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MLA (9th ed.) Citation Style: Title of Container

Title of Container

Overview
  • This element ends with a comma.

  • "On the MLA template of core elements...a container is a work that contains another work" (MLA Handbook, 9th ed., p.134)

  • A container can also be nested within a larger container (e.g. a journal article is contained within a journal and that journal is contained within an online database). Some examples of containers are:

    • a periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper) = container of an article

    • a print anthology = container of essays, poems, or short stories

    • a website or database = container of posts, comments, reviews, audio or audiovisual files, images, etc

    • a vinyl album or CD = container of songs

    • TV series, podcasts, radio programs = containers of individual episodes

  • MLA Handbook, 9th ed. contains more information on Title of Containers on pages 134-145.

 

"The title of the container is normally italicized and followed by a comma...when a container is untitled, describe it" (MLA Handbook, 9th ed., p.145).

Williams, George R. "What Can Consciousness Anomalies Tell Us about Quantum Mechanics?" Journal of Scientific Exploration, vol.30,

no. 3, 2015, pp. 326-354. Academic Search Complete, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=a9h&AN=118525144&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

 

In the above citation, the first container and the second container are both in italics.  The first container is the Journal of Scientific Exploration.  The second container is the online database Academic Search Complete.  Each of these are followed by a comma because the information that follows describes the container.