MLA STYLE

For a regular Internet site, i.e., a common Web page.

I.  DEFINITION
II.  ELEMENTS TO INCLUDE
III.  EXAMPLES

l.  DEFINITION
For a regular Internet site, i.e., a common Web page.  Defined as:

TYPE OF PUBLICATION: It is a not a formal document, i.e., it is a plain-old Web page. It is not an online journal, newsletter, government document, or book.

ACCESS: Internet site. It has a URL by which it can be directly accessed. It was not retrieved from a proprietary database.

II.  ELEMENTS TO INCLUDE (if given):
1. Name of author, editor, compiler, or translator of the source. Last name, First name. Followed by an abbreviation, such as ed., if appropriate. Note on abbreviations: For editor, ed. For compiler, comp. For translator, trans. For example: Smith, Doug ed., Loyd, Phil comp., Bloxson, Ozzie trans.
2. Document title.

If your reference is to a Web page or group of pages within a scholarly project or parent Web site: The title of the page in quotation marks, or for a page with no title, a description such as Home page (not in quotation marks).

If your reference is to a personal or professional Web site (the main site): The title of the site underlined, or for a site with no title, a description such as Home page (not underlined).

In both titles and subtitles, capitalize the first words, the last words, and all principal words, including those that follow hyphens in compound terms. Do not capitalize the following parts of speech when they fall in the middle of the title: articles (a, an, the), prepositions (against, between, in, of, to, etc.), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet, etc.). For more information and examples, refer to section 2.6 of the MLA Handbook.

3. Date of publication. Date of electronic publication or latest update. Day month year, e.g., 10 Dec. 1997:

4. Statement of length. The total number of pages, paragraphs, or other sections, if they are numbered. If they are not numbered, use the statement n. pag. to indicate no pagination. Note on abbreviations of length: For paragraphs, pars., e.g., 13 pars.; for pages, pp., e.g., 4 pp.

5. The name of any institution or organization sponsoring or associated with the Web site.

6. Date when you accessed the item. Day Month year, e.g., 10 Dec. 1997.

7. The electronic address or URL, in angle brackets followed by a period, e.g., <http://www.tsufl.edu>.

Need help finding these elements? Try Where does citation information come from? by Chris Rippel. http://skyways.lib.ks.us/kansas/central/post/tutorials/citation/webwhere.html

III.   EXAMPLES
EXAMPLES FOR REGULAR WEBSITES:

Moraines, David.  David's Townhouse. 1997:  3 pp.  13 Feb. 1998.

     <http://www.geocities.corn/Broadway/1001/>.

Gradson, James.  "Life in Ancient Egypt."  1998: n. pag.  Carnegie Museum of Natural History  17 May 1998     <http://www.clpgh.org/cmnh/exhibits/egypt/index.html>.

Cherry, Nicole.  "Norse Mythology."  7 Feb. 1997: n. pag. California Institute of Technology  15 Apr. 1998 <http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~cherryne/mythology.html>.

Chany, Cal.  "Dr. Cal's Guide to Good Laboratory Practices and WWW Chemistry Information for Students."  1998: n. pag. University of Illinois at Chicago  1 Apr. 1998   <http://www.uic.edu/~magyar/Lab_Help/lghome.html>.

Rippel, Chris.  "Internet Cites."  5 Apr. 1998: n. pag.  Central Kansas Library System.  2 May 1998. <http://skyways.lib.ks.us/kansas/central/post/tutorials/citation>.

This document was revised October 1, 1999 by Jay Brandes, Reference Librarian. Published by Troy State University FR Regional Library. P.O. Box 9250, Bldg. 90359, Hurlburt Field, FL 32544. © Troy State University.