Faculty of Letters and Languages
Department of English
Introduction to MLA Style
Lesson Description
The first lecture introduces the students to the Modern Language Association format. Its use is
common when citing references in the field of humanities. In our case, students rely on it as
they write research papers and master dissertations in Anglo-American Studies (Civilization
and Literature).
Learning Objectives
The main objectives of this lecture are as follows:
1. Students will be familiar with the logic of MLA eighth edition (8ed.) by the end of the
lecture.
2. Students will also recognize the nine features of MLA style when citing references.
3. Students will differentiate between the academic container and the digital container.
1. Definition
Modern Language Association of America Style is a type of formatting and documenting
sources in academic writing. It is commonly used in humanities to cite sources when writing
books, dissertations, scientific papers, essays, reviews, etc. The association was founded by
Aaron Marshall Elliot in 1883. It was initially preoccupied with the study and teaching of
languages and literature.
Building trust in information and ideas that the academic community shares is more important
today than it has ever been. This has been the generating principle of MLA. It makes the latter
regulate language, style, document format, in-text citation, and references to foster credibility
of results and enrich the discussion of ideas among scholars and students. What we refer to as
"MLA style" has never been a set of rules; rather, it has evolved over time to accommodate
the demands of writers, students, instructors, and publishers in humanities.
2. Historical Overview
In May 1883, modern language professors in Eastern USA planned to hold a meeting to
discuss the state of the study and teaching of modern languages. This marked the
determination to examine the place of traditional languages in the contemporary world and
anticipate the pivotal role modern languages could have in the upcoming century.
On 28 June 1883, Charles Francis Adams delivered the Harvard commencement speech. He
criticized the state of college-level linguistic research, praising Latin, Ancient Greek, and
Hebrew, stating that studying dead languages does not make the scholar or the student ready
for the real world. Having said that, he regarded modern languages, more precisely English,
French, and Spanish, as vital tools because they are "the avenues to modern life and living
thought" (qtd. in Reed et al. 14).
Adams' speech animated forty professors to hold an official conference, in which they
declared themselves the Modern Language Association of America, and Marshall Elliott of
Johns Hopkins was elected secretary (in 1974, this title became executive director) as
Franklin Carter of Williams College was elected president. Priority in the conference was
given to the following topics:
• The current status of English, German, and French at American universities and
colleges: (a) Their demands and needs.
(b) University admission requirements.
• Modern Languages versus Ancient Languages in terms of the disciplinary value.
• The modern language teaching methods (Inductive, Deductive, and Eclectic).
• Standard raising means of modern language studies.
• College training in modern languages and its educational objectives.
In 1951, the Modern Language Association published the first MLA Style form. It was meant
to teach scholars to document their writings and prepare them for publication. It contained a
31-page sample of footnotes. A revised edition was published in 1970 to add rules and
expanded 48 pages, and by 1977, the first edition of 136 pages of the MLA Handbook was
published to meet the needs of scholars and students in research and academic writing. More
editions were released with the aim of providing a more expanded version that contained
more rules and details for the academic community. In 2009, the seventh edition continued to
give more information on the templates used for works cited pages and in-text citations. In
2016, the eighth edition was published to mark a paradigm shift in documenting sources to
accommodate the change that took place in academic publications and the world in general,
moving from the real, the physical space, to the virtual digital one. The template-based
approach was replaced by a more flexible system that considers the mobility of texts and their
location in different digital containers. In April 2021, the ninth edition of MLA style was
released to focus on source evaluation and stress the importance of connecting information
and digital literacy. This course focuses more on the eighth edition of MLA style because it
was the edition that introduced this new paradigm in source documentation.
3. The Logic of MLA (8th Edition) Style:
As stated in the overview of MLA eighth edition, nowadays, the digital world makes
academia more mobile and undermined. Many forms of communication and new platforms
continue to appear on a daily basis. Additionally, articles and other academic papers merge
into different digital media and platforms. For instance, today's article published in a given
print journal may be found and read online in JSTOR or another platform. For this reason, a
system of documenting sources that should pay attention to the idea of physical as much as
digital containers is highly needed. The MLA 8th edition tends to focus on specific principles
rather than a detailed list of rules and formats. It provides scholars and students in humanities
with common-sense guidelines that help when conducting research and provides the target
audience...
With valuable, precise information about the used sources. So, based on the overview of MLA
eighth edition, three principles should be taken into account:
• The core features of documentation: Academic writers should cite simple common
traits shared by most works. Instead of works-cited lists that follow perspective
formats, writers focus on the common aspects of documentation in all sources (see the
core features of documentation).
• There is more than one correct way to document a source: it depends on the target
audience. For instance, advanced scholars may need more details about the used
sources than students. Monographs are cited differently compared to general books.
• Making documentation useful and clear to readers: Achieving the goals of
documentation means providing sufficient information in a consistent, precise form.
4. The Core Features of Documentation:
Academic writers are required to consider the core elements of the source and list them
carefully. With a set of few rules and more about understanding the basic principles behind
documentation, scholars and students can generate useful documentation of any academic
work in a specific publication format that is clear for the target audience. Hence, the MLA 8th
edition is a flexible, process-based style that focuses on the core features that most sources
share or have. This is what makes these guidelines universal, efficient, and easy. We have ten
features that are located in three containers:
• Lead information: (Author and Title of Source)
• Academic Container: (Title of container, other contributors, Version, Number,
Publisher, Publication Date, and Location)
• Digital Container: (Digital location: Website, DOI, etc.)
We call the illustration below a chart of identification. It shows the core features that each
source contains.
Fig.1 Chart of Identification
Source: MLA, 8th Edition: An Introduction & Overview, 2016, pp. 15, 16.
5. Key Points to Retain:
• Consider what your readers need to know if they wish to find your source, as the
eighth edition stresses the writer's ability to make references based on the audience's
expectations.
• Think of MLA-style principles as flexible guidelines rather than rules.
• Your goal is to enlighten, convince, or otherwise engage with your audience; flawless
writing and reliable documentation allow readers to follow your ideas and arguments
easily.
• The appearance of your in-text citations should be consistent throughout your paper
(essay, presentation review, etc.). The rules for in-text citations haven't changed much
between the seventh and eighth editions.
• MLA 8th edition guidelines are founded on a simple theory. Once you understand the
fundamentals of style and citation, you can use that knowledge to create valuable
documentation for any form of publication in any field.
References
• MLA, 8th Edition: An Introduction & Overview, 2016.
• Modern Language Association, "MLA History," https://www.mla.org/About-
Us/About-the-MLA/MLA-Archives/Time-Lines/MLA-History.
• Modern Language Association, "MLA Style," https://www.mla.org/MLA-Style.
• Reed, T. B., McCarthy, J., & Johnson, R. (2012). Modern Eloquence, Volume 7. Nabu
Press.
• Western Libraries, "MLA 8th Edition: A Brief History,"
https://www.lib.uwo.ca/tutorials/mla_style_8th_edition_guide_videos/briefhistory.htm
l.
Faculty of Letters and Languages
Department of English
Practice 1
Study Questions:
1. What is the difference between a style of documentation that focuses on rules and one
that focuses on the process and the audience's expectations (universal guidelines)?
2. What is the motive behind the rise of the Modern Language Association?
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Activities:
Activity 1: Define the following terms:
Format, documentation of sources, MLA, Container, DOI, and Database.
1. …………………………………………………………………………………………
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Activity 2: State the main difference between an academic container and a digital container in the
identification chart and provide one example for each one.
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Activity 3: Fill in the gaps with the correct answers.
1. The core features that most sources share or have. This is what makes these guidelines
universal, efficient, and easy. They are ... features. They are located in ….. containers:
……………………………………….(Author and Title of Source), ..........................
(title of container, other contributors, version, number, publisher, publication date,
location), and …………………………………... (Website, DOI, etc.).
2. MLA style was founded by
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3. Cite simple traits shared by most works means to
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4. The inductive method means
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5. The deductive method means
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6. The eclectic method is ...
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