ENG 4920: Theories and Practices in the Tutoring of Writing

Modern Language Association documentation guidelines are often used in the humanities fields, including English, comparative literature, literary criticism, and foreign-languages. The most recent edition is the ninth, published in 2021.

Learn more here:

• MLA Handbook by The Modern Language Association of America

• Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide

The general format for any MLA citation:

• Author. Title. Title of container (do not list container for standalone books, e.g. novels), Other contributors (translators or editors), Version (edition), Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication Date, Location (pages, paragraphs URL or DOI). 2^nd container’s title, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location, Date of Access (if applicable).

This guide provides advice for creating citations to manuscript materials held in Special Collections. In general, citations should provide sufficient detail for locating items. Each citation should include information that will identify the specific item used. Arrange this information in the following three categories:

Description of item:

• form of communication (memorandum, diary, interview, etc.)
• names of sender and recipient for a letter, speaker and audience for a speech or delivered paper, author and title for a publication or report, names of interviewer and individual interviewed, etc.
• date and other information needed for clarity (such as city and state for a speech)

Location information:

• collection name
• series and subseries, when applicable
• box number
• file or folder number

Identify the repository:

• Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville.

Sample Citations:

The following citations are expanded from the footnote formats recommended in The Chicago Manual of Style (SEE BELOW for more information on Chicago Style citation formatting).

Letter:

L. Brezhnev to J. William Fulbright, July 7, 1973. J. William Fulbright Papers, series 48, subseries 16, box 42, folder 3. Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville.

Diary, Memoir, Etc.:

Mary Bacon Bond, commonplace book, May 4, 1836. Martin Family Papers (MC 859), series 2, box 1, folder 8.Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville.

Report:

Institute of Distribution, "The Case for--the Case Against: The Utterback-Robinson-Patman Bill," 34-36. Joseph Taylor Robinson Papers, series 9, subseries 2, box 215, folder 4.Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville.

Oral History:

Mrs. Alice West, interview by Mary Celestia Parler, December 11, 1954, "Fourth of July and Christmas Customs," transcript. Folklore Collection, box 3, folder 32.Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville.

Musical Composition:

Florence Price, Symphony in E Minor, orchestral score. Florence Price Papers (MC 988), series 2, subseries 4, box 3, folder 5.Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville.

Literary Draft:

John Gould Fletcher, poem, "I Had Scarcely Fallen Asleep." John Gould Fletcher Papers, series 1, subseries 1, box 3, folder 24.Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville.

Photographs:

Photograph of Daisy Bates with John F. Kennedy at the White House. Daisy Bates Papers (MC 582), series 4, subseries 4, box 9, photograph number 57.Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville.

Photograph by J. Laurence Charlton of a migrant worker family. J. Laurence Charlton Collection, group 3, number 12.Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville.