The basic MLA format for an online encyclopedia citation is:
Author. "Title of Article." Title of Reference Work. Date of publication. Title of service or database. Date of access. <www.full address of site>.
Some entries will not have an author listed and will simply begin the article's title. For example, the citation for an article on William Shakespeare from "Encyclopedia Britannica" reads:
"William Shakespeare." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 20 May. 2009. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/537853/William-Shakespeare>.
To cite an entry within the text of a paper, use the title of the article or the author (if available). A section of text that contains information from the encyclopedia article can be followed by a parenthetical. For example: "William Shakespeare grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon ("William Shakespeare"). The author or title of the article is left in quotations and placed in parentheses after the statement.
Check the bottom of the entry for a prepared citation in a works cited list. Many online encyclopedias provide the citations in several styles to save writers the trouble of looking for the format each time they need to cite an article. While this service is useful, it is still helpful to know how to use and create citations as they will not be provided with every source.
Make sure the punctuation of the citation follows the style guidelines. Notice there is only one space following periods and that quotation marks fall after the periods. The MLA also recommends underlining the title of the work as opposed to italicizing.