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MLA Style Guide, 8th & 9th Editions: Supplemental Elements

This LibGuide reflects the changes to MLA style as directed by the MLA Handbook, Eighth & Ninth Editions.

Supplemental Elements (Works Cited)

Supplemental elements should be included if they are relevant to the source and/or your use of the source. A supplemental element is placed after Title of Source if it does not pertain to the entry as a whole. Otherwise, it is placed at the end of the Works Cited entry. Occasionally, the supplemental element applies only to the first container and will be placed after the first container and before the second container.Follow a supplemental element with a period. If you need or want to include more than one supplemental element, place a comma between them. Please consult pages 208-9 of the MLA Handbook, Ninth Edition. 

Supplemental elements include:

  • Contributors other than the Author - most commonly placed after Title of Source
  • Date of Original Publication - most commonly placed after Title of Source
  • Generically labeled sections - most commonly placed after Title of Source
  • Date of access - placed at the end of the citation to refer to the entire source; used when there is no publication or if the source has since been altered or deleted.
    • Accessed 28 June 2016.
  • Medium of publication - placed at the end of the citation to refer to the entire source; used when there are two or media options at the same location such as an audio recording and a transcript
  • Unexpected type of work or ambiguous format - placed at the end of the citation to refer to the entire source:
    • Transcript. 
    • Address.
    • EPUB.
    • Lecture.
  • Information about a prior publication - placed at the end of the citation to refer to the entire source; only include when relevant:
    • Originally published in Harper's Magazine, Jan. 2007, pp. 2-10.
  • Series name and number - placed at the end of the citation to refer to the entire source:
    • Not italicized or in quotations.
    • Example: A Song of Ice and Fire 3.
  • Recurring titled features - placed at the end of the citation to refer to the entire source
  • Total number of volumes or the unique title for the volume referenced - placed at the end of the citation to refer to the entire source:
    • 8 vols.
    • Vol. 4 of The Years of Ronald Reagan