MLA GUIDELINES FOR CITING ONLINE SOURCES

© 2002 UWF Writing Lab

Information from MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th edition. New York: MLAA, 2009.

Designed by Chris Bui and Tina Blaas

Revised by Savanna Richter

2010

Use discretion when using the Internet or other electronic sources. The author should be credible and authoritative on the topic, not someone who simply has an opinion or maintains a web page as a hobby.

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MATERIALS WITH A URL

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Previous editions of the MLA handbook have required the complete URL in citations. However, this practice has been done away with because URLs often change. If your instructor specifically requests the URL, “give it immediately following the date of access, a period, and a space. Enclose the URL in angle brackets, and conclude with a period” (182).

Author. “Title of Article.” Database or Online Source.Version or edition used. Publisher or sponsor of the site; if not available, use N.p. Date of

publication; if not available, use n.d. Medium of publication (Web). Date of Access.

Example:

Green, Joshua. “The Rove Presidency.” The Atlantic.comAtlantic Monthly Group, Sept. 2007. Web. 15 May2008.

In Works Cited Page

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Often, online sources provide no author or print-based publication info, usually because none exists. In these cases, leave out whatever is not available to you, and move on to the next item. Cite whatever information is available to you.

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CITING A URL WITHINTHE TEXT

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Follow normal MLA guidelines when citing a URL within the text: (Author’s last name and page number).

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Page Numbers

The problem is that you probably will not have real page numbers–only numbers indicating how many pages you have printed.

If the paragraphs within the source are numbered, include the paragraph numbers. (Fox par. 5)

If the paragraphs are not numbered, do not assign them numbers. In this case, simply exclude any page or paragraph reference. (Fox)

If the work has no known author, use the title of the work in the citation. If the title is lengthy, use a shortened version of the title in the citation. Make sure to use the word order in the citation that is used on the Works Cited page.

(“School Vouchers”).

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“Untitled works may be identified by a genre label (e.g. Home page, Introduction, Online posting), neither italicized nor enclosed in quotation marks, in the place where the title goes” (185).

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E-MAIL

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Writer’s Name. “Subject Line.” Description of message including recipient’s name. Date of message. Medium of delivery.

Example:Boyle, Anthony T. “Re: Utopia.” E-mail to Daniel J.

Cahill. 21 June 1997. E-mail.

In Works Cited:

If the subject line is blank, omit that portion of the citation.

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CITING AN E-MAIL WITHIN THE TEXT

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If you are using an e-mail communication in your paper, the author should be someone of relative authority, not a friend or a relative. Therefore, the author should be important enough to introduce in your text. The name you cite in-text must match the corresponding entry on the works cited page.

Example:In a personal e-mail, Second Lieutenant Brian Turner of the United States Marine Corps states, “Marines go through the toughest physical conditioning of all the military branches.”

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For questions about MLA format,

consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers

or call or stop by the UWFWritingLab

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