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Buena Vista University

MLA Citations (9th ed.): Version

This guide will help you format your paper and cite your sources according to MLA.

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What is a Version?

If the source carries a notation indicating that it is a version of a work released in more than one form, identify the version in your entry. 

Books are commonly issued in versions called editions.

A revised version of a book may be labeled revised edition or be numbered (second edition, third edition, etc.).

Versions of books are sometimes given other descriptions as well.

Example:

Frodeman, Robert, editor. The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity. 2nd ed., Oxford UP, 2017.

Formatting of Versions

When citing versions in the works cited list, write ordinal numbers with arabic numerals (2nd, 10th). Abbreviate revised (rev.) and edition (ed.).

Descriptive terms for versions, such as expanded ed. and 2nd ed., are written all lowercase, except that an initial letter directly following a period is capitalized.

Names like Authorized King James Version and Norton Critical Edition are proper nouns and are therefore capitalized like titles. Words in them are not abbreviated.

Examples:

Schacter, Daniel L. The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers. Updated ed., HarperCollins Publishers, 2021.

The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.

Other Media Versions

Works in other media, such as websites, apps, musical compositions, and films, may also appear in versions.

Examples:

Blade Runner. 1982. Directed by Ridley Scott, director's cut, Warner Bros., 1992.

Schubert, Franz. Piano Trio in E-flat Major D 929. Performance by Wiener Mozart-Trio, unabridged version, Preiser Records, 2011.

Sonic Colors. Ultimate ed. for Nintendo Switch, Sega, 2021.