How to Cite Internet Sources in MLS

The Modern Language Association, commonly known as the MLA, creates and defines standards that allow writers to acknowledge the external sources used in a research paper. The MLA style has rules that define how a source is cited both within the text and the corresponding information in the Works Cited list located at the end of the paper. The MLA style has different requirements based on the type of work that is being cited and the method used to access it. For sources published or retrieved from the Internet, there is a specific list of requirements so that the reader can access the source information easily.

Instructions

    • 1

      Include the author of the source material. If the source has a listed author, it must be included first. The format for names is last name followed by a comma then the first name and middle initial (if available). End the section in a period. For instance a name is formatted as "King, Stephen." If the author is a group or company, list the name as written with the first letter of each word capitalized, for example, "Modern Language Association."

    • 2

      List the title of the article. The title of the article should have the first letter of each word capitalized. Include the title within double quotes: "How to Cite Internet Sources in MLA." If the article is untitled, you can use a generic title such as home page or introduction.

    • 3

      Include the name of the source the information was retrieved from. This can be the name of the web site, publication or in the case of an online encyclopedia, the name of the encyclopedia. The source name should be in italics and ended with a period, for example, "Encyclopedia Britannica."

    • 4

      Present the name of the editor if it is available. This will be most prevalent in books and encyclopedias that are available online. The editor is proceeded by Ed. and has their name listed normally followed by a period, for example, "Ed. Ben Browder."

    • 5

      Include the publisher's city, name and published date if available. The publisher's city and name should be separated by a colon and the publisher's name and date are separated by a comma. This is rare for online sources and any lacking information can be omitted. Try to include at least the publisher and the date.

    • 6

      Provide the method you used to access the information and the date the information was accessed during your research. In most cases the means of access will be Web. The means of access and date should be separated by a period and the date should be in day month and year format followed by a period, for example, "Web. 5 January 2011."

    • 7

      List the full URL of the article as close to the source as possible. The URL should be included within the greater and lesser symbol brackets. For example: <http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/mla>

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