Citing Electronic/Online Sources in
MLA Format
The Uni High Version
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Citing PAPER materials in MLA
DISCLAIMER
TIPS ON FORMATTING YOUR CITATIONS
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR CITING ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
Electronic and online sources covered here:
Videos or DVDs
Articles and other content from CD-ROMs
Personal web pages
Corporate web pages (a company, school, or other group, but not government)
Government web pages
Articles from online databases (like EBSCO or Infotrac)
Articles from online magazines and journals
Articles from online newspapers
Editorials from online newspapers
Letters to the editor from online newspapers
Online books
E-mail messages
Listserv and newsgroup messages
Non-text web-based materials (maps, pictures, sound and video clips, etc.)
Real-time communications (instant messages, chat transcripts, etc.)
Online bulletin board postings
Web logs (or "Blogs")
Videos or DVDs § Back to Top
Title. Dir. Director’s Firstname Lastname (after the director’s name you can include other information such as full names of performers, writers, and producers if you think that information is important). YYYY (of original release). Medium (meaning videocassette or DVD). Distributor, YYYY (of release in this medium).
Apocalypse Now. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Perf. Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen. 1979. Videocassette. Paramount, 2000.
Article from a CD-ROM Encyclopedia § Back to Top
Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Article." Title of Work. CD-ROM. City of Publication:Publisher, YYYY.
Bluster, Phil. "Crocodile Wrestling." World Book Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Chicago: World Book, 1998.
Personal Webpages § Back to Top
These are sites people have made that are not sponsored by an organization or institution. They can be hosted on free servers such as Geocities or on space leased from Internet service providers. Many people are also able to post personal sites on webspace they get at work or at school.
Lastname, Firstname Middlename. Title of Page. Date published (if found). Date accessed <URL>.
Duck, Daisy, and Donald Duck. Our Family Photos. 1 Feb. 2006 <http://www.ducks.com/personal/2ducks.html>.
Duck, Donald. My Greatest Accomplishments in the Biz. 22 Jan. 2006 <http://www.disney.com/personal/duck.html>.
Mouse, Mickey. How I Came to Be a Cultural Icon. 12 Nov. 2006. 22 Jan. 2007 <http://www.geocities.com/~mickeymouse/index.html>.
Corporate web pages (a company, school, or other group, but not government) § Back to Top
These are sites that are usually run by companies, universities, non-profit organizations, or other groups. They often do not have individual authors. However, if there is an author listed, make sure you put his or her name in the citation.
Lastname, Firstname Middlename (if found). Webpage Title. Date of publication (if found). Name of larger organization (if found). Date accessed <URL>.Emergency Pet Preparedness. 2003. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. 9 Sept. 2003 <http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=emergency>.
Kent, Clark. In-depth Interviews with Superman. Nov. 2006. Official Superman Fan Club. 1 Mar. 2007 <http://www.supermanisawesome.com/interview.html>.
The Writer's Workshop. Center for Writing Studies. 16 Aug. 2007 <http://www.english.uiuc.edu/cws/wworkshop/>.
University Laboratory High School. Aug. 2007. 9 Sept. 2007 <http://www.uni.uiuc.edu>.
Government Webpages § Back to Top
Citing government web pages can be difficult, partly because many different agencies may all claim credit for a site. The best thing we can say is "be reasonable," and include the agencies (two or three at most) that seem to have the most responsibility.
Congressional Subcommittee on Electronic Citation. Citation: How Horrible Is It? 15 Oct. 2001. 31 Oct. 2003 <http://citation.house.gov/citations.html>.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Historic Galileo Mission Nears End. Beth Beck. 15 Sept. 2003. 16 Sept. 2003 <http://www.nasa.gov/news/mission/galileo_dies.html>.
National Association of Government Committees. Government Committees on Education. Education. 1999. 14 Nov. 2003 <http://government.gov/committees.html>.
U.S. Department of Labor. Occupational Safety & Health Administration. OSHA Trade News Release. OSHA Offers Tips for Working in Hot Weather. 9 Jul 2003. 16 Aug. 2003 <http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=10310>.
Articles from online databases (like EBSCO or Infotrac) § Back to Top
These are usually articles from journals, magazines, or newspapers that can be accessed over the Web using a database such as Lexis-Nexis, Infotrac, or EBSCO. MLA requires that the citation include the place (usually a library) through which the database was accessed.
Lastname, Firstname Middlename. "Article Title." Magazine/Newspaper/Journal Title Volume.issue number (if found) (Date): page numbers. Database Title. Database Vendor. Library at or through which you accessed the database, City (and state if city is not well-known). Date of access. <General URL to database (not the specific article)>.
Berkley, Catherine S., et al. "One-Year Changes in Activity and in Inactivity
Among 10- to 15-Year-Old Boys and Girls." New York Times (Apr. 7, 2007): 836- 43. LexisNexis Academic. LexisNexis. University High School Lib., Urbana, IL. 12 Sept. 2007 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe>.
Haubold, Hans J. "Education Curricula in Space Science and Technology: The
Approach of the UN-affiliated Regional Centres." Space Policy 19.2 (Aug.
2006): 221-24. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. University High School Lib.,
Urbana, IL. 12 Sept. 2007 <http://search.ebscohost.com/>.
Naughton, Keith. "What's in a Name?" Newsweek (July 27, 2006): 58. Expanded
Academic ASAP. Thomson Gale. University High School Lib., Urbana, IL. 20
Aug. 2007 <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/?db=EAIM>.
Wall, James. "Jackson Closes a Chapter." Christian Century 117.19 (June 2006):
667. Wilson Select Plus. OCLC. University High School Lib., Urbana, IL. 6
Feb. 2007 <http://firstsearch.oclc.org/>.
Articles from online magazines and journals § Back to Top
These are journals or magazines that are published directly on the web. Articles obtained directly from the web site of a magazine or journal are cited differently than magazine and journal articles you find in article databases like EBSCO and Lexis-Nexis (which include articles from many different publications).
Lastname, Firstname Middlename (if found) . "Article Title." Journal or Magazine Title. Date of publication. Page numbers (if found). Date of access <URL>.
Foley, Barbara. "From Situational Dialectics to Pseudo-Dialectics: Mao, Jiang, and Capitalist Transition." Cultural Logic. 2006. 10 Sept. 2007 <http://eserver.org/clogic/2002/foley.html>.
Grossman, Lev. "The Quest for Cool." Time. 8 Sept. 2007. 10 Sept. 2007 <http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101030908/xopener.html>.
Harry, Dirty. "Movies I Love." Movie Characters Speak. 2006. 12-19. 13 Sept. 2007 <http://ejournal.com/2003/movie/harry_movies.html>.
Lennox, Mary. "The Social Ramifications of Growing Up with Only an Uncle." Children's Literature Characters Study Themselves. 2006. 222-35. 14 Sept. 2007 <http://study.org/children_lit/2000/lennox.html>.
Articles from online newspapers § Back to Top
Use this format for articles from newspapers available in full-text format over the web. Note that if you found a newspaper article through an article database like Lexis-Nexis or EBSCO, you should cite it using the "Articles from online databases" format given above.
Lastname, Firstname Middlename (if found) . "Article Title." Newspaper Title Date of publication. Date of access <URL>.
"Crazy Citation Phenomenon." MLA News 31 Oct. 2006. 1 Nov. 2006 <http://mlanews.com/crazy.html>.
Weintraub, Elaine. "Adding History to Island's Heritage Trail." Vineyard Gazette 22 Aug. 2006. 10 Sept. 2007. <http://www.mvgazette.com/features/index.php?story=20030829_isabel_powell>.
Sutton, William. "I Bet Bermuda is Nice This Time of Year." Uni High Teacher Times On the Web 14 February 2006. 15 February 2007 <http://www.imauniteacherwhoareyou.com/wishful_thinking/articles/billsworld.html>.
Editorials from online newspapers § Back to Top
Editorials are newspaper articles that are written by the editorial staff of a newspaper, often in response to what other people have said about the paper. They are usually collected on a special page (or web page) of the newspaper and are often published anonymously. For these reasons, editorials are cited differently by MLA than other newspaper articles.
Lastname, Firstname MiddleInitial (if found) . "Title." Editorial. Newspaper Title Date of publication. Date of access <URL>.
Bird, Big. "Feathers or Fins." Editorial. Sesame Street Times 13 Sept. 2007. 14 Sept. 2007 <http://www.sesame.com/editorial.html>.
"Natural Allies, Not Enemies." Editorial. Vineyard Gazette 9 Sept. 2007. 13 Sept. 2007 <http://www.mvgazette.com/commentary/editorials/index.php?doc=20030909_editorials>.
Letters to the editor from online newspapers § Back to Top
This citation is almost identical to the one used for editorials (see above). If the name of the letter-writer is given, include it. If not, don't.
Lastname, Firstname Middlename (if found). Letter. Periodical Title Date of publication. Date of access <URL>.Letter. Violet Rays 16 May 2006. 16 Oct. 2007 <http://www.violet_rays.com/letter.html>.
Wiggin, Ender. Letter. Intergalactic Times 14 Apr. 2006. 16 Sept. 2007 <http://www.intertimes.com/news/Letters.htm>.
Online books § Back to Top
These are books that either 1) have been published in print and now are on the web, or 2) have only been published on the web. You can also use this format for a part of a book like the introduction or a specific chapter.
Lane, Lois. My Superman Experience. 3 Nov. 2006. 16 Feb. 2007 <www.lois.lane.com/novel/super.html>.
Marmet, Paul. Preface. Absurdities in Modern Physics: A Solution. 2006. 23 Aug. 2007 <http://www.newtonphysics.on.ca/HEISENBERG/Preface.html>.
Shumate, Michael. "Holier than Thou." Writing Lives: Technology, Creativity, and Hypertext Fiction. 25 Jul. 2006. 18 Aug. 2007 <http://www.duke.edu/~mshumate/fiction/htt/index.html>.
E-mail messages § Back to Top
Citing e-mails can be a little complicated because you may be citing either an e-mail that someone sent to you or an e-mail sent to someone else that was later given to you. If you are citing an e-mail that was sent to you, then use the "E-mail to Author" option shown below.
Hamm, Mia. "Re: Ending the Soccer League." E-mail to Joe Schmo. 13 Apr. 2006.
Jordan, Michael. "Re: Basketball Horror Stories." E-mail to Author. 1 Oct. 2006..
Listserv and newsgroup messages § Back to Top
Listservs are e-mail distribution services that send messages to groups of people who have a job or hobby in common. They are often moderated, meaning that there's someone in charge who decides if a particular message posted by one member is or is not suitable for sending to all other members. Newsgroups are somewhat similar, though not as common now as they were a few years ago. Usually you must sign up to be on a listserv or newsgroup. Listservs and newsgroups share the same citation format.
Lastname, Firstname Middlename. "Re: Subject Line." Online posting. Date of publication. Name of Listserv. Date of access <URL of the list’s internet site or the full description of the newsgroup>. [If no internet site or newsgroup description is known, then use the e-mail address of the person who moderates the listserv or newsgroup]
Dog, Pluto. "Re: New Information about Bones." Online posting. 23 Aug. 2006. DoggieDoings. 4 Sept. 2006 <http://web.doggie.com/post.html>.
Duck, Donald. "Re: Why Ducks Like Water." Online posting. 19 May 2006. Ducknews. 3 Oct. 2007 <http://web.ducknews.com/post.html>.
Lugosi, Bela. "Re: Avoiding Contact with Garlic." Online posting. 15 May 2006. Vampfans. 16 Sept. 2007 <http://www.vampring.net/discussion.html>.
Bush, G.W. "Re: How to Get Along With the United Nations." Online posting. 20 Sept. 2006. Bignationleaders. 23 Oct. 2006 <arifleischer@iwasinthewhitehouse.org>.
Gore, Allen. "Vote Recounts." Online posting. 12 Dec. 2006. 04 Feb. 2007 <news: soc.politics.election.reforms>.
Non-text web-based materials (maps, pictures, sound and video clips, etc.) § Back to Top
This format is intended to cover anything and everything that is not a text file. Sometimes these items have named creators, and sometimes they do not. The format is slightly different for image files than for sound files, movie clips, etc.
Images:
Lastname, Firstname Middlename (if found). Name of item (sometimes underlined). Type of item (if it is not obvious from the name of the item). Name of web site where the item was found. Date of Access <URL>.
"Champaign, Illinois." Map. Maps of Everywhere. 15 Nov. 2006. <http://maps_all_over.com/champaign.html>.
Sound and Video Clips:
Lastname, Firstname Middlename (if found). Title. Date of Publication or Creation. Name of web site where the item was found. Date of Access. <URL>.
Vexing Vees. Songs Your Mother Doesn't Like. 2006. 10 Feb. 2007
<http://www.vexingvees.com/album>.
How to Drive. 1970. Clyde Crashcup Online. 19 Sept. 2006 <http://clyde.com/
driving>.
Potter, Harry. Using Floo Powder Sound. 25 Jul. 2006. Sounds of Potter. 16 Mar. 2007 <http://sounds_potter.com/floo>.
Real-time communications (instant messages, chat transcripts, etc.) § Back to Top
Real-time communications are difficult to document because they are like unpublished or unrecorded interviews. There's no lasting record of the communication, nothing you can show someone else to prove that it happened.
Lastname, Firstname Middlename. Description of conversation. Date of message. Type of communication. Date last accessed
Bush, George W. What it's like living in the White House. 25 Aug. 2003. AIM.
13 Sept. 2007.
Rogers, Fred. Life in the neighborhood. 27 Aug. 2003. Yahoo Chat Room. 13 Sept.
2007.
Online bulletin board postings § Back to Top
2002. Children's Lit Bulletin Board. 13 Sept. 2007
<http://www.gslis.uiuc.edu/bb/kiddie/html/lit.html>.
Newbery, John. "Oh, yeah? Well, I've Got An Award Named After Me, Too!" Online posting. 15 Nov. 2002. Young Adult Literature Bulletin Board. 15 Dec. 2007 <http://lis.uiuc.edu/bb/ya_lit/html/lit.html>.
Weblogs (or "Blogs") § Back to Top
Lastname, Firstname Middlename (or whatever part of the name you find). "Subject Title." Weblog entry. Date posted. Title of weblog. Date of access <URL of weblog or part of writer's webpage that has the blog>.
Cool, Joe. "Learning to Dress Cool." Weblog entry. 4 Oct. 2002. Cool Like Me. 10
Sept. 2007 <http://joe.cool.com/diary/>.
Kingman, C. "Steps to Make a Birthday Cake." Weblog entry. 18 Oct. 2002. My Diary. 18 Nov. 2007 <http://corey.com/diary/>.
Disclaimer: This handout is only meant as a guide. If we tried to cover all citations you might make, we’d have a book—which is exactly what the Modern Language Association (MLA) publishes every couple of years. You should check the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th edition, if you have a question that this guide doesn’t answer. See the library for a copy (call number 808.02 M72m in the reference section).
Formatting your citations: In making your list of works cited, begin each entry flush with the left margin; if the entry runs more than a line long, the next lines should be indented five spaces, or one default TAB setting if you are using a word processor. On many word processors you can also accomplish this by paragraph formatting for a "hanging indent." (Whichever you choose, be consistent throughout.) Use double spacing for your entire list, both between and within entries.
If you will be publishing your own bibliography on a web page, it may be difficult to indent properly. To get around this, MLA says that it's o.k. to use bullets in front of each citation instead of indenting. We have used bullets on this page to show you what this format should look like.
Special considerations when citing electronic materials: Electronic materials now come in a huge variety of formats. Videos and CD-ROMs are cited much as you would cite a book, but citations for online materials must include the following basic minimal information:
Author's name (last name first). Document title. Date of Internet publication (if available). Date of access <URL>.
When you can find it, it's best to have more than this minimal information. The above formats tell you what to include (if possible) for commonly cited electronic and online resources.
Remember to take your reader as close as possible to the actual document you viewed, and make sure the URL works! If you look up articles in an online database like EBSCO, each article you find will be displayed with a URL, but it will extremely long and will generally not get anyone else back to that article -- it is dynamically (and temporarily) generated by the database in response to your search. . If you need to break a URL to fit it on a line, make the break after a slash or before a period.
This citation guide was last revised 9/2007.