MLA Handbook

I bought the eBook version of this for school. The product description says it's compatible with Kindle for PC, but it never downloads, and I can't read it on my computer. I can read it in Kindle Cloud reader, but it doesn't display very well, plus I have to be online to access it. This is very strange, as I've downloaded three free eBooks from the store, and have no problems accessing them.

As far as the difference between MLA 7th and 8th editions is concerned, I can't speak to that. My professors have expressed preference for the 8th edition, which is why I bought this one.

Few are enthralled by the citation process, but no one writing within academic circles can avoid citation. In this fact-resistant era, we need to express perfect clarity regarding how we know what we say we know. This concise guide is indispensable.

I bought this for an online English class but found it to be easier to just look up the new 8th edition guidelines online rather than sit and try to find it in the book. And unfortunately it's too late for me to return it now!

You can only find so much information online regarding MLA style, and this edition is the most updated, which is important, since there are several changes. You don't have to include certain aspects in the Works Cited section.

In defense, this edition is not that bad. True, instructions for specific media either are gone or have been skimmed down. Indeed, rules seem unclear because examples of dictionaries and encyclopedia are absent. There are nine core citation style elements; the edition tells a reader to eliminate one element if deemed unnecessary to readers. That would lead to a little confusion and misunderstanding. Nevertheless, with examples, when a person uses a word from a dictionary or an encyclopedia article, either one can be probably treated as if it were a newspaper article or journal or a reprinted work from an anthology. Otherwise, if using a dictionary or encyclopedia as a whole, best to treat it as if it were a book instead. The edition also has cross-reference stuff like the previous edition. If using more than one entry from either, do not be afraid to do that.

As for older or lesser common ones, the edition recommend us to describe a such format (EDIT [14:01 PDT, 16 Oct 2016]: oops, I meant "medium", like "Print" or "Web") if helpful to readers, even when describing a format (EDIT: I meant "medium") is optional or not essentially necessary. The edition's generalization approach looks very new to readers.

I have also the 7th edition just in case that teachers would highly recommend it rather than this edition.

As a scholar and teacher of college/university-level composition classes, I have the MLA handbook with me all the time. I have only had this new edition a few weeks and find it to be consistently disappointing, frustrating, and not useful. Often, I end up putting the new one down and go to the 7th edition and - lo and behold - can find the answers I need quickly. This is not from having familiarity with the older text. It is from the organization of the text. For instance, I had a question about endnotes. Looking in the index for the new version, there was nothing to guide me for footnotes or endnotes. In the old version, they are listed in the index and very easy to find. This has happened on several occasions. I simply get fed up and go to the more efficient edition or the internet, but I don't care to waste too much time on the web. That's why I have the handbook. In the previous edition, all pages are identified by section numbers, etc. In the new one, only some are - making sections harder to find and also making it so that you have to fish for info in the non-numbered pages. MLA did a much better job with the 7th edition. I will hang on to that until another edition comes out and try to be apprised of changes in other ways.