MLA CITATIONS FOR WEB SOURCES Checklist For Citing Web-Only Sources

MLA CITATIONS FOR WEB SOURCES
Checklist For Citing Web-Only Sources (MLA Handbook 5.6.2b)
Before you start, identify whether the item is available only on the Web or if it has a print
counterpart—this distinction will affect the citation. For database sources, see page 4.
A Web-only publication usually contains most of the nine components below, in the following
sequence. If you cannot find one of the items listed, skip to the next item in the checklist.
1. Name of the author.
May also begin with compiler, director, editor,
narrator, performer, or translator of the work. List
authors/editors in the order in which they appear on
the website.
2. Title of the work.
3. Title of the overall website.
Italicized, if the work is independent; in quotation
marks, if the work is part of a larger work.
Italicized, if distinct from item 2.
4. Version or edition.
Rarely used.
5. Publisher or sponsor of the site,
If not available, use N.p.
6. Date of publication.
Day, month, and year, as available; if nothing is
available, use n.d.
7. Medium of publication.
Web.
8. Date of access.
Day, month, and year that you found this item online.
9. <URL>.
Omit URL for citations from databases. For other Web
sources, URLs should be used only if the reader could not
locate the source without it or if your instructor requires it.
If you cannot find some of the above information, skip to next element in the checklist.
Each item is followed by a period except the publisher or sponsor, which is followed by a comma.
Examples of formatting:
For Web-only documents:
Author's Last Name, Author’s First Name. “Title of the Work.” Title of the Overall Website.
Version/Edition. Publisher/Sponsor, Date of publication. Medium of Publication [Web].
Date of Access.
For Web documents that originally appeared in print:
Information about the original print document. Title of the Overall Website or Database.
Medium of Publication [Web]. Date of Access.
Last Updated 12/19/2012
by L. Fluk & E. Namei
Citation Examples of Web Sources
(including articles found in databases)
Works from the Free Web (in all Media) (MLA Handbook, 5.6.4)
Article from a website (MLA Handbook, 5.6.2b)
Lessig, Lawrence. “Free Debates: More Republicans Call on RNC.” Lessig 2.0. N. p., 4 May 2007. Web.
21 Feb. 2007.
Tutton, Mark. “Designers Developing Virtual-Reality ‘Cocoon’.” CNN.com. Cable News Network, 11
Sept. 2007. Web. 11 Sept. 2008.
Article from an online scholarly journal (MLA Handbook, 5.6.3)
Ouellette, Marc. “Theories, Memories, Bodies, and Artists.” Editorial. Reconstruction 7.4 (2007): n. pag.
Web. 28 Nov. 2007.
Spencer, Alexander. “Using Immigration Policies as a Tool in the War on Terror.” Crossroads 7.1
(2007): 17-53. Web. 4 Aug. 2009.
Article in an online magazine (MLA Handbook, 5.6.2b)
Shafer, Jack. “Let Murdoch Be Murdoch: Abolish the Powerless Wall Street Journal Special Committee.”
Slate. Washington Post Company, 30 Apr. 2008. Web. 1 May 2008.
Article from a newspaper website (MLA Handbook, 5.6.2b)
Ferrechio, Susan. “Compromise Would Give Board Medicare-Cutting Powers.” Washington Examiner.
Washington DC Examiner, 23 July 2009. Web. 24 July 2009.
Lieber, Ron. “Fannie, Freddie and You: What It Means to the Public.” New York Times. New York
Times, 8 Sept. 2008. Web. 24 July 2009.
Editorial, no author given:
“The Scientists Speak.” Editorial. New York Times. New York Times, 20 Nov. 2007. Web. 20 Nov. 2007.
Article in an online reference book (MLA Handbook, 5.6.2b)
“Bhutan.” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2008. Web. 12 Sept. 2008.
Web page with author(s) or editor(s) (MLA Handbook, 5.6.2b)
Burg, Evelyn, Patti Juza, and Ali Abdallah. “Common Reading, 2005-2006: Maus.” LaGuardia
Community College. LaGuardia Community Coll., 2005. Web. 4 Aug. 2009.
NOTE: List authors/editors in the order in which they appear on the website.
Web page with no author (MLA Handbook, 5.6.2b)
“Media Services.” LaGuardia Community College, Library Media Resources Center. LaGuardia
Community Coll., Lib. Media Resources Center, 29 July 2009. Web. 4 Aug. 2009.
“A Tour of the William Blake Archive.” The William Blake Archive. Ed. Morris Eaves, Robert Essick,
and Joseph Viscomi. Lib. of Cong., 15 Apr. 2005. Web. 4 Aug. 2009.
Complete website (MLA Handbook, 5.6.2b)
Eaves, Morris, Robert Essick, and Joseph Viscomi, eds. The William Blake Archive. Lib. of Cong., 8 May
2008. Web. 15 May 2008.
NOTE: List authors/editors in the order in which they appear on the website.
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Blog entry or comment (MLA Handbook, 5.6.2b)
Kelly, David. “The Politics of Pronouns.” Papercuts. New York Times, 8 Sept. 2008. Web. 11 Sept.
2008. <http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/08/the-politics-of-pronouns>.
Twitter post (use the tweet as the title (enough to serve as an identifiable title) and give the unique URL)
Nealschumanpub. "Coming in November: Stephanie Maatta 'A Few Good Books'!" Twitter. Twitter, 3
Nov. 2009. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. <http://twitter.com/nealschumanpub/status/5402110982>.
Online book/E-book (MLA Handbook, 5.6.2c)
Kipling, Rudyard. Just So Stories for Little Children. New York: Doubleday, 1909. Google Books. Web.
16 July 2009.
Online sound recording (MLA Handbook, 5.6.2b)
Lawrence, Jacob. “Jacob Lawrence Talks about Color.” Jacob Lawrence: Over the Line. Flash ed.
Phillips Collection, 2001. Web. 12 Mar. 2009.
Online video (MLA Handbook, 5.6.2b)
Bilgil, Melih, dir. History of the Internet. Melih Bilgil, 4 Jan. 2009. YouTube. Web. 17 Aug. 2009.
The Story of Stuff. Perf. Annie Leonard. Free Range Studios, 2007. Storyofstuff.com. Web. 20 Aug. 2009.
Vice Presidential Candidate Gov. Sarah Palin (AK) Full Speech at the RNC. C-Span, 3 Sept. 2008.
YouTube. Web. 10 Sept. 2008.
Online image (MLA Handbook, 5.6.2b)
Banner, Fiona. Break Point.1998. Frith Street Gallery. MOMA.org. Web. 20 Aug. 2009.
Tourist Guy. 2001. World Famous Photos. Web. 20 Aug. 2009.
Online map (MLA Handbook, 5.6.2b)
“Jackson Heights, NY.” Map. Google Maps, Google, n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2011.
Interview on the Web (MLA Handbook, 5.6.2b and 5.7.7)
Antin, David. Interview by Charles Bernstein. Dalkey Archive Press. Dalkey Archive P, n.d. Web. 21
Aug. 2007.
ePortfolio (MLA Handbook, 5.6.2b) (Treat as a web page or website)
Entire eportfolio:
Kaneko, Naho. Naho Kaneko ePortfolio. LaGuardia Community College, LaGuardia Center for Teaching
and Learning, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2010. <http://www.eportfolio.lagcc.cuny.edu/ePortfolios/
Advanced/naho.kanekoREV/index.htm>.
One page of an eportfolio site:
Dillon, Elizabeth. "My Links." LaGuardia Community College ePortfolio. LaGuardia Community
College, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2010. <http://www.eportfolio.lagcc.cuny.edu/ePortfolios/
capstone/elizabeth_dillon/links.html>.
******
For Digital Files that exist independent of the Web, either downloaded or created offline (e.g., PDF files,
MP3 files, JPEG files, Microsoft Word or PowerPoint files, etc.), see MLA Handbook 5.7.18.
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Works from Databases (aka: Licensed Subscription Services) (MLA Handbook, 5.6.4)
Article in a magazine or journal
Margonelli, Lisa. “Gut Reactions.” Atlantic Monthly Sept. 2008: 76-82. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 28 Aug. 2009.
Tator, Charles, James D. Carson, and Robert Cushman. “Hockey Injuries of the Spine in Canada, 19962006.” CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal 162.6 (2000): 787-88. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 28 Aug. 2009.
NOTE: List authors in the order in which they appear in the article.
Article in a newspaper
Hedgpeth, Dana. “Cash for Clunkers Deal Drives Auto Sales.” Washington Post 4 Aug. 2009, suburban
ed.: A11. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 12 Aug. 2009.
“The Scientists Speak.” Editorial. New York Times 20 Nov. 2007, late ed.: A22. LexisNexis Academic.
Web. 12 Aug. 2009.
Article from a single-title subscription database
Mansfield, Alyssa J., et al. "Deployment and the Use of Mental Health Services among U.S. Army
Wives." NEJM: New England Journal of Medicine 362.2 (2010): 101-09. New England Journal
of Medicine. Web. 31 Oct. 2012.
Simon, Steven. "New La Guardia College Blends Work and Study." New York Times 31 Oct. 1971: A22.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2006). Web. 8 Feb. 2010.
Article from Opposing Viewpoints in Context
Kohn, Abigail A. “Gun Control Laws Can Reduce the Incidence of Violent Crimes.” Current
Controversies: School Violence. Ed. Lucinda Almond. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2007. N. pag.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 1 May 2008.
Article from JSTOR
Ransford, H. Edward. “Isolation, Powerlessness, and Violence: A Study of Attitudes and Participation in
the Watts Riot.” American Journal of Sociology 73.5 (1968): 581-91. JSTOR. Web. 14 Oct.
2008.
E-book from a Library database
Garber, Marjorie B. Shakespeare After All. New York: Pantheon, 2004. ebrary. Web. 14 Apr. 2010.
Chapter from an e-book anthology/collection
Stini, William A. "Water as a Beverage and Constituent of Food." Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. Ed.
Solomon H. Katz. Vol. 3. New York: Scribner's, 2003. 510-13. Gale Virtual Reference Library.
Web. 27 Apr. 2010
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Literary criticism
Ditsky, John. “A Kind of Play: Dramatic Elements in Steinbeck's 'The Chrysanthemums'.” Wascana
Review 21.1 (1986): 62-72. Excerpt in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Anja Barnard and Anna SheetsNesbitt. Vol. 37. Detroit: Gale, 2000. 34-45. Literature Resource Center. Web. 12 Sept. 2008.
Kane, Tina. “The Doll’s House – Katherine Mansfield.” Masterplots II: Short Story Series. Ed. Charles
May. Rev. ed. Vol. 2. Pasadena: Salem, 2004. MagillOnLiterature Plus. Web. 8 Sept. 2008.
Map from Social Explorer
”2000 Census Tract – Ecuador.” Map. Social Explorer Professional. Social Explorer, 2011. Web. 4 Apr.
2011.
or
In the paper, explain the process of finding the map and data in Social Explorer (including the options
and data sets selected), making it unnecessary to provide a map citation in the "Works Cited" list. Cite
the Social Explorer database as a whole:
Social Explorer Professional. Social Explorer, 2011. Web. 4 Apr. 2011.
Table/data from Infoshare
A basic table:
"Total Population, Households, Families - 2000 Census ("Long form") - NYC Neighborhood Flushing."
Infoshare.org. Community Studies of New York, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2009.
A complex area comparison table:
In the paper explain the process of finding the data from Infoshare (including the options and data sets
selected), making it unnecessary to provide a table title in the “Works Cited” list. Cite the Infoshare
database as a whole:
Infoshare.org. Community Studies of New York, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2009.
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