MLA Style Citations

Each citation in the Works Cited list is based on core elements specific to the kind of source you are using. There are up to nine core elements, arranged in a particular order with the punctuation as shown below. Note that you will not need all elements for most of your citations. When a part is unavailable, skip it.

                                           Core Elements. Image from the MLA Style Center - Works Cited: A Quick Guide.

Core elements 1 and 2:

• are individual units
• each is followed by a period
• are only used once in a citation

Core elements 3-9:

• together form a unit or container
• each element is followed by a comma except the last element used, which is followed by a period

• When there is more than one container, repeat steps 3-9 for the second container.

According to the official MLA Style Center, a container is: “When the source being documented forms part of a larger whole, the larger whole can be thought of as a container that holds the source.”  Some examples of sources with two containers are:

• Article from a journal in a database     
  • the journal, the database
• Book chapter from an ebook in an online collection         
  • the book, the online collection (like Project Gutenberg)
• An episode of a TV series watched on Netflix      
  • the TV series, Netflix

This video explains the concept of containers and their use.

Citation Basics: Containers. MLA 9th edition by kirkwoodlibraries is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)