Citing Web Sources MLA Style

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:

• The medium of publication (Web, Print) must be listed for every bibliographic entry.
• URLs of Web publictions are no longer needed in Works Cited entries, unless it is necessary to find the page or the instructor requires it.
• The volume number and issue number of journals must be included.

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. 15 June 2008.  Web. 20 Apr. 2009.

Harris, Robert. "Evaluating Internet Research Sources."
 
     VirtualSalt. 15 June 2008.  Web. 20 Apr. 2009.

     <http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm>.

For further details, read on. 

In-text Citation

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").
 

Works Cited

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 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.

Examples of Typical Web Sites

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.

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. 

Citing from Web Site Databases

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.

MLA Style for Printed Sources

Lastname, Firstname. Title. City: Publisher, Date. Print.

Lastname, Firstname. "Title." Periodical day month year: pages. Print.

Journal:

Lastname, Firstname. "Title." Journal volume (year): pages. Print.