Referencing / Citation Styles: MLA

The MLA style is produced by the Modern Language Association, and uses brief parenthetical in-text citations that point to more detailed information in the alphabetical list of Works Cited which is included at the end of the paper. Use a Works Consulted list, where background readings and in-text references are required.

The 7th Edition of MLA style is widely used, but there is a new 8th edition of the style that was released in 2016. There are key differences between the two editions, so check with your lecturer, tutor or librarian if you are unsure which version to use!

MLA style is widely used in the humanities, especially in writing on language and literature. It is used in (some) papers in the following subjects at Otago:

Citation Generators automatically format reference details you provide into a specific citation style. These are great time-savers, but they are only as good as the data you put in (they won't fix spelign erroars like this one for example)! 

Reference managers are apps that help you gather and store, organise and annotate, and then cite and share the books, chapters, articles and other stuff you use in your study and research. Check out the options available here: