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MLA Citation Guide: Web Resources

This guide is intended to help you cite your sources in the Modern Language Association's style. It covers citing within the text and the references section.

Information Needed

  • Author, Compiler, director, editor, producer, translator, etc.
  • Title of the Work
    • Put in quotations marks if it is part of a larger work
    • Put in italics if it is the main work
  • Title of Main Work (if you are citing a part of a larger work such as a web page or an episode in a podcast series)
  • Version or edition used
  • Publisher or sposor of a website
  • Date of publication
  • Medium of publication
  • Date of access

Breakdown of a URL

The Uniform Resource Locator is used to locate documents and pages on the web.

The first part of the URL identifies the transfer protocol -- often HyperText Transfer Protocol (http://) or HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure (https://) -- which defines how messages are formatted and transmitted. It rarely needs to be specified in the URL any more.

The next section of the URL is the domain name, which indicates the owner of the page. SDSU's domain name is sdstate.edu. The .edu in the domain name indicates that it is an educational institution. There are many types of domains: .com, .org, .gov, etc.

The final part(s) of the URL are the path and file indicators. This indicates which folder and subfolders a particlar web page or document is located in so that it can be found and delivered to your browser.

Briggs Library Information Services

Profile Photo
Briggs Library Reference
Contact:
SBL 123
Briggs Library, Box 2115
South Dakota State University
Brookings, SD 57007-1098
605-688-5107

Webpage

Author/compiler/directore/editor, etc." Title of Work." Title of Overall Website. Version or Edition Used. Publisher or Sponsor of the site. Day Month Year of publication (use n.d. if no date is given). Medium of Publication. Day Month Year of access.

White, S. E. Knitting Basics for New Knitters. About.com. (n.d.) Web. 20 June 2012.

Naxos: The world's leading classical music group. Naxos. (2012). Web. June 22, 2012.

Document on a Webpage

Author/compiler/directore/editor, etc." Title of Work." Title of Overall Website. Version or Edition Used. Publisher or Sponsor of the site. Day Month Year of publication (use n.d. if no date is given). Medium of Publication. Day Month Year of access.

Committee on Scholarly Editions. "Guidelines for Editors of Scholarly Editions." Modern Language Association. MLA, 25 Sept. 2007. Web. 15 May 2008.

Blog Post or Video Blog Post

Author/compiler/directore/editor, etc." Title of Work." Title of Overall Website. Version or Edition Used. Publisher or Sponsor of the site. Day Month Year of publication (use n.d. if no date is given). Medium of Publication. Day Month Year of access.

Salmar1515 [Sal Hernandez]. "Re: Best Strategy: Fenced Pastures vs. Max Number of Rooms?" BoardGameGeek. BoardGameGeek, 29 Spet. 2008. Web. 5 Apr. 2009.

Online Discussion

Author/compiler/directore/editor, etc." Title of Work." Title of Overall Website. Version or Edition Used. Publisher or Sponsor of the site. Day Month Year of publication (use n.d. if no date is given). Medium of Publication. Day Month Year of access.

Salmar1515 [Sal Hernandez]. "Re: Best Strategy: Fenced Pastures vs. Max Number of Rooms?" BoardGameGeek. BoardGameGeek, 29 Spet. 2008. Web. 5 Apr. 2009.

Podcast

Author/compiler/directore/editor, etc." Title of Work." Title of Overall Website. Version or Edition Used. Publisher or Sponsor of the site. Day Month Year of publication (use n.d. if no date is given). Medium of Publication. Day Month Year of access.

O'Laughlin, Michael. "Ogham The First Irish Alphabet, Runes." Hello Fada Irish Language. 21 Feb. 2011. Web. 11 Jul. 2012.

Online Map

Author/compiler/directore/editor, etc." Title of Work." Title of Overall Website. Version or Edition Used. Publisher or Sponsor of the site. Day Month Year of publication (use n.d. if no date is given). Medium of Publication. Day Month Year of access.

"Maplewood, New Jersey." Map. Google Maps. Google, 15 May 2008. Web. 15 May 2008.

Online Streaming Video

Producer. "Title of Work." Title of Overall Website. Version or Edition Used. Publisher or Sponsor of the site. Day Month Year of publication (use n.d. if no date is given). Medium of Publication. Day Month Year of access.

Hungerford, Amy. “Jack Kerouac, On the Road.” The American Novel Since 1945 (ENGL 291). Yale University. 21 Nov. 2008. YouTube EDU. Web. 29 June 2009.

Print Guides

Citing Items Without an Author

If an article, book or other resource does not have an identifiable author, move the title to the first element and keep everything else in the same place.

APA Book:

Title. Date. Place of Publication: Publisher.

MLA Book:

Title. Place of Publication: Publisher. Date. Format.

Chicago Author-Date Book:

Title. Year. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Citing Items Without a Date

If a publication does not have a date, use the abbreviation n.d. for no date.