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Library update: Recent database changes

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Literary Reference

This guide covers various aspects of literature scholarship and research.

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This guide is to introduce students to the essential and useful resources in English language and literature. In this guide, you will find suggestions for locating books and journal articles. The guide also provides a list of print, online, and Web resources with descriptions as to the type of information each contains.  Please contact the Reference Desk on the 2nd floor of Mitchell Memorial Library, (662) 325-7667, or use our Ask-A-Librarian service for further questions about any of these resources.

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Norton's Study Space for Students

Students can find helpful study guides including literary timelines, multiple choice quizzes, interactive maps, summaries & more. 

Online Resources

Additional Online Information

In 2016 the Modern Language Association released its latest update. Below are some of the changes according to the website linked below. 

Core Elements

Each entry in the list of works cited is composed of facts common to most works—the MLA core elements. They are assembled in a specific order.

  • Author.
  • Title of source.
  • Title of container,
  • Other contributors,
  • Version,
  • Number,
  • Publisher,
  • Publication date,
  • Location.

Containers

The concept of containers is crucial to MLA style. When the source being documented forms part of a larger whole, the larger whole can be thought of as a container that holds the source. For example, a short story may be contained in an anthology. The short story is the source, and the anthology is the container. Reminder: a stand-alone source, such as a print book or a film on disc or tape, is both source and container.

Other "source/container" relationships may include:

  • An article in a journal
  • A journal article in a database
  • A chapter in an edited book
  • A video on a website