Creating a Works Cited list using the eight edition
In these recent times, MLA has been converted to a style of citation that is used in most general methods of academic works. It goes further to be applied to every source in different types of writing. Contrary, because of the increased mobility of texts, one text may be reflected in several different sources thus eliminate the need to follow a set of fixed rules.
The system that is being used now is centered on a few principles, rather than a set of exaggerated list of specific rules. As the handbook continuous to give examples of how to cite sources, it is systematized according to the process of documentation, rather than by the sources themselves. Through this process, writers learn a flexible method that can be applied universally. It is substantial to note that once one is familiar with the method, then he or she can use it to document any kind of source, in any kind of paper, in any paper.
The following is the overview Work cited page according to the 8th Edition :
When deciding on how to cite a source at the Work cited page in MLA, the 8th edition format stipulates that, it is crucial to start with consulting the list of core elements. They comprise of the general pieces of information that MLA suggest included in each Works Cited entry. The following order should be followed in your citation:
- Author
- Title of source.
- Title of container,
- Other contributors,
- Version,
- Number,
- Publisher,
- Publication date,
- Location.
A writer should make sure that each of these elements is followed by a punctuation mark as indicated above. Past editions of the handbook included place of publication, followed by a punctuation mark such that of journal editions in parentheses, and colons after the issues numbers. As noted in the latest version, punctuation is simplified to just commas and periods separate the elements, and information about the source is just briefed.
- Author
Ensure that you start with the author’s last name, followed by a comma and the rest of the name as presented and then end this element with a period.
Reich, Christopher. Rules of deception. Random House, 2010
- Title of source
To be consistent the title of the source should follow the author’s name. The title of the source should be typed in italics or quotation mark.
In this case, a book should be in italics:
Reich, Christopher. Rules of deception.Random House, 2010.
A website should also be in italics:
Ransom, Jonathan. “The Last Resort.”eWeb, www.eweb,com/web_10567_the last resort.chili.html.*
A periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper) should be highlighted in quotation marks:
Kozlowski, Lynn T., and Richard J. O’connor.“Apply federal research rules on deception to misleading health information: an example on smokeless tobacco and cigarettes.”Public Health Reports 118.3 (2003): 187.
A song or piece of music on an album should be in quotation marks:
Drake.“God’s Plan.” Boi-1da, Rolling Stone Entertainment, 2017,
https://pitchfork.com/artists/27950-drake/.
Note that the eighth edition handbook recommends usage of URLS when citing online sources. To get more informed a writer should see the “Optional Elements” section below.
- Title of container
The eight edition is exceptional because it refers to the containers, which represent the larger wholes where the source is located. For instance,. When citing a poem that is enlisted together with a number of poems, the individual poem stands for the source, while the larger collection is the container. The title of the container is written in italics followed by a comma, because the information that follows it defines the container.
Frost, Robert. “Stopping by woods on a snowy evening.”Poetry for young people: American poetry. New York: Scholastic (2004).
The container may also be a television series, that consists of episodes.
“Fossils” The Bold and the Beautiful, created by Michael Stich, performance by Ridge Forrester and Brook Logan, season 2, episode 21, Warner Production, 1992.
The container may also be a website, which contains articles, posting, and other works.
Kwantes James, editor of the Resource Opportunities. 11Opportunities in Gold, Uranium and Diamonds, 14Aug. 2017, http://www.theureport.com/pub/na/17623. Accessed 20th Mar.2017
In some of the cases, a container might be within a larger container. This is well explained in instances that on reads a book of short stories of Google Books, or watched a television series on Netfliz. One could also have found the electronic version of the journal on JSTOR. It is fundamental for one to cite these containers within containers so that your readers can find the exact source that was used.
“Fossills”.The Bold and the Beautiful, season 2, episode 21, Warner, 27 Aug. 1992. Neflix., www.neflix.com/watch/20569234? Trackld=300256157&xtcl=0%2C20%2Co974d361-27cd-44de-9c2a-2d9d868b9f64-31217865.
Stiglitz, Joseph E. “Contagion, liberalization, and the optimal structure of globalization.” Journal of Globalization and Development, vol. 1, no. 2 2010, pp.167-82.doi:10.1017/S0982536Xo638029. Accessed @29 April 2010.
Other contributors
In other case, there might be other contributors to the source who it is a requirement that they are credited. They include editors, illustrators, and translators just to mention a few. It is a recommendation that if the contributors are of relevant to one’s research their names should be included in one’s documentation.
Note that in the eighth edition it is not recommended to abbreviate terms like editor, illustrator, translator, and others.
Barbery, Muriel. The Elegance of the Hedgehog.Translatedby Goodsread Author, Europa Editions, 2 Sep. 2008
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Version
It is also important to highlight a source in your citation if it is listed as an edition or a version
Hacker, Vicki L., and Christopher Jones. “Detecting feigned impairment with the word list recognition of the Wechsler Memory Scale–3rd edition.” Brain injury 23.3 (2009): 243-249.
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Number
In case a source is part of a numbered sequence, like that of a multi-volume book, or a journal that contains both the volume and issue numbers, then those numbers must be included in the citation.
Hacker, Vicki L., and Christopher Jones. “Detecting feigned impairment with the word list recognition of the Wechsler Memory Scale–3rd edition.” Brain injury,vol.23, no. 3 (2009): 243-249, www.braininjury.net/article/view/46/372. Accessed 3 July 2010.
“Fossils” The Bold and the Beautiful, created by Michael Stich, performance by Ridge Forrester and Brook Logan, season 2, episode 21, Warner Production, 1992.
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Publisher
The publisher is the one who introduces and distributes the work to the audience after producing it. Thus, it is critical to list all the publishers that are relevant to your research. A writer is recommended to use a forward slash to separate the publishers if they are more than one.
Flich, Paul. Firing squad. 2007.Rolling Stone, New York. The routledge, www.routledge.com/rolling-stone/nc/firing_squad.jpg.html. Accessed July 2009
Williams, Meredith. Blind obedience: Paradox and learning in the later Wittgenstein.Routledge, 2010.
Buckton, Oliver. Espionage in British Fiction and Film Since 1900: The Changing Enemy. Lexington Books and Oxford publishers, 2015.
A writer should keep in mind the fact that, the publisher’s name is not included in periodicals. Works published by their author or editor, website with the same name as the publisher and a website that avails the work but does not publish them e.g. YouTube, WordPress or JSTOR.
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Publication Date
In some cases a sources could have been published on more than one date. Mostly, this happens when there is an online version of the original source. In many occurrences a television series is aired on a broadcast network on one date, but released on Netflix on a different date. In such a case where a source has more than one date then it is upon a writer to use the most relevant date. If a writer gets confused on which date to use it is advisable for him or her to use the source’s original publication.
The example below shows Warner Production to be the primary production house and “Fossils” was released in 1992. One is required to cite a television episode in this manner
“Fossils” The espionage”, created by Michael Stich, performance by Ridge Forrester and Brook Logan, season 2, episode 21, Warner Production, 1992.
In instances where there is a discussion of the historical context in which the episode was originally aired, then the writer is required to cite the full date. In addition, because in this juncture you are required to specify the date of airing the episode then one drops the production (Warner Production) and replaces it with the Network airing it (WB Television Network). Reason being that in this case one is interested with the network that aired the episode as per the cited date.
“Fossils” The Bold and the Beautiful, created by Michael Stich, performance by Ridge Forrester and Brook Logan, season 2, episode 21, WB Television Network, 16 Nov. 1992.
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Location
It is a requirement to be specific in identifying a work’s location.
Page numbers should be included in the case of an essay in a book, or an article in a journal.
Hacker, Vicki L., and Christopher Jones. “Detecting feigned impairment with the word list recognition of the Wechsler Memory Scale–3rd edition.” Brain injury 23.3 (2009): pp.243-249.
The location of an online work should include a URL.
Hacker, Vicki L., and Christopher Jones. “Detecting feigned impairment with the word list recognition of the Wechsler Memory Scale–3rd edition.” Brain injury, vol.23, no. 3 (2009): 243-249, www.braininjury.net/article/view/46/372. Accessed 3 July 2010.
One could also include a physical object that one experiences firsthand to identify the place of location.
Hoffman, Henry. Beyond the pick.1979, London Public Library, London.
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Optional elements
The eight edition is designed to straight forward and be ease to the writer. It is recommended that the writer should include any information that aids the readers to easily identify the source without including unnecessary information that can distort the source. Below are examples of selected optional elements that should be included in the documented sources at the writer’s preference.
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Date of original publication:
In case a source has been published on more than one date, then the writer has a choice to include both dates of publication if it will add value to the reader.
Kruger, Eva. The Divison.2003. Elsevier Science Publishers, 2005.
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City of publication.
In the seventh edition handbook, it was a required that the city at which the publisher was located be included, whereas in the eight edition it is only necessary in certain instances like in works published before 1990. Many works that were published in the pre-1990 were associated with the city that they were published, and the in this cases the city might substitute the publishers name.
Rodriguez, Rauf. The Guitar.Chicago, 1894.
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Date of access
It is crucial for a writer to include a date that an online source was accessed, because it may change or move at any particular time.
Hacker, Vicki L., and Christopher Jones. “Detecting feigned impairment with the word list recognition of the Wechsler Memory Scale–3rd edition.” Brain injury, vol.23, no. 3 (2009): 243-249, www.braininjury.net/article/view/46/372. Accessed 3 July 2010.
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URLs:
Although the eighth edition recommends inclusion of URLs when citing an online source it is usually important to follow put on the discretion of the instructor or editor.
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DOIs:
A digital object identifier (DOI) is described as a series of digits and letters that lead to the location of the online source. DOIs are assigned to articles in journals to aid in locating the source, even if the URL changes. It is advisable to use a DOI if a your source is listed with it rather than using a URL.
Stiglitz, Joseph E. “Contagion, liberalization, and the optimal structure of globalization.” Journal of Globalization and Development, vol. 1, no. 2 2010, pp.167-82.doi:10.1017/S0982536Xo638029.
Creating in-text citations using the eight edition
In-text citation is used as a brief reference with a text to show the source that you consulted. It should represent any ideas, paraphrases, direct quotations of your source and direct readers to the entry in the list of work cited. Mostly, an in-text citation includes the author’s name and page number. If the authors name is mentioned in the sentence then only the page number is in-texted.
Corruption is “taking advantage of entrusted power for private gain” (Fitch, 20).
Another Exmaple:
As Howard fitch puts it corruption is “the taking advantage of entrusted power for private benefit” (20).
While at the work cited. It will appear as shown in the example below.
Fitch, Howard. Limiations of Globalization.Harper, 1997.
It is also important for one to consider including the range of hours, minutes and seconds when creating an in-text citations for media with a run-time e.g. a movie or a podcast (00:03:10-00:04:00).
Remember that the task here is to attribute your source and present your reader with a reference without interrupting your text. The text should flow considerably smooth without being extracted by extra information added within it.
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Final thought about the eighth edition
The MLA eighth edition is easy to use and applicable to many writers. It is not complicated to use and once a person is familiar with the basic elements required in each entry in the Works Cited list then it is easy to create documentation for any kind of source.
Although the handbook plays provides helpful examples that may be used as guidelines, there comes a time when one does not need to consult it each time you need to cite a source in MLA that has never been used before. If you continuously include basic elements, in the proper order, while using the right punctuation, then you will be ready to create a list of work cited on your own.
