What's Happening with the new update to the MLA 8th Edition?
Read the information below for highlights of the changes.
You'll find information on the MLA 8th Edition from the MLA, Purdue OWL, and EasyBib websites.
Copies of the new MLA Handbook are available at the Reference Desk at both campus Libraries
In the new model, the work’s publication format is not considered. Instead of asking, “How do I cite a book [or DVD or Web page]?” the writer creates an entry by consulting the MLA’s list of core elements—facts common to most works—which are assembled in a specific order. The MLA core elements appear below:
In the new model, then, the writer asks, “Who is the author? What is the title?” and so forth—regardless of the nature of the source.
"What’s New in the Eighth Edition." MLA Style, Modern Language Association of America, 2016, www.mla.org/MLA-Style/What-s-New-in-the-Eighth-Edition.
The MLA Style Center has template examples on the page, Works Cited: A Quick Guide.
When a source has three or more authors, only the first one shown in the source is normally given. It is followed by et al. (22). (Previously, the omission of coauthors was limited to sources with four or more authors and was presented as an option.)
Page numbers in the works-cited list (but not in in-text citations) are now preceded by p. or pp. (46).
For books, the city of publication is no longer given, except in special situations (51).
Issues of scholarly journals are now identified with, for instance, “vol. 64, no. 1” rather than “64.1” (39–40).
If an issue of a scholarly journal is dated with a month or season, the month or season is now always cited along with the year (45).
The URL (without http:// or https://) is now normally given for a Web source. Angle brackets are not used around it (48, 110).
The citing of DOIs (digital object identifiers) is encouraged (110).
Citing the date when an online work was consulted is now optional (53).
Placeholders for unknown information like n.d. (“no date”) are no longer used. If facts missing from a work are available in a reliable external resource, they are cited in square brackets (2.6.1). Otherwise, they are simply omitted.
Publishers’ names are now given in full, except that business words like Company (Co.) are dropped and, for academic presses, the abbreviations U, P, and UP are still used (97).
A forward slash (/) now separates the names of copublishers (108).
The kinds of publications that don’t require a publisher’s name are defined (42).
When an organization is both author and publisher of a work, the organization’s name is now given only once, usually as the publisher (25). No author is stated.
Full publication information is now given for widely used reference works. Page-number spans are given for articles in alphabetically arranged reference books in print. In other words, reference works are treated like other works and are no longer subject to exceptions.
The medium of publication is no longer stated, except when it is needed for clarity (52).
"What’s New in the Eighth Edition." MLA Style, Modern Language Association of America, 2016, www.mla.org/MLA-Style/What-s-New-in-the-Eighth-Edition.
MLA Handbook by Copies of the new MLA Handbook - 8th Edition are available at the Reference Desk at the DP and RHC libraries.
Copies of the MLA Handbook 7th Edition will also be available at the Reference Desk until the transition to the new 8th edition is complete.
Reserve copies of both Handbooks can be checked out for one week if you'd like more time to explore the changes.
Here are some excerpts from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) information on the MLA 8th Edition update.
In April 2016, 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.
Therefore, the eighth edition offers a new model for entries in a works cited list, so that rather than consulting the handbook for the proper way to document a specific type of source, the writer creates entries by consulting MLA’s list of core elements and compiling them in the recommended order.
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:
| Author | Number |
| Title of source | Publisher |
| Title of container | Publication date |
| Other contributors | Location |
| Version |
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.
Look for updates to OWLs resources and more detailed information about changes to MLA guidelines coming soon.
We [OWL] will replace our current MLA resources with resources on the eighth edition in early June 2016.
If you are already familiar with traditional MLA citation methods, continue to use them in a more simplified form. Since the eighth edition emphasizes the writer’s freedom to create references based on the expectations of the audience, consider what your readers need to know if they want to find your source.
The Purdue OWL will update its MLA resources to fit the eighth edition this summer. For updates, subcribe to the Purdue OWL News.
Purdue Online Writing Lab. MLA Eighth Edition: What's New and Different. Purdue University, 1995-2016, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/22/.
The MLA 8th Edition handbook, released in April 2016, includes major changes to the citation process.
This page highlights a few of the differences between MLA 7 and MLA 8.
1. One standard citation format that applies to every source type
In previous editions of the MLA Handbook, researchers were required to locate the citation format for the source that they used. For example, if a magazine was used, researchers needed to locate the specific citation format for periodicals. Due to the various ways that information is now received, in books, websites, lectures, tweets, Facebook posts, etc, it has become unrealistic for MLA to create citation formats for every source type. Now, there is one standard, universal format that researchers can use to create their citations.
2. Inclusion of “containers” in citations.
Containers are the elements that “hold” the source. For example, if a television episode is watched on Netflix, Netflix is the container. Both the title of the source and its container are included in a citation.
3. The ability to use pseudonyms for author names
It is now acceptable to use online handles or screen names in place of authors’ names.
Example:
@WSJ. “Generation X went from the most successful in terms of homeownership rates in 2004 to the least successful by 2015.” Twitter, 8 Apr. 2016, 4:30 p.m., twitter.com/WSJ/status/718532887830753280
4. Adding the abbreviations vol. and no. to magazine and journal article citations.
In MLA 7, there was no indication that the numbers in periodical citations referred to the volume and issue numbers.
Example of a journal article citation in MLA 7:
DelGuidice, Margaux. “When a Leadership Opportunity Knocks, Answer!” Library Media Connection 30.2 (2011): 48-49. Print
An example of a journal article citation in MLA 8:
DelGuidice, Margaux. “When a Leadership Opportunity Knocks, Answer!” Library Media Connection, vol. 30, no. 2, 2011, pp. 48-49.
5. Inclusion of URLS
In previous versions of the MLA handbook, it was up to the discretion of the instructor whether URLs should be included in a citation. In MLA 8, it is highly recommended to include a URL in the citation. Even if it becomes outdated, it is still possible to trace the information online from an older URL.
Omit “http://” or “https://” from the URL when including it in the citation.
6. Omitting the publisher from some source types
It is not necessary to include the publisher for periodicals or for a web site when the name of the site matches the name of the publisher. For periodicals, the name of the publisher is generally insignificant.
Features that have not changed, and are the same as MLA 7:
EasyBib will feature updated guides and resources to help you cite your sources in MLA 8. Check back soon for updates!
EasyBib. MLA 7 vs MLA 8. Imagine Easy Solutions, 2016, www.easybib.com/guides/citation-guides/mla-8/mla-7-vs-mla-8/.
