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MLA Citation Style: Web Content

The purpose of this guide is to help you cite your sources using the MLA Style (8th edition). You will find some useful examples and tips for organizing your work.

 

General guidelines

  • The URL (without http:// or https://) is now normally given for a Web source (e.g. www.).
  • The use of citing containers such as Youtube, JSTOR, Spotify, or Netflix is encouraged in order to easily access and verify sources.
  • DOIs and permalinks, when available, are preferred over URLs.
  • The use of date of access is not required, but it’s encouraged (especially when there is no copyright date listed on a website).
  • If you cannot find some of the information, cite what is available.
  • If the author is unknown, give the name of the article or the name of the web site in the author position.
  • If the website name is the same as the name of its publisher, you may omit the publisher name.
  • Placeholders for unknown information like n.d. (“no date”) are no longer used. Simply omit them.

Social Media

Twitter

Format:

Twitter Handle (First Name Last Name if Known). "The entire tweet word-for-word." Twitter, Day Month Year of Tweet, Time of Tweet, URL. Access Date.

Example:

@tombrokaw. “SC demonstrated why all the debates are the engines of this campaign.” Twitter, 22 Jan. 2012, 3:06 a.m., twitter.com/tombrokaw/status/160996868971704320. Accessed 5 Feb. 2012.

Facebook

Format:

Author Last Name, First Name or Account Name. Description of Post. Facebook, Day Month Year of Post, Time of Post, URL. Access Date.

Example:                 

Rick Mercer Report. Spread the Net Challenge Winners 2016. Facebook, 23 Mar. 2016, 9:00 a.m., www.facebook.com/rickmercerreport. Accessed 26 June 2016.

Note: Describe the post briefly.

Blogs

Format:

Author or compiler name (if available). “Posting Title.” Name of Site, Version number (if available), Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), URL. Access Date.

Example:

Salmar1515 [Sal Hernandez]. “Re: Best Strategy: Fenced Pastures vs. Max Number of Rooms?” BoardGameGeek, 29 Sept. 2008, boardgamegeek.com/thread/343929/best-strategy-fenced-pastures-vs-max-number-rooms. Accessed 5 Apr. 2009.

Note: Include screen names as author names when author name is not known. If both names are known, place the author’s name in brackets.

Website

Format:

Author(s). Name of Site. Name of sponsor or publisher, date of publication, URL. Access date (optional).

Note: Date of access is now optional in MLA 8th edition. If no publication date is included, we recommend including the date you last accessed the site.

Examples:

Entire website (with author)

Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003, www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/. Accessed 10 May 2006.

Entire website (no author)

Shakespeare Lives. British Council, 2016, www.shakespearelives.org. Accessed 18 Apr. 2017.

Page on a website (with author)

Lundman, Susan. “How to Make Vegetarian Chili.” eHow, www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html. Accessed 6 July 2015.

Page on a website (no author)

“Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview.” WebMD, 25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview. Accessed 7 Dec. 2015.

Note: Give the entire website title in italics after the page title.

Wiki

Format:

"Title of Entry." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Day Month Year entry was last modified, Time entry was last modified, URL. Access Date.

Example:

“Greater flamingo.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Dec. 2019, 20:07, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_flamingo. Accessed 15 Dec. 2019.

Difital Files

Examples:

Beethoven, Ludwig van. Moonlight Sonata. Crownstar, 2006. MP3 file.

Council of Writing Program Administrators, National Council of Teachers of English, and National Writing Project. Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing. CWPA, NCTE, and NWP, 2011, wpacouncil.org/files/framework-for-success-postsecondary-writing.pdf. PDF file.

Note: End the entry with the name of the digital format (e.g., PDF, JPEG file, Microsoft Word file, MP3).

Website / Format