This is the new edition of the Modern Language Association's handbook, the origin of which goes back to the "style sheet" first published in 1951; Books for College Libraries, 3d ed. cites a previous edition. Writing style, abbreviations, proper citations, and formatting are covered, along with new material on citing electronic information. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Gibaldi has been affiliated with the Modern Language Association's (MLA) Book Publishing and Research Program since 1976 and has been involved with every edition of the MLA Handbook. This classic tool for humanities scholars is a collaborative effort by MLA staff members and scholars, especially the Committee on Computers and Emerging Technologies in Teaching and Research. Core guidelines for formal research and writing are retained from earlier editions, but new rules have been developed for citing electronic material. Some sections have been expanded, and new summaries provide quick reference for key ideas, from selecting a topic to writing drafts. At the request of MLA members, an entire chapter addresses fundamental issues of academic honesty for a generation that has come of age amid Napster lawsuits and professional journalistic scandals. Plagiarism is defined in detail, along with examples of instances when source documentation is not needed and examples of copyright infringement. There is a new section on full-text databases and a revised section on evaluation of Internet resources for quality information. The "Citing Electronic Publications" section is more user-friendly and is now enhanced with annotated illustrations. Needed updates will be online at www.mla.org, but there is a growing demand for the entire content of this handbook to be available online as an electronic book. Essential for every high school and post-secondary library.-Betty J. Glass, Univ. of Nevada, RenoCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Foreword	xv
Chapter 1 Research and Writing
1.1. The Research Paper as a Form of Exploration	3
1.2. The Research Paper as a Form of Communication	5
1.3. Selecting a Topic	6
1.3.1. Freedom of Choice	6
1.3.2. Finding an Appropriate Focus	7
1.3.3. Summing Up	7
1.4. Conducting Research	8
1.4.1. The Modern Academic Library	8
1.4.2. Library Research Sources	9
1.4.3. The Central Information System	10
1.4.4. Reference Works	11
1.4.5. The Online Catalog of Library Holdings	20
1.4.6. Full-Text Databases	25
1.4.7. Other Library Resources and Services	30
1.4.8. Internet Sources	31
1.4.9. Summing Up	36
1.5. Compiling a Working Bibliography	37
1.5.1. Keeping Track of Sources	37
1.5.2. Creating a Computer File for the Working Bibliography	37
1.5.3. Recording Essential Publication Information	38
1.5.4. Noting Other Useful Information	40
1.5.5. Verifying Publication Information	40
1.5.6. Converting the Working Bibliography to the Works-Cited List	40
1.5.7. Summing Up	41
1.6. Evaluating Sources	41
1.6.1. Authority	41
1.6.2. Accuracy and Verifiability	44
1.6.3. Currency	45
1.6.4. Summing Up	45
1.7. Taking Notes	46
1.7.1. Methods of Note-Taking	46
1.7.2. Types of Note-Taking	46
1.7.3. Recording Page Numbers	47
1.7.4. Using a Computer for Note-Taking	47
1.7.5. Amount and Accuracy of Note-Taking	47
1.7.6. Summing Up	48
1.8. Outlining	48
1.8.1. Working Outline	48
1.8.2. Thesis Statement	49
1.8.3. Final Outline	51
1.8.4. Summing Up	56
1.9. Writing Drafts	57
1.9.1. The First Draft	57
1.9.2. Subsequent Drafts	57
1.9.3. Writing with a Word Processor	58
1.9.4. The Final Draft and the Research Project Portfolio	59
1.9.5. Summing Up	59
1.10. Language and Style	60
1.11. Guides to Writing	61
Chapter 2 Plagiarism
2.1. Definition of Plagiarism	66
2.2. Consequences of Plagiarism	66
2.3. Information Sharing Today	68
2.4. Unintentional Plagiarism	69
2.5. Forms of Plagiarism	70
2.6. When Documentation Is Not Needed	73
2.7. Other Issues	74
2.7.1. Reusing a Research Paper	74
2.7.2. Collaborative Work	74
2.7.3. Copyright Infringement	74
2.8. Summing Up	75
Chapter 3 The Mechanics of Writing
3.1. Spelling	79
3.1.1. Consistency	79
3.1.2. Word Division	79
3.1.3. Plurals	80
3.1.4. Foreign Words	80
3.2. Punctuation	80
3.2.1. The Purpose of Punctuation	80
3.2.2. Commas	81
3.2.3. Semicolons	85
3.2.4. Colons	86
3.2.5. Dashes and Parentheses	87
3.2.6. Hyphens	88
3.2.7. Apostrophes	90
3.2.8. Quotation Marks	91
3.2.9. Square Brackets	92
3.2.10. Slashes	93
3.2.11. Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation Points	93
3.2.12. Spacing after Concluding Punctuation Marks	93
3.3. Italics (Underlining)	94
3.3.1. Words and Letters Referred to as Words and Letters	95
3.3.2. Foreign Words in an English Text	95
3.3.3. Emphasis	95
3.4. Names of Persons	96
3.4.1. First and Subsequent Uses of Names	96
3.4.2. Titles of Persons	96
3.4.3. Names of Authors and Fictional Characters	97
3.5. Numbers	97
3.5.1. Arabic Numerals	97
3.5.2. Use of Words or Numerals	98
3.5.3. Commas in Numbers	99
3.5.4. Percentages and Amounts of Money	100
3.5.5. Dates and Times of the Day	100
3.5.6. Inclusive Numbers	101
3.5.7. Roman Numerals	102
3.6. Titles of Works in the Research Paper	102
3.6.1. Capitalization and Punctuation	102
3.6.2. Underlined Titles	104
3.6.3. Titles in Quotation Marks	105
3.6.4. Titles and Quotations within Titles	106
3.6.5. Exceptions	107
3.6.6. Shortened Titles	109
3.7. Quotations	109
3.7.1. Use and Accuracy of Quotations	109
3.7.2. Prose	110
3.7.3. Poetry	111
3.7.4. Drama	113
3.7.5. Ellipsis	114
3.7.6. Other Alterations of Sources	118
3.7.7. Punctuation with Quotations	119
3.7.8. Translations of Quotations	121
3.8. Capitalization and Personal Names in Languages Other Than English	122
3.8.1. French	122
3.8.2. German	124
3.8.3. Italian	126
3.8.4. Spanish	127
3.8.5. Latin	129
Chapter 4 The Format of the Research Paper
4.1. Printing or Typing	132
4.2. Paper	132
4.3. Margins	132
4.4. Spacing	133
4.5. Heading and Title	133
4.6. Page Numbers	134
4.7. Tables and Illustrations	134
4.8. Corrections and Insertions	137
4.9. Binding	138
4.10. Electronic Submission	138
Chapter 5 Documentation: Preparing the List of Works Cited
5.1. Documenting Sources	142
5.2. MLA Style	142
5.3. The List of Works Cited and Other Source Lists	144
5.4. Format of the List of Works Cited	145
5.5. Arrangement of Entries	146
5.6. Citing Books and Other Nonperiodical Publications	147
5.6.1. The Basic Entry: A Book by a Single Author	147
5.6.2. An Anthology or a Compilation	152
5.6.3. Two or More Books by the Same Author	153
5.6.4. A Book by Two or More Authors	154
5.6.5. Two or More Books by the Same Authors	156
5.6.6. A Book by a Corporate Author	157
5.6.7. A Work in an Anthology	158
5.6.8. An Article in a Reference Book	160
5.6.9. An Introduction, a Preface, a Foreword, or an Afterword	161
5.6.10. Cross-References	162
5.6.11. An Anonymous Book	163
5.6.12. An Edition	163
5.6.13. A Translation	165
5.6.14. A Book Published in a Second or Subsequent Edition	166
5.6.15. A Multivolume Work	167
5.6.16. A Book in a Series	170
5.6.17. A Republished Book	171
5.6.18. A Publisher's Imprint	172
5.6.19. A Book with Multiple Publishers	173
5.6.20. A Pamphlet	174
5.6.21. A Government Publication	174
5.6.22. The Published Proceedings of a Conference	176
5.6.23. A Book in a Language Other Than English	177
5.6.24. A Book Published before 1900	177
5.6.25. A Book without Stated Publication Information or Pagination	178
5.6.26. An Unpublished Dissertation	179
5.6.27. A Published Dissertation	179
5.7. Citing Articles and Other Publications in Periodicals	180
5.7.1. The Basic Entry: An Article in a Scholarly Journal with Continuous Pagination	180
5.7.2. An Article in a Scholarly Journal That Pages Each Issue Separately	184
5.7.3. An Article in a Scholarly Journal That Uses Only Issue Numbers	184
5.7.4. An Article in a Scholarly Journal with More Than One Series	185
5.7.5. An Article in a Newspaper	185
5.7.6. An Article in a Magazine	187
5.7.7. A Review	188
5.7.8. An Abstract in an Abstracts Journal	189
5.7.9. An Anonymous Article	190
5.7.10. An Editorial	190
5.7.11. A Letter to the Editor	191
5.7.12. A Serialized Article	191
5.7.13. A Special Issue	192
5.7.14. An Article in a Microform Collection of Articles	193
5.7.15. An Article Reprinted in a Loose-Leaf Collection of Articles	193
5.8. Citing Miscellaneous Print and Nonprint Sources	194
5.8.1. A Television or Radio Program	194
5.8.2. A Sound Recording	196
5.8.3. A Film or Video Recording	198
5.8.4. A Performance	199
5.8.5. A Musical Composition	200
5.8.6. A Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph	201
5.8.7. An Interview	202
5.8.8. A Map or Chart	203
5.8.9. A Cartoon or Comic Strip	203
5.8.10. An Advertisement	204
5.8.11. A Lecture, a Speech, an Address, or a Reading	204
5.8.12. A Manuscript or Typescript	205
5.8.13. A Letter or Memo	205
5.8.14. A Legal Source	206
5.9. Citing Electronic Publications	207
5.9.1. The Basic Entry: A Document from an Internet Site	207
5.9.2. An Entire Internet Site	216
5.9.3. An Online Book	218
5.9.4. An Article in an Online Periodical	221
5.9.5. A Publication on CD-ROM, Diskette, or Magnetic Tape	224
5.9.6. A Work in More Than One Publication Medium	228
5.9.7. A Work from a Library or Personal Subscription Service	229
5.9.8. A Work in an Indeterminate Medium	230
5.9.9. Other Electronic Sources	231
Chapter 6 Documentation: Citing Sources in the Text
6.1. Parenthetical Documentation and the List of Works Cited	238
6.2. Information Required in Parenthetical Documentation	238
6.3. Readability	239
6.4. Sample References	242
6.4.1. Citing an Entire Work, Including a Work with No Page Numbers	242
6.4.2. Citing Part of a Work	244
6.4.3. Citing Volume and Page Numbers of a Multivolume Work	247
6.4.4. Citing a Work Listed by Title	247
6.4.5. Citing a Work by a Corporate Author	250
6.4.6. Citing Two or More Works by the Same Author or Authors	251
6.4.7. Citing Indirect Sources	252
6.4.8. Citing Literary and Religious Works	253
6.4.9. Citing More Than One Work in a Single Parenthetical Reference	256
6.5. Using Notes with Parenthetical Documentation	258
6.5.1. Content Notes	258
6.5.2. Bibliographic Notes	259
Chapter 7 Abbreviations
7.1. Introduction	262
7.2. Time Designations	263
7.3. Geographic Names	264
7.4. Common Scholarly Abbreviations	265
7.5. Publishers' Names	272
7.6. Symbols and Abbreviations Used in Proofreading and Correction	274
7.6.1. Selected Proofreading Symbols	274
7.6.2. Common Correction Symbols and Abbreviations	275
7.7. Titles of Literary and Religious Works	275
7.7.1. Bible	276
7.7.2. Shakespeare	278
7.7.3. Chaucer	279
7.7.4. Other Literary Works	280
Appendix A Selected Reference Works by Field
A.1. Anthropology	284
A.2. Art and Architecture	284
A.3. Biology	285
A.4. Business	285
A.5. Chemistry	286
A.6. Computer Science	286
A.7. Education	287
A.8. Environmental Sciences	287
A.9. Geography	288
A.10. Geology	288
A.11. History	289
A.12. Language and Literature	289
A.13. Law	291
A.14. Mathematics	291
A.15. Medicine	291
A.16. Music	292
A.17. Philosophy	292
A.18. Physics	293
A.19. Psychology	293
A.20. Religion	294
A.21. Science and Technology	294
A.22. Sociology	295
Appendix B Other Systems of Documentation
B.1. Endnotes and Footnotes	298
B.1.1. Documentation Notes versus the List of Works Cited and Parenthetical References	298
B.1.2. Note Numbers	298
B.1.3. Note Form versus Bibliographic Form	299
B.1.4. Endnotes versus Footnotes	299
B.1.5. Sample First Note References: Books and Other Nonperiodical Publications	300
B.1.6. Sample First Note References: Articles and Other Publications in Periodicals	303
B.1.7. Sample First Note References: Miscellaneous Print and Nonprint Sources	306
B.1.8. Sample First Note References: Electronic Publications	309
B.1.9. Subsequent References	312
B.2. Author-Date System	313
B.3. Number System	315
B.4. Specialized Style Manuals	316
Sample Pages of a Research Paper in MLA Style	319
Index	323

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