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MLA Style: Title of Container

The Container

What is a Container?

"When a source being documented forms a part of a larger whole,the larger whole can be thought of as a container that holds the source." (p 30)

A container can be nested within a larger container.

  • A blog may form a part of a network of similar blogs
  • The complete back issues of a journal may be found on a larger digital platform, such as JSTOR
  • A book of short stories may be read on an archive of digital books, such as Google Books
  • A television series may be watched on a network like Netflix or Hulu

It is usually best to account for all the containers that enclose your source.

Kinds of Containers

  • a book that is a collection of essays, stories, poems
    • EXAMPLE: Smith. Winston J. "The Future of Reading in Print" The Future of the Book, U of Oklahoma P  2017, pp. 273-299
  • a periodical
    • EXAMPLE: Ranz-Smith. Deborah J. "Perspectives of the Titanic: Are We Sinking with the Ship?" Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, vol. 14 no. 4  2013, pp. 373-378
  • a television series
    • EXAMPLE:  "Space Seed"  Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, episode 22.  NBC  16 February 1967.  Netflix.  http://www.netflix.com
  • a website
    • EXAMPLE:  "Desipramine"  MedlinePlus  23 April 2016.    U.S. National Library of Medicine.   https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a682387.html