In April , MLA replaced its seventh edition resources with a new eighth edition. This updated version reflects the ways in which digital publication has changed how writers and researchers document sources. Therefore, the new edition includes significant shifts in the approach to source documentation in academic writing.
While earlier editions emphasized the importance of following specific guidelines for formatting, the eighth edition focuses on the practice and process of scholarly documentation. The logic here is basic: a style guide should offer a method that is widely applicable. Rather than insisting that writers follow strict citation formulas, this handbook outlines the principles of MLA documentation and explains how writers can use them in many different situations.
Not all scholarly prose is the same, and writers should evaluate their readers and determine how to best engage them. Like earlier editions, this handbook includes information on evaluating sources, avoiding plagiarism, using quotations, constructing abbreviations, and other topics important to the scholarly writer. But what is different about the eighth edition is that it recommends a universal set of guidelines that writers can apply to any source, in any field. For example, if you needed to cite a film, you would consult the handbook to see the proper format for documenting film.
In this new edition, MLA explains that this method is no longer practical, since types of sources are sometimes undefinable, or accessible in more than one way for instance, a YouTube clip from a film is not the same as the original film itself. Core elements are those basic pieces of information that should be common to all sources, from books to articles, from lectures to tweets.
The MLA core elements are as follows:. If you have included these elements and assembled them in a way that makes sense to your readers, then your works cited entries will be consistent and thorough. Since the eighth edition focuses on the principles of documenting sources, rather than on strict adherence to a particular format for each source, citations in this new edition vary only slightly from the old ways.
When comparing works cited entries in the new eighth edition with the former seventh edition, see that differences in citation style are minimal; punctuation is streamlined, volume and issue numbers are identified as such, and there is no excess information such as city of publication or media type. Note that the city of publication is not needed, and the medium of publication is eliminated.
Number 7. Publisher 8. Publication date 9. Sometimes, elements will repeat again, if say, your journal was inside a database. Putting it all together:. Goldman, Anne. JSTOR , www. A Works Cited page is a n alphabetical list of the sources you paraphrased or quoted within the text of your paper.
Your parenthetical citations within the text of your paper should point to a corresponding entry on this page. The Works Cited page should:. Your opinion counts! Please give us feedback. G53 Major Changes in the 8th Edition 1. MLA 8th Edition: Guiding Principles In the 7th edition of the Handbook, a separate set of citation instructions were given for each format type.
These guidelines state that, if given, these major elements should be included in the citation: 1. Location Sometimes, elements will repeat again, if say, your journal was inside a database. Putting it all together: Goldman, Anne.
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