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MLA Citations: Core Elements - Containers

About Containers

If the source is a "smaller" piece housed within something larger, such as an article, post, book chapter, episode, etc., then the "larger" item is the container. 

For example, when citing an article in The New York Times, the container would be The New York Times

Note: A source can be housed within more than one container (i.e., an article in a book found in Gale in Context).  When this happens, you list all information about the smaller container followed by the bigger container.

Please ask questions regarding this.

The tabs below provide more information about particular source types. 

Examples

Articles

Articles are often parts of periodicals (magazines, newspapers, journals) that hold the articles.

Jacobs, Andrew. "After Olympics, Rio is Altered if Not Reborn." The New York Times, 21 Aug 2016, http://nyti.ms/2buxrr3.

Webpage

When citing a particular page on a site, the home website is considered a container.

"Goodreads Choice Awards 2015: Best Fiction." Goodreads, 2016.

Online Video

Any website that hosts a particular video is considered a container.

Adele. "Rolling in the Deep." YouTube, Uploaded by AdeleVEVO, 30 Nov 2010, https://youtu.be/rYEDA3JcQqw.

TV Episode

When citing a particular episode of a television series, the series is the container. 

"The Door." Game of Thrones, Created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, and directed by Jack Bender, season 6, episode 5, Home Box Office (HBO), 22 May 2016.