This article describes 2009 MLA Web citation style (MLA Handbook, 7th ed.). The new seventh edition, released in March 2009 has instituted several significant changes over previous editions. Among the changes are these:
Instant Help: If you arrived at this page from the "How to cite this page" link at the bottom of one of the VirtualSalt articles, follow this model for citing:
Harris, Robert. "Evaluating Internet Research Sources."
VirtualSalt. 22 November 2010. Web. 20 Apr. 2011.
Harris, Robert. "Evaluating Internet Research Sources." VirtualSalt. 15 June 2008. Web.
20 Apr. 2009. <http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm>.
To cite a page from my Web site using APA style, follow this model:
Harris, R. (2010, November 22). Evaluating Internet research sources. Retrieved
from http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm
.
For further MLA details,
read on.
A spa chemistry expert recommends adding spa shock after using the spa "in order to help assure a sanitizer level in the water" (Schuster).
Note: If there are no page numbers, as is usual with Web documents, do not make up a page number or use the number one (as in "Jones 1") to cover the whole document. Use a number only when there is a number present in the document.
If you mention the author in your introduction, you do not need the parenthetical name, but such a practice is not recommended because it may make the quotation at first appear to have no citation:
Alan Schuster recommends adding spa shock "in order to help assure a sanitizer level" in your spa.
If there is no author named, use a short title from the article in the parenthetical reference and optionally refer to the organization in the text:
The
Gerber Baby Food company
notes that for the first three to five days of breast feeding, a
woman's
body "will produce a substance called colostrum. This thick, yellowy
substance
is a milk rich in antibodies . . ." ("Newborn Feeding").
For a more in-depth look at in-text citation, see MLA In-Text Citation Style.
1.
Author or editor's last
name, then first name.
2. Title of the article in quotation marks.
3. Web site name, italicized.
(Underlining is no longer used.)
4. Edition or version number.
5. Web site owner or sponsor if available.
6. Date of publication (DD MM YYYY as in 15 June 2009). If a
publication date is not available, use n.d. for "no date."
7. The word Web
and a period to indicate the publication medium.
8. The date you accessed the site and a period.
9. [If required by your instructor or if it's necessary to find the
article,
include the URL (uniform resource locator--that is, Web address) of the
document <in angle brackets> followed by a
period.]
Note that often you will not have all of these items. The site name will be available, but the Web site owner or sponsor will be the same or not known. Similarly, there may not be a version or edition number.
Note also that the two frustrations of Web article dating are (1) articles or pages with no dates at all and (2) autodating pages that automatically display today's date regardless of when the article was actually written. In the first instance, where no date is visible, be careful with the information because you don't really know when it was created. Cite it as shown below, using n.d. and the date of access. In the second case, where the page is autodated, be equally careful because you also don't know when the information was created. (To check for autodating, come back to the page the next day or so and see if the current date shows up again.) The MLA does not give specific instructions for autodated pages. However, Section 5.5.24 of the Handbook says to add a bracketed question mark if you are uncertain about the accuracy of supplied information such as a date of publication. The same rule should apply to autodates. See the last "Article with autodate" example below.
Lastname, Firstname. "Article Title." Site Name. Organization Name. Article date. Web.
Date of access.
Schuster, Alan. "Spa and Hot Tub Chemical Questions." Ask Alan. Aqua-Clear Industries.
18 Aug. 2008. Web. 10 Oct. 2008.
"Newborn Feeding." Welcome to Gerber. Gerber Corporation. n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2008.
Harris, Robert. "Evaluating Internet Research Sources." VirtualSalt.
15 June 2007. Web. 17 Oct. 2008.
The Art of America Project. John Smith English 104 Class. Dec. 2012. Kenwood
High School. 25 Apr. 2013 <http://www.kenwoodhigh.k12.us/ArtAmerica.html>.
Doax, Joseph. Online Posting. The Rock Hunter. 22 Feb. 2009. Web. 12 April 2009.
Doe, John. "On the Contents of Ping Pong Balls." The Airful Truth. [15
Dec. 2009?]. Web. 15 Dec. 2009.
Lastname, Firstname. "Article Title." Periodical Name
Periodical Date: Page numbers. Database Name. Web. Date of access.
Rossman, Parker. "The Theology of Imagination: Science, Science
Fiction, and Religion." Witness Oct. 1989: 12+. SIRS
Researcher. Web. 9 Nov. 2008.
"Monkeying with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome." Science News 14
Sept. 1996: 170. InfoTrac Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 4 Nov. 2008.
Lastname, Firstname. Title. City: Publisher, Date. Print.
Williams, Samantha. Making Better Decisions. New York: Think Tool Publishing, 2013. Print.
Lastname, Firstname. "Title." Periodical day month year: pages. Print.
Fredericks, James. "The Benefits of Perseverance." Problem Solving Weekly 14 February 2013:
46-57. Print.
Journal:
Lastname, Firstname. "Title." Journal volume (year): pages. Print.
Abercrombie, Susan. "Quantum Entanglement and the Speed of Light." Journal of Advanced
Theoretical Physics 73 (2010): 457-583. Print.
For further information about MLA
style for Works Cited entries, see
MLA
Works Cited Style.
Go
here for APA References page
style. Or to Amazon.com for APA
citation and reference style books.
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