Previous title: MLA handbook for writers of research papers.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword / Rosemary G. Feal -- Preface / Kathleen Fitzpatrick. -- Part 1. Principles of MLA style: Introduction ; Why document sources? ; Plagiarism and academic dishonesty ; Think: evaluating your sources ; Select: gathering information about your sources -- Organize: creating your documentation : The list of works cited : The core elements ; Optional elements -- In-text citations.

Part 2. Details of MLA style : 1. The mechanics of scholarly prose : Names of persons : First and subsequent uses of names ; Titles of authors ; Names of authors and fictional characters ; Names in languages other than English -- Titles of sources : Capitalization and punctuation ; Italics and quotation marks ; Shortened titles ; Titles within titles ; Titles of sources in languages other than English -- Quotations : Use and accuracy of quotations ; Prose ; Poetry ; Drama ; Ellipsis ; Other alterations of quotations ; Punctuation with quotations ; Translations of quotations -- Numbers : Use of numerals or words ; Commas in numbers ; Inclusive numbers ; Roman numerals -- Dates and times -- Abbreviations : Months ; Common academic abbreviations ; Publisher's names ; Titles of works.

2. Works cited : Names of authors : Variant forms ; Titles and suffixes ; Corporate authors -- Titles : Introduction, preface, foreword, or afterword ; Translations of titles -- Versions -- Publisher -- Locational elements : Plus sign with page number ; URLs and DOIs -- Punctuation in the works-cited list : Square brackets ; Forward slash -- Formatting and ordering the works-cited list : Letter-by-letter alphabetization ; Multiple works by one author ; Multiple works by coauthors ; Alphabetizing by title ; Cross-references.

3. In-text citations : Author : Coauthors ; Corporate author -- Title : Abbreviating titles of sources ; Descriptive terms in place of titles -- Numbers in in-text citations : Style of numerals ; Numbers in works available in multiple editions ; Other citations not involving page numbers -- Indirect sources -- Repeated use of sources -- Punctuation in the in-text citation -- 4. Citations in forms other than print -- Practice template -- Index.

Rethinking documentation for the digital age. The Modern Language Association, the authority on research and writing, takes a fresh look at documenting sources in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. Works are published today in a dizzying range of formats. A book, for example, may be read in print, online, as an e-book, or perhaps listened to in an audio version. On the Web, modes of publication are regularly invented, combined, and modified. Previous editions of the MLA Handbook provided separate instructions for each format, and new formats required additional instructions. In this groundbreaking new edition of its best-selling handbook, the MLA recommends instead one universal set of guidelines, which writers can apply to any type of source. Shorter and redesigned for easy use, the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook guides writers through the principles behind evaluating sources for their research. It then shows them how to cite sources in their writing and create useful entries for the works-cited list. More than just a new edition, this is a new MLA style. - Back cover.