purdue OWL's YouTube page or website at owl.english.purdue.edu. [♪piano fades out♪]

MLA Style: List of Works Cited (8th Ed., 2016)

OWLPurdue

Understanding MLA Citation: A Quick Guide

The core elements of citing a source in MLA's eighth edition include the author, title of the source, and container.

The author's name should be written with the last name first, followed by a comma, and then the first name.

When citing the title of the source, standardized capitalization should be used, and it should be italicized for a larger work or in quotation marks for a smaller work within a larger work.

The container refers to the larger source that contains the article or chapter being cited.

Citing Different Types of Containers in a Citation

When citing a smaller work within a larger work, it is necessary to include the container citation, italicized and with standardized capitalization.

The "other contributors" section is important to include if the source is adapted, directed, illustrated, edited, or translated by someone else.

Some sources may also require the inclusion of a version, such as a numbered edition or a revised edition, in the citation.

Citing sources with versions in MLA may include the edition, volume, and issue number.

The edition should be written as "5th ed.

," while the volume and issue number should be written as "vol.

The volume and issue number should be placed directly after the container and followed by a comma.

Finding Publishers and Dates for Citations

Book publishers can be found on the copyright page, spine, front, or back cover of a book.

For web sources, the publisher can be located at the bottom of the home page or on an information page.

The date of a source can be found on the information page, first page, or copyright page for a book, and should include the entire date (day, month, year) for a website.

The date is typically written directly after the publisher, followed by a comma.

Specifying the location of a work in a citation depends on the medium in which the source is located.

How to Cite Page Numbers and DOIs in Different Sources

" followed by the page number for a single page, and "pp.

DOIs for journal articles are preceded by the name of the database in italics, followed by a comma and then the DOI number, concluding with a period.

The Purdue OWL offers additional citation videos and writing help on their YouTube page and website for further assistance.