I'm currently finalising the referencing and formatting for my MRes thesis. However, as I come from a science background and haven't had that much experience with humanities referencing, especially MHRA, there are still some areas about which I'm uncertain.
Throughout my thesis, I've referenced Tolkien's essay 'On Fairy-Stories':
Tolkien, J.R.R., ‘On Fairy-Stories’, in Tolkien on Fairy-Stories, ed. by Veryln Flieger and Douglas A. Anderson (London: HarperCollins, 2008), pp. 27–84
All references are to the main version in Flieger's and Anderson's collection. However, in this volume I need to reference a passage from a manuscript of an earlier version of the essay, 'BODLEIAN TOLKIEN MS. 6 FOLIOS 6-8'. The page from which I'm quoting is page 257. How would I reference this?
This is a relatively unimportant issue, though I need to get this sorted as I'm submitting a draft soon.
Thank you.
To reference a reproduced manuscript text in an essay collection following the MHRA (Modern Humanities Research Association) style, you can use the following format:
Author Last Name, Author First Name. "Title of Essay." In Title of Essay Collection, edited by Editor First Name Last Name, page range. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.
For the specific case of referencing a passage from a manuscript of an earlier version of an essay within an essay collection, you can include additional information in the citation. Here's an example:
Tolkien, J.R.R. "On Fairy-Stories." In Tolkien on Fairy-Stories, edited by Verlyn Flieger and Douglas A. Anderson, 27–84. London: HarperCollins, 2008.
In the text of your essay, you can refer to the specific passage from the earlier version of the essay as follows:
(Tolkien, On Fairy-Stories, BODLEIAN TOLKIEN MS. 6 FOLIOS 6-8, p. 257)
Make sure to include the appropriate citation in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your thesis.
Thanks, Ajit Singh
I assume that I'd need to give the full reference again, covering the book section that includes all the pages of the manuscript version this time? Like this:
J.R.R. Tolkien, ‘On Fairy-Stories’, in Tolkien on Fairy-Stories, ed. by Veryln Flieger and Douglas A. Anderson (London: HarperCollins, 2008), pp. 252-99 (p. 257).
I say this because, to clarify, every reference in my chapter thus far, and throughout my thesis, refers only to the book section that covers pages 27-84, which is the final version of the essay.
The issue then is that I'm not sure how to include this new footnote in my bibliography since there would be two 'On Fairy-Stories' references.
I hope I'm not over complicating things here.
Andrew Paul McKenzie Pegman
Well, this is what frustrates me about referencing. No one seems to be certain what the rules are. Multiple guides suggest that page ranges are given in a bibliography for an edited section of a book. When I use "pp." in my example, this is for the whole essay or chapter within a collection, not for a paraphrase or quote.
As I said, just reference whole works, not specific pages or sections. Choose your citations style (APA is the most common) and follow that. But why read books anyway? They are outdated the minute they are published hehe :)
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