Skip to main content
LibApps staff login

Citation Styles

Help with different citation styles including how to format citations. https://libguides.asu.edu/citing

Who Should Use MLA Citation Style?

The Modern Language Association Style, or MLA Style, is generally used by disciplines in the humanities

Disciplines Using MLA Style Include But Are Not Limited to:

  • English
  • Literature
  • Art
  • Philosophy
  • Religion

How to Use This Guide

This guide is divided into several sections: The main page provides an overview of MLA citation style, defines who should use it, and identifies print and online sources. The additional sections discuss the basic guidelines for using MLA style 9th edition in in-text citations and the works cited list, including examples of various resources.

MLA Style Manuals

Citation styles change over time; the advent of the Internet and the increasing number at material types (e.g. web pages, e-journals etc.) have contributed to some of these changes. When using a specific citation style be sure to use a resource (e.g. style manual or website) that reflects the current edition.

Print copies of the most current edition — the 9th edition — are available in the following ASU Library locations:

Design Reference Downtown Reference 
Hayden Reference   Music Reference
Polytechnic Reference Noble Reference
West (Fletcher) Reference High Density Storage Collection


To locate additional editions or unofficial style guides not published by the MLA, search the ASU Library's Catalog using a keyword search 'MLA Style'. Be careful to select a title discussing the most current edition of MLA Style.

Print copies of the previous edition — the 8th edition — are available in the following ASU Library locations:

Downtown Reserve Hayden Stacks
Law Reference Polytechnic Reference
Thunderbird Reference Thunderbird Stacks
West (Fletcher) Reference  

To locate additional editions or unofficial style guides not published by the MLA, search the ASU Library's Catalog using a keyword search 'MLA Style'. Be careful to select a title discussing the most current edition of MLA Style.

Online Sources for MLA Style

These online sources are helpful in resolving citation style questions or building citations. However, they are not official MLA Style guides, but rather interpretations of the citation style and may be prone to inaccuracies.
Always consult the official style manuals or resources first for the most accurate information.

 

MLA Style Center
Online resources that offers limited help on formatting papers and creating a works cited page, sponsored by MLA

MLA Citation Style Tutorial 

ASU Library

 

Citation Builder

Online tool from Provided by UNC Libraries, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that helps generate MLA citations from entered information

  

Purdue OWL MLA Formatting and Style Guide
Online resource from Purdue University that provides information to online reference materials and services for creating citations, formatting papers to particular styles and more

The ASU Library acknowledges the twenty-three Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University's four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today. ASU Library acknowledges the sovereignty of these nations and seeks to foster an environment of success and possibility for Native American students and patrons. We are advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice. ASU Library welcomes members of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh, and all Native nations to the Library.