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Citing Sources

This guide provides examples of 9th Edition MLA citations that are most commonly used by students at the College of DuPage.

For additional support, use MLA's Interactive Practice Template to help you create entries for your works cited list.

Citation Style Handbook(s)

MLA Handbook 9th Edition Updates

What has changed in the 9th edition of the MLA Handbook?

The MLA Handbook 9th edition expanded its guidelines and examples on formatting citations and added some new sections on inclusive language, grammar and punctuation, writing advice, and plagiarism. Included below is a brief overview of the key changes. Please reference the 9th edition of the MLA Handbook for details on each of the updates.

  • Expanded guidance on how to format each of the MLA Core Elements (author, title of source, title of container, other contributors, version, number, publisher, publication date, and location)
  • Clarification on why elements are not always literal
  • Updated guidelines on in-text citations. The format of the in-text citations has not changed, but the 9th edition includes updated guidelines and examples to make it easier for you to format in-text citations especially for those that are more nuanced.
  • New guidelines on punctuation, grammar, and spelling in MLA format
  • Recommendations for including inclusive language in writing (e.g., use Latinx terminology instead of Latino or Latina)
  • New chapter on formatting a research paper in MLA format 
  • New appendix that provides samples of citations for works-cited-list entries
  • Updated guidelines on avoiding plagiarism
  • URL: https://library.cod.edu/citing/mla
  • Last Updated: Jan 4, 2024 2:27 PM
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