The MLA Format

Avoiding Plagiarism and Documenting Sources

How to Cite Web Pages

Information you will need about the source:

• Author or editor (if given)
• Title of article. essay, entry or project accessed  (in quotes)
• Title of web site, database, periodical, or professional site (underlined)
• Any additional information required for a comparable type of source
• Publisher or organization sponsoring the Web site. Use "N.p." for no publisher, if not given.
• Date of material (if given) or use "n.d." for no date (if not given)
• Date you accessed the information
• Only provide the URL (address of Web page) if the website is difficult to find (enclosed in brackets  <        >).

Many times you will have to consult a Web page other than the one you are viewing to identify author, date, and/or page publisher. Examine the home page or page just before the one you are viewing. You will usually not be able to find all of the information listed above.

 Examples

Typical Web Page

Karper, Erin. "Creating a Thesis Statement." The OWL at Purdue. Purdue University, 28 Sept. 2006. Web.

31 Mar. 2007.

Web Page with No Author

"Alzheimer's Disease." MedlinePlus. U.S National Library of Medicine, 2007. Web. 2 Apr. 2007

 

No Author and No Date Given

"Cars, Trucks, & Air Pollution." Clean Vehicles. Union of Concerned Scientists, n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2009.

 

Web Site Would be Difficult to Find Without URL

Eaves, Morris, Robert Essick, and Joseph Viscomi, eds. The William Blake Archive. Lib. Of Cong., 28 Sep. 2007.

Web. 20 Nov. 2008. <http://www.blakearchive.org/blake/>.

 

More Examples

See the Citation Guide for more examples.

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