MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd ed.
by Modern Language Association
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Book Summary Information
Author: Modern Language AssociationEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-06-30
ISBN: 0873522974
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Modern Language Association of America
Book Reviews of MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd ed.
Book Review: A Shocking Debacle!
Summary: 1 Stars
NOTE: The previous three reviews, obviously, are reviews of previous editions of this manual; I address the current, third edition--and only with regard to citation format.
The changes this edition introduces, on the whole, constitute a catastrophe for the MLA. If these changes are reflected in the next edition of the _MLA Handbook_, most students, scholars, and teachers/professors in the humanities are sure to abandon the MLA. Here are just a few of the inexplicable gaffes I have noticed so far:
1. DELETION OF THE APPENDIX ON FOOTNOTES/ENDNOTES (former Appendix A). This is the whopper. Most students and scholars in the humanities use footnotes/endnotes. Without the old appendix--which should never have been a mere appendix, to begin with--the book is rendered useless to most students and scholars. Certainly, teachers and professors can no longer recommend it, or any subsequent edition of the _MLA Handbook_ based on it, to their students.
2. PLACEMENT OF SERIES INFORMATION AT END OF CITATIONS (section 6.6.15, formerly 6.6.16). This one baffles me. Who could think such placement even remotely aesthetically pleasing? On a practical level, such placement tends to burry the ever-so-important year of publication.
3. UBIQUITOUS MEDIUM OF PUBLICATION DATA. Okay, this one baffles me too. Despite feeble protestations to the contrary, "print" and "film" are default assumptions within their respective domains. Having to write those designations at the end of all relevant citations is silly, superfluous, ugly, wordy, and a waste of ink and paper. Aren't we supposed to be "green" now?
4. CITATION OF ONLINE SOURCES. Yet another baffler! Anyone who thinks getting rid of URL addresses in citations is a good idea is just plain nuts. URLs are the easiest way of locating websites. The editors' argument that reproducing URLs is a process prone to error is specious. A simple "copy and paste" operation solves the problem easily and quickly. With citations of online sources, more is better--though, obviously, with a URL, the "web" designation would be superfluous.
5. DELETION OF BRACKETED ELLIPSES (former and current section 3.9.5). Bracketed ellipses provided the simplest way of distinguishing between original and inserted ellipses. Now, one must return to the parenthetical "ellipsis in original."
6. DELETION OF METHOD OF INDICATING ITALICS/UNDERSCORING ELECTRONICALLY (former and current section 3.5). The old recommendation was ideally suited for online boards and chatrooms and for email.
7. ERROR REGARDING COMPLETE PUBLICATION DATA FOR SPECIAL ISSUES OF JOURNALS. The end of section 6.5.13 claims to provide guidance for those wishing to provide full publication data but provides no publication data. Presumably, the intent must have been along the lines of the final example of section 6.6.16.
I have found only two welcome changes in this edition: (1) the long-overdue change from underscoring to italics; and (2) the revised format for republished journal issues, section 6.6.16, though this latter matter is rather subtle. Otherwise, as far as I have been able to check thus far, the new edition's changes in citation format are a travesty. The next edition of the _MLA Handbook_ must ignore this edition, which must be discontinued at once; otherwise, the MLA will find its influence greatly diminished and its publications staff downsized. As a longtime user of MLA format (with footnotes), it saddens me that I may have no choice but to turn to and recommend the _Chicago Manual of Style_ in the future. Certainly, I will be using this edition only as a paperweight.
For citation style, I still recommend the current, sixth edition of the _MLA Handbook_ above all other guides.
Summary of MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd ed.
Reorganized and revised, the third edition of the MLA Style Manual offers complete, up-to-date guidance on writing scholarly texts, documenting research sources, submitting manuscripts to publishers, and dealing with legal issues surrounding publication. New in the third edition:
* a significant revision of MLA documentation style
* simplified citation formats for electronic sources
* detailed advice on the review process used by scholarly journals and presses
* a fully updated chapter on copyright, fair use, contracts, and other legal issues
* guidelines on preparing electronic files
* discussion of the electronic submission of a dissertation
* a foreword by Domna C. Stanton on the current state of scholarly publishing
* a preface by David G. Nicholls on what is new in the third edition
MLA guides present the most accurate and complete information on MLA style.
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