MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers

Watch an informational video about the MLA Handbook.

The Definitive Guide to Writing Research Papers

The MLA Handbook is published by the Modern Language Association, the authority on MLA documentation style. Widely adopted by universities, colleges, and secondary schools, the MLA Handbook gives step-by-step advice on every aspect of writing research papers, from selecting a topic to submitting the completed paper.

 

The seventh edition combines a fully updated print volume with a complementary Web site. The site provides

• The full text of the print volume of the MLA Handbook
• Over two hundred additional examples
• Several research project narratives—stories, with sample papers, that illustrate the steps successful students take in researching and writing papers
• Searching of the entire site, including the full text of the MLA Handbook
• Continuous access throughout the life of the seventh edition of the MLA Handbook

• Praise from College Teachers for the Research Project Narratives

  This is a marvelous idea. Students struggle to understand best practices for documenting sources, and I find that presenting them with research scenarios and specific problems helps them tremendously. The narratives provide a great resource that will help students understand the MLA’s recommendations for documentation. 

  — Irene Kacandes, Professor of German Studies and Comparative Literature, Dartmouth College

• Praise from College Teachers for the Research Project Narratives

  I think the narratives should be of great value both to undergraduate writers of research papers and to their teachers. Having carefully reviewed the project on Jane Austen, I am impressed by the sheer wealth and complexity of information that the narrative manages to convey, without making the reader feel overwhelmed. The narrative is indeed user-friendly in the best sense of the term: in the inevitably lonely and even frightening process of research and writing, the serious undergraduate will find here a comprehensive and comprehensible guide, on whose advice he or she can rely. 

  — Joseph D. Litvak, Professor of English, Tufts University

• Praise from College Teachers for the Research Project Narratives

  This is a major effort. Each narrative is painstakingly and thoroughly developed. This new material will make any teacher’s work easier. 

  — Diana Sorensen, Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and Comparative Literature, Harvard University