MLA Citation Style 9th edition HD

Summary

This tutorial offers a step-by-step guide to citing an article from a library database in MLA 9th edition. It covers essential citation elements like author names, article titles, journal information, volume, issue, dates, page numbers, and database names. The tutorial emphasizes the importance of proper formatting, such as using italics for journal titles, quotation marks for article titles, and including DOIs or stable URLs. It also provides tips on setting up hanging indents and double-spacing in Microsoft Word, and explains how to properly use in-text citations.

Takeaways

• 📚 Start with the author's name, which should be inverted in MLA format (e.g., Condren, Edward I.).
• 📝 Follow the author with the article title in title case and enclosed in quotation marks.
• 🗂️ After the title, include the journal name (container) in italics, along with volume, issue, and date information.
• 📅 Include as much publication date information as the source provides, such as season and year.
• 📄 Add page numbers using the abbreviation 'pp.' followed by the starting and ending pages.
• 🔍 Indicate the database the article came from, using italics for the database name.
• 🌐 Preferably use a DOI if available, formatting it as instructed, or use a stable URL if a DOI is not present.
• ✏️ Ensure the citation is double-spaced and formatted with a hanging indent.
• 👀 Check for the correct punctuation and spacing rules specific to MLA style.
• 📖 For in-text citations, provide the author's last name and page number if the author is not mentioned in the sentence, or just the page number if the author is mentioned.

Q & A

What is the first step in citing an article according to MLA 9 style?

The first step is to identify the author of the article and invert the name. For example, if the author's name is Edward I. Condren, it should be written as 'Condren, Edward I.'

How should the article's title be formatted in MLA 9 citation style?

The title should be in title case, with the first letter of most words capitalized. Additionally, the title should be enclosed in quotation marks, with a period inside the closing quotation marks.

What is the 'container' in an MLA citation?

In MLA citation, the container refers to the larger work that holds the article. For example, if the article is published in a journal, the journal title is considered the container, which is italicized in the citation.

How do you format the volume and issue number in a journal citation?

You should write 'vol.' followed by the volume number, a comma, then 'no.' followed by the issue number. For example: 'vol. 10, no. 1,'.

What is the rule for including publication dates in MLA citations?

You should include as much information as the source gives. This could be the year, month and year, or even a season and year, like 'summer 1975.'

How are page numbers included in MLA journal article citations?

Use 'pp.' followed by the page range. For example, 'pp. 87-95.' This is placed after the publication date and followed by a period.

What is the preferred method for including digital identifiers in MLA citations?

If available, use a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). The format should be 'https://doi.org/' followed by the DOI number, with no spaces after the last forward slash.

What should you do if no DOI is available for the article?

If a DOI is unavailable, include a stable URL or permalink in the citation. Avoid using long, temporary links from the browser's address bar.

How should URLs be formatted in MLA citations?

URLs should not be hyperlinked, underlined, or include 'http://'. They should appear in plain text, and the section ends with a period.

What is a hanging indent, and how is it applied in MLA citations?

A hanging indent means the first line of each citation starts at the left margin, while subsequent lines are indented. This can be applied in word processors through paragraph settings by selecting 'hanging' under the 'special' indent options.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Citing an Article in MLA Style

This paragraph provides a tutorial on how to cite an article from a database according to MLA 9 citation style. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the citation process rather than memorizing every detail. The tutorial starts with the author's name, which should be inverted in the citation (e.g., Condren, Edward I.). It then covers the article title, which should be in title case and enclosed in quotation marks. The paragraph also explains the structure for citing the journal title, volume, issue, and publication date, as well as how to include page numbers and the database information. Special attention is given to the correct formatting of URLs and DOIs, with a preference for DOIs when available.

05:00

🔗 Finalizing Citations and Formatting

This paragraph focuses on the final steps of creating an MLA citation, including how to format URLs and DOIs. It advises to use a 'permalink' or 'stable URL' for citations when a DOI is not available. The paragraph also covers the correct presentation of URLs in citations, ensuring they appear without 'http://' or underlines. Additionally, it discusses the importance of indentation in MLA citations, specifically the hanging indent style, and provides instructions on how to set this up in Microsoft Word. The paragraph concludes with a brief explanation of in-text citations, detailing the differences in citation format depending on whether the author's name is mentioned in the sentence. Lastly, it recommends obtaining a copy of the MLA Handbook for comprehensive citation guidance.

Keywords

💡MLA Citation

MLA Citation refers to the style guide provided by the Modern Language Association, widely used in academic writing. In the video, it is emphasized that citations in this style require specific formatting, such as inverting the author's name, italicizing the journal title, and following strict rules for punctuation. This is the core theme of the video as it instructs viewers on creating proper MLA citations.

💡Author's Name

The author’s name is a crucial part of any MLA citation and must be formatted correctly. The video explains that MLA requires the author’s name to be inverted, such as 'Condren, Edward I.' This inversion helps standardize how authors are credited across different sources.

💡Title Case

Title case refers to capitalizing the first letters of most words in a title, except for small articles and prepositions. The video explains that while the title of an article may be printed in all caps, MLA format requires it to be in title case and enclosed in quotation marks.

💡Container

In MLA citations, a container is the larger work that contains the smaller work being cited, such as a journal containing an article. The video discusses the journal 'The Chaucer Review' as the container for the article by Edward I. Condren, highlighting how this must be italicized.

💡Volume and Issue

Volume and issue numbers help specify where an article can be found within a journal. The video compares journals to TV shows, where volumes are like seasons and issues are like episodes. For example, the article in question is from 'volume 10, issue 1.'

💡Publication Date

The publication date in MLA citations includes as much information as available, such as the year, month, or season. The video illustrates this by citing a specific article published in 'summer 1975,' showing how to integrate dates into a citation.

💡Page Numbers

Page numbers indicate where the cited content appears in the source. In MLA, they are abbreviated as 'pp.' followed by the starting and ending pages. The video cites pages '87-95,' emphasizing that this is a necessary detail for complete citations.

💡Database

A database in MLA citation is considered a container when an article is accessed through it. The video cites 'JSTOR' as an example, explaining that database names should be italicized and included in the citation to specify where the article was found.

💡DOI

A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a unique, stable link for academic articles, preferred over URLs in MLA citations. The video instructs on how to format DOIs correctly, placing them after the database name and ensuring they are functional as hyperlinks.

💡Hanging Indent

A hanging indent is a formatting rule in MLA citations where the first line of a citation starts at the left margin, and all subsequent lines are indented. The video demonstrates how to set this up in Microsoft Word, emphasizing its importance for MLA formatting.

Highlights

The author’s name should be inverted according to MLA rules, e.g., 'Condren, Edward I.'

Article titles should be in title case and enclosed in quotation marks.

Journal titles, as containers, are italicized in MLA formatting.

MLA requires citing the volume, issue, and publication date of the journal.

Use 'vol.' for volume and 'no.' for issue in journal citations.

MLA citations require the use of page numbers preceded by 'pp.'

Cite the database where the article was found, such as JSTOR, in italics.

Prefer DOIs over URLs when available for MLA citations.

URLs in MLA should be 'permalinks' or 'stable URLs' without 'http://' or underlining.

A hanging indent is required for MLA citations, with only the first line aligned to the left.

MLA citations must be double-spaced for proper formatting.

In-text citations should include the author’s last name and the page number, if the author’s name isn’t mentioned in the sentence.

When mentioning the author’s name in the sentence, only the page number needs to be included in parentheses.

The tutorial recommends using the MLA Handbook for guidance on citing various sources.

The process of formatting citations in MLA involves steps like creating hanging indents and applying double spacing in word processors like Microsoft Word.

Transcripts

I'm going to walk you through citing an article from one of Hayden Memorial

Library's databases according to MLA 9 citation style.

This will go pretty fast, because the point of this tutorial

isn't to tell you all there is to know about citation; there's just too much.

The point is to demystify the process a bit.

We start with the author.

That's usually somewhere around the top of the article,

and if you got it from a database,

there’ll be more information in the place where you downloaded it

Or, depending on the database,

there might be a helpful information page at the front of the article.

The author is Edward I. Condren, but we can't just copy the name over.

MLA requires the author’s name to be inverted: Condren, Edward I.

We only have one author, so we add a period to indicate this part's done.

The article's title comes next.

Two things you should know about article titles.

The first thing is that when you copy them into a citation,

you format them by MLA rules.

See, this title is printed in all caps, but MLA calls for it to be in title case.

That's the technical term for capitalizing the first letters of most words.

The other thing you should know is that

article titles are always surrounded by quotation marks.

In MLA, quotation marks indicate small works inside of larger works.

For example, this is an article inside of a journal.

Anyway, we close the title with a period, which goes inside the final quote.

That's the rule, and it looks nice. The citation so far should look like this:

After the article title comes the journal. This is where the article lives,

or what MLA calls the container. In this case, the container is

a journal called The Chaucer Review.

The journal title is usually found in smaller type,

maybe at the bottom of the article, or on your handy information page.

Containers get their titles in italics,

because they're larger works and MLA says so.

No period after this title, though, because journals don’t just have titles.

They have volumes, issues, and dates. Each volume contains multiple issues.

It's kind of like how TV shows are made in seasons and episodes.

Seasons are like volumes, episodes are like issues.

This article came from volume ten, issue one.

We indicate this by putting a comma after the journal title, a space,

then vol, short for volume, a period, a space, the number 10, a comma, a space,

no, short for issue number, a period, a space, and the number 1.

Next we put a comma after the issue #, like so, a space, and drop in the date.

Dates can be a little funky in MLA.

Your article might give you just the year, a month and a year, a season and a year,

or something along those lines. The rule is this:

Include as much information about the publication date as the source gives you.

In this case, we see this issue was

published in summer 1975, so we include that.

We still aren’t finished with this section because we need the page numbers.

And what do we do when we aren’t finished with a section?

Right: another comma, a space,

and we indicate page numbers with the abbreviation pp.

Stands for pages plural, if you were curious.

Then a period, a space, the starting page, 87, a hyphen, and the ending page, 95,

followed by a period. Finally.

Done correctly, your journal information should look like this.

Lovely. But we’re not done.

At the end of the citation we have to

indicate the database the article came from.

I found this one in JSTOR, which is spelled with all caps.

That’s its actual brand name, so we don’t convert it to title case.

Like all databases, JSTOR is a container, so its title takes italics.

Now let’s talk URLs and DOIs.

You’ll need one or the other, but they’re not equal.

DOIs, short for Digital Object Identifiers, are preferable.

Look for that first, starting on our handy cover sheet, and if you can find one,

drop it into your citation like this.

Put a comma after the database title, a space, then https://doi.org/

followed by the number itself.

Make sure to leave no spaces between that last forward slash

and the start of your DOI.

You want it to work as a link if you paste it into a browser.

Then add a period to close the section.

If you can’t find a DOI, that’s okay. You just need a URL.

But not any URL will do. Look for a link labeled "permalink" or "stable URL."

These are links that are guaranteed not to change, and they’re usually way shorter

and less hideous than the link you find in the address bar of your browser.

Put a comma after the database title, a space, and then the URL.

Look closely: see how the URL is black, there’s no "http://"

and there’s no underline anywhere to be seen?

It should always look like that. Then you end the section with a period.

There we go, a complete citation for an article from a database.

Yours should look a lot like this.

If they don't, you're probably doing something wrong.

Oh, one more thing: indentation. MLA citations require a hanging indent.

That means the first line of each citation starts at the left margin,

but all subsequent lines are indented. Don't use the tab key for this;

the spacing can be off. Instead, give it a hanging indent

using your word processing software. Here’s how to do this in Microsoft Word.

Highlight your citations. Make sure you’re in the Home Ribbon,

then open Paragraph Settings using this tiny little box.

In the Indentation section, open the menu labeled Special,

select Hanging and make sure it’s set at a half inch.

MLA also requires citations to be double spaced, so while we’re in here,

let’s open the Line Spacing menu and select Double.

Hit Okay and there we go—a double-spaced citation with a hanging indent.

That's the works cited entry. But what about in-text citation?

Thankfully, that's pretty easy, although there are a couple ways to go about it,

depending on whether or not you mention the author's name in the sentence.

If you refer to the article without using the author's name,

we give credit by putting his last name in parentheses at the end of the sentence,

followed by the page number where the information comes from. Like this.

Easy enough. If you do mention the author's name in the sentence,

we only need to share the page number in parentheses, like so.

So that's citing an article according to MLA, 9th edition.

Before you go, let me make one last recommendation.

Get a copy of the MLA Handbook.

It will tell you how to cite anything and everything.