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MLA Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition): Class Notes & Presentations

Tips

Access Date

In the 9th edition of the MLA Manual, accessed dates are no longer used for most entries.  The exception is if you have a web source without a publication date or which has been altered or removed.  This date will be added to the end of the entry. E.g. Accessed 23 July 2022.

Authors/Editors

An author can be a person but can also be an organization, or company. These are called group or corporate authors.

If you are citing a chapter from a book that has an editor, the author of the chapter is listed first, and is the name listed in the in-text citation.

Dates

The format of all dates is: Date Month (shortened) Year. E.g. 5 Sept. 2012.

Whether to give the year alone or include a month and day depends on your source: write the full date as you find it there.

If no date is listed, omit it unless you can find that information available in a reliable source. In that case the date is cited in square brackets. E.g. [2008]

Page Numbers

Page number on your Works Cited page (but not for in-text citations) are now proceeded by p. for a single page number and pp. for a range of page numbers. E.g. p. 156 or pp. 79-92.

Publishers

You have the option to use the shortened name of the publisher by using UP instead of University Press (e.g. Oxford UP, not Oxford University Press).

You also have the option to remove articles (A, An, The), business abbreviations (e.g. Co., Inc.) and descriptive words (e.g. Books, House, Press, Publishers).

Titles

Capitalize the first letter of every important word in the title. You do not need to capitalize words such as: in, of, or an.

If there is a colon (:) in the title, include what comes after the colon (also known as the subtitle).

Instructor's Presentation Slides (e.g. PowerPoint)

Instructor's Last Name, First Name. "Title of PowerPoint Presentation." Date of PowerPoint presentation, Title of Course, Name of College. Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. 

Works Cited List Example

 Paulson, Marianne. "HUM 100: Week 5: Rome and Rise of Empire." 31 Mar. 2012. The Development of Western Thought,  Seneca College. Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. 

In-Text Citation Example

 (Instructor's Last Name)

 Example: (Paulson, slide 5)

 Note: if you know the slide number, include it in your in-text citation. If not, leave it out.

Instructor's Notes or Handout Provided In Class

Instructor's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Handouts/Notes." Name of Course, Name of College. Date notes were received. Course handout.

Works Cited List Example

 Kurtis, Mark. "Critical Analysis." College English, Seneca College. Received 5 May 2016. Course handout.

In-Text Citation Example

 (Instructor's Last Name)

 Example: (Kurtis)

Getting Help - The Writing Center

The Writing Center [TWC] is located on the first floor of the Library in room L101. Writing center staff will be available to help with your essays, research, and more.  

At the Writing Center, they can help with any writing assignment for any class at any stage in the process. That means they can help you:

  • brainstorm a topic
  • refine your thesis
  • organize a rough draft
  • practice paraphrasing or incorporating source material
  • understand a citation style like MLA, APA, or Turabian
  • revise your work before final submission

Schedule an Appointment

Inside the Writing Center, several tables with chairs facing each other