MLA Style Help Guide

There are two editions of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers: MLA 7th and MLA 8th editions. Please check with your instructor regarding which edition you are to use.

For MLA 7th Edition: Use this research guide. 

FOR MLA 8th Edition: Please refer to the OWL Purdue website. 

Below are sample citations for the most common electronic resources, based on the7th edition. Please refer to the M L A Handbook for Writers of Research Papers for clarification or additional information about citing other resources.

Basic Structure:

Last Name, First Name. "Article Title." Journal Title Series Volume.Issue (Year Published): Pages: Database Name. Web. Date Month Year Accessed.

Journal Article - Retrieved from library database

Chambers, Ruth M., and Cathryn C. Potter. "The Match Between Family

     Needs and Services for High-Risk Neglecting Families." Journal of

     Public Child Welfare 2.2 (2008): 229-52. Academic Search Complete.

     Web. 15 Sept. 2009.

 

• The name of the database comes after the page numbers.
  • SPECIAL NOTE: EBSCO is the name of a company, and EBSCOhost is the name of a search product. The name of the EBSCO/EBSCOhost database is listed at the very top of the search page, next to Searching.

• The date you retrieved the article is listed at the end, after the publication format.

 

Magazine Article - Retrieved from library database

Grunwald, Michael and Michael Scherer. "The Main Streeters vs. the Wall

     Streeters." Time 8 Feb. 2010: 30-31. Academic Search Complete.

     Web. 15 Sept. 2009.

 

• If the article is not on consecutive pages, list the first page number and a plus (+) sign.

• If there are no page numbers, use n. pag. instead.

• The name of the database comes after the page numbers.
  • SPECIAL NOTE: EBSCO is the name of a company, and EBSCOhost is the name of a search product. The name of the EBSCO/EBSCOhost database is listed at the very top of the search page, next to Searching.

• The date you retrieved the article is listed at the end, after the publication format.

 

 

Newspaper Article - Retrieved from library database

McNeil, Donald G., Jr. "Universities are Preparing for Back-

     to-the-Classroom Outbreaks of Swine Flu." New York Times 23 Aug. 2009:

     A23. National Newspapers Core. Web. 15 Sept. 2009.

 

• Do not include the word "The" if it is at the beginning of a newspaper title.

• If the city name is not included in the name of a local newspaper, add the city in brackets -- i.e. [Des Moines] -- after the name of the newspaper. For national newspapers, you do not need to include the city information.

• If the newspaper article has a page with a section letter, such as D1, include the section letter as part of the page number. If the article if in a section that is numbered and/or in a specific edition, include the name of the edition and/or the section number after the date and before the page number -- example: 26 Sept. 2010, late ed., sec. 4: 8. Note the edition comes first if you also have a section number.

• If the article is not on consecutive pages (i.e. 30-35), list the first page number and a plus (+) sign.

• If there are no page numbers, use n. pag. instead.

• The name of the database comes after the page numbers.
  • SPECIAL NOTE: EBSCO is the name of a company, and EBSCOhost is the name of a search product. The name of the EBSCO/EBSCOhost database is listed at the very top of the search page, next to Searching.

• The date you retrieved the article is listed at the end, after the publication format.

 

Electronic Book - Retrieved from library database

Potter, Elizabeth. Feminism and Philosophy of Science: An

     Introduction. London: Routledge, 2006. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost).

     Web. 15 Sept. 2009.

 

• The name of the database comes after the page numbers.
  • SPECIAL NOTE: EBSCO is the name of a company, and EBSCOhost is the name of a search product. The name of the EBSCO/EBSCOhost database is listed at the very top of the search page, next to Searching.

• The date you retrieved the article is listed at the end, after the publication format.

 

Encyclopedia Entry - Retrieved from library database

 

•  If author is listed, include their name(s) before the title of the entry.

•  If edition is listed, include it before the volume information.

 

 

CountryWatch - Country Review

Youngblood Coleman, Denise, ed. "Armenia 2009 Country Review."

     CountryWatch. CountryWatch, 2009. Web. 15 Sept. 2009.

 

• To obtain the editor, title, and publication date of the Country Review, select theCountry Review [PDF] link, under Country PDF Download, in the left-hand column of the Country Review page.

• The date you retrieved the article is listed at the end of the citation, after the publication format.

 

CQ Researcher - Report with PDF Available

Marshall, Patrick. "Online Privacy." CQ Researcher 6 Nov. 2009:

     933-56. CQ Researcher. Web. 15 Sept. 2009.

 

• To obtain the author, title, publication date, and page numbers, select View PDF in CQ Researcher.

• Do not list volume or issue numbers.

 

CQ Researcher - Short Report (No PDF Available)

Clemmitt, Marcia. "Health Care." CQ Researcher 15 June 2013.

      Web. 1 Oct. 2014.

 

• List the publication date (top of the page) before "Web."

• The author may be listed at the bottom of the page.

 

Occupational Outlook Handbook (online)

United States. Dept. of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

      "Librarians."  Occupational Outlook Handbook.

      2012-2013 ed. 29 Mar. 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2012.

 

• The edition date will be listed toward the bottom of the Web page.

• The first date is the publish date. This will be at the bottom of the Web page.

• The last date is the date you accessed the website.

 

 

Specific page of a website - Not an entire website

 

"Food Allergens." The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network.

 

     The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, 11 Aug. 2009.

 

     Web. 15 Sept. 2009.

 

 

 

• If editor, author, or compiler is listed, include their name(s) before the title of the Web page.

 

• The title of the entire website goes after name of the specific Web page you accessed. Then, the publisher or sponsor is listed.
  • In the example above, the title of the website and publisher/sponsor are the same: The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network.

 

• If no publisher or sponsor is given, use n.p.

 

• If creation or last edited date is not listed, use n.d. instead. 

 

• The date you accessed the Web page is listed at the end, after the publication format.

 

• If the Web page address is difficult to find, or your instructor requires it, insert the URL in angle brackets at the end of the entry (after the date you accessed the Web page) and follow with a period:
  <http://www.foodallergy.org/section/common-food-allergens1>. 
  • The address should not be hyperlinked -- that is, not in blue and not underlined. 
  • If the address has to be split into two lines on your Works Cited page, break the link after a slash.

 

Entire website - Not a specific page of a website

The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis

     Network, 2010. Web. 15 Sept. 2010.

 

• If editor, author, or compiler is listed, include their name(s) before the title of the website.

• The publisher or sponsor of the page is listed after the title of the website.
  • In the example above, the title of the website and publisher/sponsor are the same: The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network.

• If no publisher or sponsor is given, use n.p.

• If creation date is not listed, use n.d. instead.

• The date you accessed the website is listed at the end, after the publication format.

• If the website address is difficult to find, or your instructor requires it, insert the URL in angle brackets at the end of the entry (after the date you accessed the website) and follow with a period: <http://www.foodallergy.org/>. 
  • The address should not be hyperlinked -- that is, not in blue and not underlined. 
  • If the address has to be split into two lines on your Works Cited page, break the link after a slash.
  •