Container — English definition
MLA's model for the larger whole that holds a source — a journal holding an article, a database holding the journal, a website holding a page — tracked so a reader can find the exact version you used.
Where it is taught
- Documentation & Academic Integrity — Research & Source-Based Writing, English 12: Complex Texts, Independent Inquiry & Public Voice, Grade 12
In use
The grade-12 addition is the container model, which is what makes modern MLA manageable.
Documentation & Academic Integrity
Questions using container
Problem 1
In MLA's current model, what is a 'container'?
- The font, margins, and spacing the paper must use.
- The larger whole that holds a source — a journal holding an article, or a database holding the journal — tracked so a reader can find the exact version used.
- A physical box where a researcher stores printed sources.
- Another name for the in-text citation.
Answer and explanation
The larger whole that holds a source — a journal holding an article, or a database holding the journal — tracked so a reader can find the exact version used.
A container is the larger whole a source sits inside (a journal, database, anthology, or website); nesting containers is how MLA documents real sources found through journals and databases. It is not formatting, storage, or the in-text citation.