If a particular source is not covered here, use the basic forms to determine the correct format, consult the MLA Handbook or talk to the teacher of the course.
Some Tips on Handling Electronic Sources
It is always a good idea to maintain personal copies of electronic information, when possible. It is good practice to print or save Web pages or, better, using a program like Adobe Acrobat, to keep personal copies for future reference. Most Web browsers will include URL/electronic address information when material is printed, which makes later reference easy. Also learn to use the Bookmark function in the Web browser.
Basic Style for Citations of Electronic Sources
When citing information from an electronic source, provide the following general categories of information:
Author’s last name, first name. “Article Title” or Book Title. Publication information for any printed version. Or subject line of forum or discussion group. Indication of online posting or home page. Title of Electronic Journal. Date of electronic publication. Page numbers or the numbers of paragraphs or sections. Name of institution or organization sponsoring Web site. Date of access to the source
An Entire Web Site
Basic format:
Name of Site. Date of Posting/Revision. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sometimes found in copyright statements). The date the site was accessed [electronic address].
It is necessary to list the date of access because web postings are often updated, and information available on one date may no longer be available later. Be sure to include the complete address for the site.
The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. 26 Aug. 2005. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. 23 April 2006
Long URLs
URLs that won't fit on one line of a Works Cited list should be broken at slashes, when possible.
The Amazon.com URL for customer privacy and security information is http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/551434/104-0801289-6225502 so to simplify the citation use:
Amazon.com. "Privacy and Security." 22 May 2006
A Page on a Web Site
For an individual page on a Web site, list the author or alias if known, followed by the information covered above for entire Web sites. Make sure the URL points to the exact page referred to, or the entry or home page for a collection of pages:
"How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow.com. 10 May 2006 <http://www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html>.
An Image, Including a Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph
Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo del Prado, Madrid. 22 May 2006<http://museoprado.mcu.es/i64a.html>.
An Article in a Scholarly Journal
Butler, Darrell L., and Martin Sellbom. “Barriers to Adopting Technology for Teaching and Learning.” Educause Quarterly 25 (2002): 22-28. Educause. 17 Feb. 2005 http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eqmo223.pdf.
An Online Book
Anderson,Sherwood. Winesburg, Ohio. 1919. Bartleby.Com: Great Books Online. 1999. 17 Feb. 2005< http://www.bartleby.com/156/index. html>.
An Online Poem
Roethke, Theodore. “My Papa’s Waltz.” Favorite Poem Project. 5 May 2003 <http://www.favoritepoem.org/poems/roethke/waltz/html>.
An Article in a Reference Database
“Women in American History.” Britannica Online. Vers. 98.1.1. Nov. 1997. Encyclopedia Britannica. 10 Jan. 2005< http://www.eb.com>.
An Article in a Magazine
Glasser, Ronald J. “We are Not Immune.” Harper’s Oct. 2004. 12 Dec. 2004 <http://www.harpers.org/WeAreNotImmune.html>.
A Personal E-mail Message
Johnson, Alfred B. “Audio Interactive Awards.” E-mail to James W. Miles. 14 Feb. 2005.
Weblog Postings
MLA does not yet have any official rules for citing blog entries or comments. As the technology becomes more widely used for academic discussions, blogs may be referenced more often. If using a blog as a source, make sure to consider the credibility of the weblog site and/or the author of the posting or comment. Also, check with instructors of courses to see what their stance is about using evidence from blog entries.
Citing Personal Weblog Entries
List the author of the blog (even if there is only a screen name available), provide the name of the particular entry, identify that it is a weblog entry and then follow the basic format for a website.
Last Name, First. "Title of Entry." Weblog Entry. Title of Weblog. Date Posted. Date Accessed (URL).
Hawhee, Debra. "Hail, Speech!" Weblog entry. Blogos. 30 April 2007. 23 May 2007 <http://dhawhee.blogs.com/d_hawhee/2007/04/index.html>.
Article in a Database on CD-ROM
"World War II." Encarta. CD-ROM. Seattle: Microsoft, 1999.