The 8th edition of the MLA Handbook was devised to take into consideration all types of sources, therefore the list of core elements includes all possible sources. To cite any source, you simply follow the pattern of elements and skip those that are not relevant for the source itself.
In this section, we include some special cases that might be helpful when working on a research project.
Example
King, Bruce. Review of White Teeth, by Zadie Smith. World Literature Today, vol. 75, no. 1, Winter 2001, pp. 116-117. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40156375.
To cite a dissertation, you should provide the name of the author, the title of the work in italics (it is a standalone work), and the date of publication/discussion. As an optional element you can include the name of the institution granting the degree, and a description of the type of work (i.e. PhD dissertation, Master's thesies, etc.).
Examples
Chilelli, Justin. Intervention in Yugoslavia. 2007. John Cabot U, BA thesis.
Sofiani, Lily. China's Presence in Rwanda and Africa, through the Lens of the Product Life Cycle Theory. 2013. U California Los Angeles, Master's thesis. Political Science Database, jcu.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1284866980?accountid=130118.
If you accessed the dissertation through an online repository, include this fact as the title of the second container.
Example
Njus, Jesse. Performing the Passion: A Study on the Nature of Medieval Acting. 2010. Northwestern U, PhD dissertation. ProQuest, search.proquest.com/docview/305212264?accountid=7432.
Blog Posts
Hollmichel, Stephanie. "Wanderlust." So Many Books, 28 July 2016, somanybooksblog.com/2016/07/28/wanderlust/.
Corresponding In-Text Citation
Comments Posted on a Web Page
cirtnecce. Comment on "Wanderlust." So Many Books, 29 July 2016, somanybooksblog.com/2016/07/28/wanderlust/#comment-219771.
Corresponding In-Text Citation
Tweets
@librarycongress. "World War 1 Centennial: Brush up on your #WW1 trivia questions using our primary resources. go.usa.gov/xYfzA." Twitter, 27 July 2016, 1:30 pm, twitter.com/librarycongress/status/758399232675983361.
If you are citing a source in an "unexpected type of work," you can identify it by using a descriptive label that will be placed at the end of the regular entry.
Examples
Brown, Tim. “Change...by Design.” Compiled by Michael Keller, 2009. PDF file.
Lebrun, David, director. "Cracking the Maya Code." Nova, PBS, 8 Apr. 2008, www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/cracking-maya-code.html. Transcript.
Corresponding In-Text Citations
Examples of unexpected types of work are:
Transcript
Lecture
Address
A file format (e.g. PDF file)
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