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Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition)

How to cite sources according to MLA
This page has been updated to MLA 9

Location (Works Cited)

Location is the ninth core element.

This element describes where the source was accessed/can be found.

Locations can be cities, page numbers, URLs, DOIs, disc numbers, etc.

  • The location used depends on the medium of the source.
  • For print sources, the location is the page number or range of page numbers.
    • The format is "p. 166" for one page and "pp. 123-166" for a range of pages.
  • For online sources, the location is the URL or DOI (if available).
  • For a DVD, use the disc number.
  • For physical objects like artwork or live events, use the place it is held.
  • Optional elements include: 
    • the original date of publication, if it is relevant to the use of the source. Place the original date of publication after the source's title followed by a period.
    • original city of publication for sources published prior to 1900 or books with different versions depending upon the audience, like a book available in a British or American version. Place the city name before the publication date followed by a comma.
  • This element ends with a period.

Examples

For ease of identification, locations are in bold and red text below.

Selection from a book or anthology:

Howard, Rebecca Moore. “Avoiding Sentence Fragments.” Writing Matters: A Handbook for Writing and Research, 2nd ed., McGraw Hill, 2014, pp. 600-10.

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Black Cat". Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, edited by Robert DiYanni, 6th ed., McGraw Hill, 2007, pp. 137-43.

Kritzman, Lawrence D. "Foucault and the Politics of Experience." Introduction. Politics, Philosophy, Culture: Interviews and Other Writings, 1977-1984. Routledge, 1988, pp. ix-xxv.

Print journal, magazine, or newspaper article:

Dickman, Kylie. "Apocalypse in the Garden State." Rolling Stone, no. 1260, 5 May 2016, pp. 36-9.​

Journal, magazine, or newspaper article from an online database:

Tucker, Virginia M., et al. “Learning Portals: Analyzing Threshold Concept Theory for LIS Education.” Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, vol. 55, no. 2, 2014, pp. 150-65. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43686977. Accessed 29 Aug. 2023.

Magazine article from a Website:

Garber, Megan. "The Trump Campaign Just Became Literature." The Atlantic, 28 June 2016, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/06/the-trump-campaign-just-became-literature/489140/.

Online video:

"The H Bomb: Making up for Lost Time: Lost." YouTube, uploaded by ABC's Lost, 24 Nov. 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueh4yEcjCp4.

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