MLA 9 Style Guide: Version & Number

MLA recognizes Versions and Numbers.

Version

A Version shows somethings position in a series. They are often numbers such as second (2nd), third (3rd), or fourth (4th). This type of number is called an ordinal. Sometimes the version not a number, but a word, such as Revised Edition or Extended Edition.

• Books may have different editions. The edition might be numbered (3rd or 12th) or have a description, such as Revised or Abridged.
• Ebook versions of a printed book can be noted, but only if it does not have a URL.
  • If the ebook has an URL, see how to format a Container.
• Media may have versions, such as a director's cut of a film or an uncut version.

Number

A source might have the following kind of number. Some sources have more than one number.

Text-based

• Volume
• Issues

Media in a Series

Streaming shows, podcasts, television shows, and other audiovisual media in a series

• Season
• Episode

What is the difference between a volume and an issue?

Volumes show the source's place in a series. They are comparable to the season of a streaming show.

• Book can be multiple books that make one set, such as an encyclopedia.
  • vol. 3 = the 3rd book in a 6-book set
• Journals have a volume number that corresponds with a publication year.
  • vol. 49 = all the specific issues put out in 2020, for example

Issues are the same as episodes. Both issues and episodes give the sequence of a particular instance within the larger whole.

• vol. 49, no. 2 = the 2nd issue published in volume number 49
• season 4, episode 5 = the 5th episode of a show in its 4th season

In both the Version and the Number element, write all numbers in standard format, such as 5, 29, 137.

If a source uses roman numerals or spells out the number, you should still write it in standard format in your entry.

• XIV → 14
• iii → 3
• Six → 6
• Twelfth → 12th

Styling Versions

• Edition: Abbreviate to ed. It follows the ordinal number or the descriptive word: 3rd ed.
• Revised: Abbreviate to Rev. It is always followed by the abbreviation for edition with books: Rev. ed.
• All other words should be written out completely: Extended ed. or Director's cut.

Styling Numbers

Numbers may be preceded by words or abbreviations that explain them. Examples include:

• vol. = volume
• no. = issue number
• season
• episode

These examples show where the Version and Number fits inside the bigger works cited entry: