{"id":4240,"date":"2017-03-20T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/?p=4240"},"modified":"2019-03-02T12:46:08","modified_gmt":"2019-03-02T20:46:08","slug":"stress-free-mla-essay-format-8th-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/stress-free-mla-essay-format-8th-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"The Stress-Free Guide to MLA Essay Format (8th Edition)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cDing dong, the witch is dead … the wicked witch is dead!\u201d<\/p>\n

The new 8th edition MLA Handbook<\/em> (MLA 8) makes creating references on a Works Cited page so much easier than the 7th edition guidelines. You\u2019ll be singing, too\u2014once I walk you through it, that is!<\/p>\n

The 7th edition MLA Handbook<\/em> (MLA 7) was pretty darn complicated, listing a specific format for each conceivable type and variation of source material<\/i>. It forced you to find the \u201cright\u201d format for each source. Or\u2014if you\u2019re anything like me\u2014stressed you out as you tried to frantically cobble together several format elements to make it \u201cwork.\u201d<\/p>\n

MLA 7 didn\u2019t accommodate new types of media very well either\u2014how do you cite a Tweet? Or a reader comment at the bottom of an online news article? Or a YouTube video?<\/p>\n

The good news is, MLA 8 makes the answers to all of those questions easy. In fact, it\u2019s so digital-age-friendly that you can stop wishing for a magic wand to make your Works Cited page magically appear\u2014or ruby slippers to click to make yourself<\/em> disappear!<\/p>\n

Using MLA 8 instead of MLA 7 is like becoming besties with the Good Witch Glinda instead of the Wicked Witch of the East. (Oof, sorry, MLA 7\u2014should I be watching the skies for tornadoes and flying monkeys?)<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s the big change? It boils down to a shift in rules. MLA 7 was all<\/i><\/b> about the rules. MLA 8 is more like a guiding set of principles, providing flexible guidelines that you can use for sources published in any type of media\u2014including new, unpredictable media types.<\/p>\n

This post is your stress-free guide to MLA essay format (8th edition). <\/span>It covers everything you need to know, from formatting to referencing.<\/p>\n

Ready? Kick off those ruby slippers, and let\u2019s go.<\/p>\n

\n

MLA stands for Modern Language Association<\/span> <\/b><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Getting the Formatting Just Right for Your MLA Essay<\/h2>\n

From line spacing and the use of the serial comma to the title section, MLA is pretty specifc about how things should look in your MLA essay. Here’s a quick rundown of the basic elements.<\/p>\n

Basic formatting<\/h3>\n