Citing
Electronic
Resources:MLA
Style
Introduction:
MLA style is the preferred writing style of The Modern
Language Association. It is widely used by scholars,
researchers,
and students of English language and literature in researching,
recording,
documenting, and writing research papers.
The following recommendations for citing electronic resources
are
based on the 6th edition of MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers (2003), the 2nd edition of Joseph Gibaldi's MLA
Style
Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (1998), and selective
Web publications on MLA electronic citations.
To learn to use the format for parenthetical or print-source
citations,
please visit the Purdue University Online Writing Lab at <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html#Works-Cited>.
Guidelines forWorks
Cited:
- Center Works Cited on the top of a new page at the
end of the
research
paper
- Double-space between Works Cited and the first
citation
- Flush to the left to type each entry
- Indent five spaces (Tab) after the first line if an entry
runs more
than
one line
- Single-space between words/fields
- Double-space lines between and within entries
- Use period at the end of each field (e.g. author,
title,
publication
year, etc.)
- An online citation may include the
following:
- Author's name if known
- Title of the work/document in quotation marks
- Name of the periodical/complete work (italics or underlined)
- Volume number, issue number, or other identifying number
(number of
pages,
paragraphs)
- Date of publication or last revision if known
- Date of access and network address (URL)
Articles from
Subscription Online Databases
- Magazine or Journal
Articles
from a
Subscription Online
Database
Available from a Library:
Author. "Article Title." Journal Title Volume Number
(Publication
Year):
Starting Page Number. Database
Name. Publisher.
Name
and Address of the Library. Date of
Access
<URL of the
service provider's home page>.
Glasgow, Eric. "My
American
Dreams." Contemporary Review
260
(1992): 314+. Expanded
Academic ASAP. Gale Group. San Joaquin
Delta College
Library,
Stockton, CA. 5 Feb. 2003
<http://web6.infotrac.galegroup.com>.
- Articles from Opposing Viewpoints Resource
Center:
Author.
"Article Title." Database
Name. Publisher of the Reproduction.
Date of Publication. Name and
Address of the
Library. Date of
Access <URL>.
O'Connor, Sandra Day,
Anthony Kennedy, and David Souter. "A
24-Hour
Waiting
Period Is Not an Undue Burden." Opposing
Viewpoints Resource
Center. Gale Group. 2003. San
Joaquin
Delta
College Library, Stockton, CA. 9 Dec. 2003
<http://galenet.galegroup.com>.
- Articles from Literature
Resource Center or Biography Resource Center:
Author. "Article Title." Title of the Book.
Editor(s). Publication Pleace: Publisher's
Name,
Publication Year. Database
Name. Publisher of the Reproduction.
Date
of Publication. Name and
Address of the
Library. Date of
Access
<URL>.
Francis, Diana Pharaoh. "Octavia
E. Butler: Overview."
Contemporary Popular Writers.
Ed. Dave Mote. [Detroit]: St. James
Press, 1997. Gale Virtual Reference Library.
Thomson Gale. San
Joaquin Delta
College Library, Stockton, CA. 19 Oct. 2006
<http://galenet.galegroup.com>.
- Citing E-Reference
Sources from Gale Virtual Reference Library:
Author(s). "Article Title." Title of the Book.
Editor(s). Volume Number. Edition.
Publication
Place: Publisher's Name, Publication Year. Page
Numbers. Database
Name. Publisher of the Reproduction.
Name and
Address of the
Library. Date of Access <URL>.
Brown, Lois, and Leah J. Sparks.
"Butler, Octavia E(stelle)." American
Women Writers:
A Critical Reference Guide from Colonial Times
to the Present. Ed. Taryn Benbow-Pfalzgraf. Vol. 1. 2nd
ed.
Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. 157-158. Gale Virtual
Reference Library.
Thomson Gale. San Joaquin Delta College Library,
Stockton, CA.
18 Oct. 2006 <http://find.galegroup.com/gvrl/>.
- Citing E-Books from NetLibrary:
Author(s). Title of the Book.
Editor(s) or Compiler or Translator.
Publication
Place: Publisher's Name, Publication Year.
Database
Name. Publisher of the Reproduction.
Name and
Address of the
Library. Date of Access <URL>.
<>
Huntley, E. D. Amy Tan: A
Critical Companion. Westport, CT: Praeger,
1998. NetLibrary. NetLibrary. San
Joaquin Delta College Library,
Stockton, CA.
25 Oct. 2006 <http://www.netlibrary.com>.
- Newspaper/Newswire
Articles Retrieved
from a Subscription
Database
Available
from a
Library
When
searching an
online
newspaper
database subscribed by a library, the Web address of an online
newspaper
article can be extremely long and inaccessible directly from the Web.
In
this case, you are advised to cite the author, article title, newspaper
title, date of publication, database name, name and city (as well as
state
abbreviation, if necessary) of the library that subscribes the
database,
date of access, and the URL (Web address) of the service main page (in
angle brackets).
- Fournier, Ron. "Bush To Offer Job to
Cheney." Associated
Press
News Service
25
July 2000. NewsBank
NewsFile. San Joaquin
Delta College Library,
Stockton,
CA. 26 July 2000
<http://infoweb6.newsbank.com/> .
Free Internet Sources
- A Magazine Article
Based
on a Print Source from the Internet:
Author.
"Article Title." Magazine
Title Publication
Date: Page Numbers.
Cohen,
Joel E. "Human
Population: The Next Half Century." Science
14 Nov. 2003: 1172-5.
-
A
Journal Article Based on a Print Source from the Internet:
Author.
"Article Title." Journal
Title Volume Number
(Publication Year):
Page Numbers.
Nass, Meryl.
"Safety of the Smallpox
Vaccine Among Military
Recipients." JAMA 290 (2003): 2123-4.
-
Article in an
Internet-Only Journal:
Author.
"Article Title." Journal
Title.
Publisher or Copyrighter.
Date of Publication
<URL of the Web site>.
Campbell, Aaron Patric. "Weblogs for Use
with ESL Classes." The
Internet
TESL Journal. The Internet
TESL Journal. 4 Feb.
2003 <http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.html>.
Author. Title of the Book. Name of
the Editor or Compiler or
Translator. Publication Information. Date of
Access <URL>.
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Henry
Churchyard.
1996.
Jane Austen Information Page. 26 July
2000
<http://www.pemberley.com/Janeinfo/pridprej.html>.
Anderson, Sherwood. Winesburg, Ohio. E-text
created
by Judith
Boss for
Project Gutenberg.
Champaign,
IL, 1996. 26 July 2000
<http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/ANDERSON/cover.html>.
Title
of the Site. Name of the
Editor (if given). Publication Information
(including
publication date, name of the sponsoring institution or
organization). Date of
Access
<URL>.
Hillary Clinton
Forum. Ed. Editor@Hillary.org.
2003. 18 Nov. 2003
<http://www.hillary.org/>.
Author. Home Page. Publication
Date. Date of Access <URL>.
National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases. Is It a Cold
or Flu?
April 2001. 2 December 2003
<http://www.niaid.nih.gov/publications/cold/sick.pdf>.
Author. "Article Title." Title of the Newspaper/Newswire
Date of
Publication. Date of Access
<URL>.
Long, Dustin. "Funny Pages." East
Bay Express 29 January
2003.
5 Feb. 2003 <http://www.eastbayexpress.com/issues/
2003-01-29/books.html/1/index.html>.
Name of the writer (if known). Title of the message taken from the
subject line in quotation marks. Description of the message
that includes the recipient. Date of the message.
Wang, Jun. "Introducing Web2." E-mail to Judy Young. 28 May 2006.
Online
Forum or Discussion List
Name of
the writer (if known). Title of the document (as given in the
subject
line) in quotation marks. Online
Posting. Date
on which
the item was
posted. Name of the forum. Date
of access, and the URL or online
address of
the list in angle brackets.
Holland, Norman. "GAP (Group for Applied Psychology)." Online Posting.
1 May 2000. IPSA. 27 July 2000
<http://web.clas.ufl.edu/ipsa/gap.htm>.
Name of the
author
(if known). Title of the file (as given in the subject line) in
quotation
marks. Date of access. Full address of the ftp site.
Bucuvalas,
Len. "California UFO Sightings." 1 Aug. 2000.
More on MLA:
Please send questions or comments about this page to:
Dr.
Jun Wang
Updated: 25 Oct. 2006