MLA Style:
Citing websites and web pages
(based on the 7th edition of the MLA Handbook)
Citing websites and web pages can be tricky. Not all websites and web
pages have all components. Here are the parts you should list if you
can find them. Citation examples are at the bottom of the page.
Author, editor, or compiler
Not all web pages and websites list the
names of individual (personal) authors, editors, or compilers. Begin the
citation with the title if there are no authors.
When creating a citation, list authors
last name first.
| Didd, Katy. |
"Title of Document"
This is usually at the top of the page, and also may
be in the blue title bar at the very top of your browser. The document
title only refers to one part or page of a website - for example the "Johnny Depp" entry
on the Internet Movie Database website, or the "H1N1 Flu" page on the
CDC's website.
When
creating a citation put the title in " " (quotation marks).
Title of Website
Like the document title, this is usually
at the top of the page, and also may be in the blue title bar at the very
top of your browser. Websites are a collection of individual pages - for
example, the Internet Movie Database, the Occupational Outlook Handbook, The
Daily Show, or Wikipedia are all websites, not pages.
If you are using an individual web page and want to know the name of the
website where it resides, use the home button to get back to the main page
for the entire website. If there is no "home" button, delete
everything in the URL
after the domain name and get to "home" that way.
http://www.imdb.com is an example
of a shortened or "home" URL.
When creating a
citation put the website title in italics.
Institution or organization associated with the site
You want to discover the university, government agency,
business, etc. that is responsible for or is publishing the site. You can often find this in the copyright
statement.
When creating a citation use n.p. for "no publisher" if you
are unable to find this information.
Date of electronic publication or last update
This information is usually found at the
bottom of the page. If there is a copyright date, it is often in the copyright statement or near it.
When creating a citation note day, month, year - in
that order. Example - 15 Dec. 2008. Use n.d. for "no date" if no
date of publication copyright date, or date of update is given. Abbreviate long months, such
as January (Jan.) or December (Dec.).
OR
Medium of publication
MLA lists electronic sources, such as web
pages, as "web publications."
When creating citations for websites and
web pages use "Web" as the publication medium.
Date of access
Date of access is the date you found and
used the material. You should always be able to include this in a
citation!
Remember, when creating a citation dates are written in a
particular order - day, month, year. Example - 17 Nov. 2009
Web address or <URL>
MLA no longer requires web addresses in citations, but suggests that you include them anyway as your professors may still require them. Put angle signs (carets) around the web address.
<http://www.imdb.com/>
Citation examples
These examples show the correct order of citation elements and the correct punctuation to use. Notice that MLA citations also require indentation.
website
The Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com, Inc,
2009. Web.
29 Oct.
2009. <http://www.imdb.com/>.
web page
"Johnny Depp." The Internet Movie Database.
IMDb.com, Inc, n.d. Web.
29 Oct. 2009. <http://www.imdb.com/>.
Still Having Trouble?
- See the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (available in Kent Library).
- Look at the Kent Library web page on citations.
- Contact email librarians Matthew Olsen (molsen@semo.edu) or Claudia Ruediger (cruediger@semo.edu).