Table of Contents
Question 87
Which two of the following conform to the documentation style prescribed by the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook?
A. Puig, Manuel. Kiss of the Spider Woman, translated by Thomas Colchie, Vintage Books, 1991.
B. Kincaid, Jamaica. “In History.” Callaloo, vol. 24, no. 2, Spring 2001, pp. 620‐26.
C. Nunberg, Geoffrey, editor. The Future of the Book. U of California P, 1996.
D. Wellek, Rene. A History of Modern Criticism, 1750‐1950, Yale UP, 1986.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
The MLA 8th Edition (2016) introduced a universal "Core Elements" container system.
- (A) Conforms: Author. Title of Source, Other contributors (translated by), Publisher, Publication Date.
- (B) Conforms: Author. "Title of Source." Title of Container (Journal), vol., no., Date, Location (pp.).
(Note: In Option D, a period should follow the book title, not a comma. Option C is technically very close to correct MLA 8 format, making this a notoriously disputed question in the 2021 exam).
Question 88
Given below are two statements:
Statement I: All research being original and uninspired, it is rare for a researcher to begin a project by deriving ideas from predecessors.
Statement II: Studying and documenting past work on a research topic stifles the continual expansion of human knowledge.
In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:
Statement I is False: It is a fundamental rule of academia that all researchers begin by deriving ideas from their predecessors. You must conduct a "Literature Review" to understand what has already been done before you can contribute anything "original."
Statement II is False: Documenting past work (citing your sources) does not "stifle" knowledge; it is the exact mechanism by which human knowledge expands, ensuring that researchers don't waste time repeating experiments or arguments that have already been proven.
Question 89
Which of the following abbreviations refers to a documentation style?
MHRA (Modern Humanities Research Association) is a widely used academic documentation and citation style, heavily favored by universities in the United Kingdom for literature and arts.
(Note: PMLA refers to the academic journal 'Publications of the Modern Language Association', while the citation style is simply known as 'MLA'. ARIEL and MFS are also academic literary journals).
Question 90
The MLA Style Sheet, a compilation of scholarly conventions and directives, was first published in:
The MLA Style Sheet was first published in 1951 by the Modern Language Association of America.
Before this, academic formatting was chaotic. The 31-page style sheet was created to establish a uniform standard for submitting scholarly manuscripts. Due to its massive popularity, it was eventually expanded and replaced by the first full MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers in 1977.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the major change in the MLA 8th Edition?
Released in 2016, the 8th edition abandoned the old system of having strict, different rules for every single type of source (a book vs. a journal vs. a DVD). Instead, it introduced a universal "Container" system with a core set of 9 elements (Author, Title, Container, Contributor, Version, Number, Publisher, Date, Location) that can be applied to any source, making it much easier to cite digital and evolving media.
What is the MHRA Style?
The Modern Humanities Research Association (MHRA) style is a citation format widely used in the UK. Unlike MLA, which uses parenthetical in-text citations (Smith 45), MHRA relies heavily on footnotes or endnotes for citations, providing a cleaner reading experience in the main body of the text.
What is a Literature Review?
A mandatory chapter/section in academic research. Before a scholar presents their own original findings, they must comprehensively "review the literature" — meaning they must summarize, analyze, and document all the major research that has already been published by other scholars on that specific topic. This proves they understand the field and identifies the "gap" their new research will fill.
