The
List of Core Elements:
MLA 8 requires researchers to locate all “core elements” provided for a source and list them
in the following order with the accompanying punctuation:
1. Author. The person or organization that created the source
The specific name of the source. Book titles are in italics but article
2. Title of Source.
titles, chapter titles, episode titles, etc. are in quotation marks.
When the source forms a part of a larger whole, the larger whole can
MLA 8 REFERENCE GUIDE
3. Title of Container,
be thought of as a container that holds the source.
4. Other Contributors, Editors, directors, translators, narrators, performers
5. Version, Edition [updated, expanded, 7th, etc.], cut [film], version [King James]
6. Number, Volume, number – vol. 1, no.5
7. Publisher, Organization responsible for producing the source
8. Publication Date, Date that the source/container was published
Page number, chapter, section, DOI, website URL or permalink
9. Location.
Note: Access dates are optional, check with your instructor.
Your name & page number
Centered at the top
1” Margin
12 pt. font
Author Article Title
Hanging
indent Book Title
Double Publisher & Publication date Number
spaced
Containers
Alphabetical
Location
order URL,
no http://
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Call a Librarian Chat or Text a Librarian
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Contact
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Email:
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Citation Examples
Article (Web Page) “Depression.” Mayo Clinic, 7 July 2014 , www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-
on a Web Site
conditions/depression/basics/definition/con-20032977.
Website (Whole The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U,
site)
2008, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl.
MLA 8 REFERENCE GUIDE
Article in an Hannah, Daniel K. "The Private Life, the Public Stage: Henry James in Recent
Online Library
Database Fiction." Journal of Modern Literature, vol. 30, no. 3, 2007, pp. 70-94. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org.ezproxy.lib.uwf.edu/stable/30053134.
Note: When including a URL, omit the http:// and https://
Video RotoBaller. “RotoBaller MLB: Top Fantasy Baseball Catcher Dynasty League Prospects
for 2016.” YouTube, commentary by Raphael Rabe, 27 Mar. 2016,
youtu.be/gK645_7TA6c.
Book, Mikhail, Mona. Seen and Heard: A Century of Arab Women in Literature and Culture.
Single Author
Olive Branch Press, 2004.
Book, Casell, Kay Ann and Uma Hiremath. Reference and Information Services in the
Two Authors
21st Century: An Introduction. Neal-Schuman, 2004.
NOTE: Authors should be listed in the order they are listed on the title page.
Book, Robbins, Chandler S., et al. Birds of North America: A Guide to Field
Three or More
Authors Identification. Golden, 1966.
Book, with Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Robert Fagles, Viking, 1996.
Translator or other
contributors Here are other common descriptions: Adapted by, Directed by, Edited by, Illustrated
by, Introduction by, Narrated by, Performance by.
A work (e.g., Kimball, Jean. "Growing Up Together: Joyce and Psychoanalysis, 1900-1922." Joyce
essay, short story)
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in an anthology or through the Ages: A Nonlinear View, edited by Michael Patrick Gillespie, UP of
compilation.
Florida, 1999, pp. 25-45.
Personal Interview Smith, Jane. Personal interview. 19 May 2014.
More information on citations can be found on the PCC Library website
pcc.edu/library
Information and examples from Purdue Owl [owl.english.purdue.edu]
and University of West Florida
