When I picked this book up I was simply looking for ways to cite internet resources. It turns out the people at MLA have got a lot more to offer. The book did a great job at showing the hows and whys of writing well. As for citations, a critical aspect of most research, the Guide gave a multitude of different types of sources and how to cite them, not only in the Works Cited but also in endnotes and footnotes. Perhaps my only complaint would be the repetition in seperate chapters on citation. It was not initially clear what the purpose of the repetition was. That said, I will use this book again and again as a perfect tool when writing my papers.

MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (2ded) by Joseph Gibaldi, Herbert Lindenberger is a well written hanbook that helps the scholars or would be scholar with helpfull tips and pointers on how to improve in the art of writing. The table of contents is very well developed and the introduction, i.e, the foreward is also easy to understand with a scholarly tone without being to longwinded or boring; (which one expects from a book with a scholarly overtone). want to know how to prepare a prospectus; then one should read chapter five and look under section 5.4 which is called "preparing a prospectus" and if one is interested in abbreviations then chapter will come in handy as this entire chapter is devoted by the authors, i.e., Joseph Gibaldi, Herbert Lindenberger, to the different forms of abbreviations that exist and how to implement them. In the end of the book, i.e., MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (2ded) by Joseph Gibaldi, Herbert Lindenberger has a well written appendix with subjects such as end notes and footnotes, other systems of documentation and sources of examples 3.4-5. Last but by no means least, is the well developed index which is divided by topic and is somewhat confusing; yet can be said to serve its purpose, i.e., that of finding the intended entry.

This book is the ultimate guide for writers. It is one of two books published by the Modern Language Association, and of the two, this one provides the complete guide to the MLA style. This book serves graduate students and scholarly writers best. It discusses publishing and legality as well as basics of writing and source citations. Many examples accompany the explanations clearly exhibiting the proper usage; however, this book is not necessary for the average research writer or undergraduate. If you are looking for a quick reference guide to proper MLA style, this is not the book for you. I would recommend the MLA HANDBOOK. The MLA HANDBOOK provides an easier, condensed version of the MLA STYLE MANUAL. This book is a waste of your money if all you need is information on how to do a works cited page or an annotated bibliography. The handbook is cheaper and would serve you much better. Regardless, the manual would serve anyone well and is a perfect reference book for anyone's personal library.

If you're relatively new to the MLA style, this book is a decent introduction. It has a fair number of samples and will get you started with few holes in your knowledge. However, the real shortcoming of this book is in the discussion of Internet citations.

The section on citing electronic publications is very poorly organized. I wonder whether the author has spent any significant time on the Internet. The categories of sources and the examples given don't handle some of the most common situations you'll run into. It can be rather frustrating having to cobble together citation formats from the examples provided which are close enough to the source I'm trying to cite.

As a result, if you're looking for a book to simply help you appropriately cite your sources, I'd look for another book. (I don't know which one yet; I'm still looking.) However, if you're looking for a general MLA style guide, this book is a respectable start.

I recently had to write a 10 page research paper for a Greek history course I was taking. One of the required books to use when writing this new style of paper was the MLA handbook.

At first glance I thought that this book would be a rough overview of things I already knew since that is what most books of this are. However, the MLA is much different, I am convinced, after 7 months of use, that this is THE PERFECT format book ever.

If you are trying to write a well written and comprehensive paper, this book is a must. If you are trying to pull up your grade with perfect formatting and source citing, this book is a must. If you want a good grade period, this book is a must.

Do not brush this book away, buy it, keep it, and cherish the tons and tons of information it gives in a very readable manner.

Easily the most useful book any college student could own, the MLA Handbook is full of information on how to correctly cite almost any source. It helps to please any professors who insist on 100% accurate citations. A must have for anyone who writes any number of research articles, it is definitely a sound investment. If you don't have the MLA Handbook, you're left guessing on new citation standards such as CD-ROMs, Online postings, speeches, television shows, radio addresses, etc. The book has bailed me out on a number of occasions, especially when I have been forced to go to 'unorthodox' sources for information.

I couldn't wait to receive this book and possibly have another reference for my high school students as they learned how to write a research paper. As soon as I opened the book I noticed obvious mistakes in format and even incorrect information for the Works Cited page.
If you need help with MLA documentation, you're better off to buy the original MLA Handbook. (It also includes APA format) Whatever you do . . . do not trust this book.

If you are like me lost in the full version of the MLA, this is for you...the answer is always a few pages away.