Citing Paginated Materials in MLA Formatting: A Guide

Citing Paginated Materials in MLA 9th Edition Formatting: A Guide

The MLA 9th edition formatting guidelines have introduced changes to the way you cite paginated materials. If you're struggling to understand how to properly cite sources from books, journals, and articles with multiple authors or multiple editions, this guide is for you.

Understanding Paginated Materials in MLA 9th Edition

In MLA 8th edition, citing paginated materials involved providing a title page, a page number range, and an in-text citation. However, the MLA 9th edition has simplified these guidelines to focus on the basics of citation.

Tip 1: Citing Books with One Author

For books with one author, you'll need to include the author's last name, publication date, title (in quotation marks), and page number range in your Works Cited entry. Here's an example:

Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Publication Date: Page Numbers.

Example: Smith, John. The History of Philosophy. 2020. 12-25.

Tip 2: Citing Books with Multiple Authors

When citing books with multiple authors, you'll need to separate the authors' names with commas and include an ampersand (&) before the last author's name. Here are two examples:

Example 1: Smith, John & Doe, Jane. The History of Philosophy. 2020. 12-25.

Example 2: Smith, John; Doe, Jane. The History of Philosophy. 2020. 12-25.

Tip 3: Citing Journals with Multiple Authors

For journals with multiple authors, you'll need to list the last names of all authors and include a comma after each author's name. Here are two examples:

Example 1: Smith, John & Doe, Jane. "The History of Philosophy." Journal Title 2020: Page Numbers.

Example 2: Smith, John et al. "The History of Philosophy." Journal Title 2020: Page Numbers.

Tip 4: Citing Articles with Multiple Authors

For articles with multiple authors, you'll need to list the last names of all authors and include a comma after each author's name. Here are two examples:

Example 1: Smith, John & Doe, Jane. "The History of Philosophy." Journal Title 2020: Page Numbers.

Example 2: Smith, John et al. "The History of Philosophy." Journal Title 2020: Page Numbers.

Tip 5: Citing Multiple Editions

When citing multiple editions of the same book, you'll need to include the publication date and edition number in your Works Cited entry. Here's an example:

Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Publication Date: Edition Number.

Example: Smith, John. The History of Philosophy. 2020. 2nd ed.

Conclusion

Citing paginated materials in MLA 9th edition formatting can be challenging, but with these tips and examples, you should be able to master the basics of citation. Remember to always check your Works Cited entry against the original source material to ensure accuracy and consistency.