MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources Purdue OWL® (2023)

OMLA manualemphasizes principles over prescribed practices. Essentially, in each source, an author must note key elements such as author, title, etc. and then order them in a general format. Thus, using this method, an author can cite any source, regardless of whether it is included in this list.

However, this guide highlights some concerns when citing MLA-style digital sources.

Best Practices for Managing Online Fonts

Because information online can change or disappear, it's always a good idea to keep personal copies of important electronic information whenever possible. Downloading or even printing important documents ensures that you have a stable backup. You can also use the bookmarking feature in your web browser to create an easily accessible reference to all sources in your project (however, this won't help if the information is changed or removed).

It is also wise to keep a record of when you first consulted each online source. The MLA uses the term "access" to mean the date you accessed the site, when available or required. This is not required, but is recommended (especially if a site does not include a copyright date).

Important note about the use of URLs in the MLA

Add a URL or web address to make your sources easier for readers to find. Since web addresses are not static (i.e., they change frequently) and documents sometimes appear in multiple places on the web (for example, in multiple databases), the MLA recommends using citation containers such as Youtube, JSTOR , Spotify or Netflix to easily check the sources to access and review them. However, the MLA only requires the www. address, so remove all https:// when quoting URL.

Many scientific journal articles found in databases contain a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). If a DOI is available, enter the DOI number instead of the URL.

Online newspapers and magazines sometimes include a "permalink," which is a stable, shortened version of a URL. Look for a "share" or "quote" button to see if a feed contains a permalink. If you can find a permalink, use that instead of a URL.

Abbreviations commonly used with electronic sources

If the page numbers are not available, use the pair. or pair. to designate paragraph numbers. Use this instead of p. or pp. abbreviation. Pair. would be used for a single paragraph while pars. would be used for a length of two or more paragraphs.

Basic citation style for electronic sources (including online databases)

Here are some general characteristics to look for before citing MLA-style electronic sources. Not all websites provide all of the following information. However, collect as much of the following information as possible:

• names of authors and/or editors (if available); Last names first.
• "Name of the item in quotes."
• Website, project or book title in italics.
• All available version numbers, including editions (ed.), revisions, publication dates, volumes (vol.), or issue numbers (#).
• Publisher information, including publisher name and publication date.
• Write page numbers (p. or pp.) or paragraph numbers (par. or pars.).
• DOI (if available, before "https://doi.org/"), otherwise URL (not https://) or permalink.
• Date you accessed the material (access date). Although not required, it is strongly recommended to save this information, especially for pages that change frequently or do not have a visible copyright date.

Use the following format:

Author. "Title."Container title (regardless if it is a book), Other Collaborators (Translator or Publisher), Version (Edition), Number (Vol. and/or No.), Editorial, Publication Date, Place (Pages, Paragraphs and/or URL, DOI or Permalink).2^{North Dakota}container title, Other Contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication Date, Location, Access Date (if applicable).

Citing an entire website

When citing an entire website, follow the same format as above, but provide a compiler name if no single author is available.

Name of the author or compiler (if available). Website Name. Version number (if applicable), name of the institution/organization associated with the site (sponsor or publisher), resource creation date (if applicable), DOI (preferred), otherwise URL or permalink. Date of access (if applicable).

Name of the publisher, author or compiler (if available).Website Name. Version number, name of the institution/organization (sponsor or publisher) associated with the site, resource creation date (if available), URL, DOI, or permalink. Date of access (if applicable).

The Purdue OWL family of sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, 2008, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl. Consulted on April 23, 2008.

Felluga, Dino.Literary and critical theory guide. Purdue U 2003 November 28, www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/. Accessed May 10, 2006.

Course or department websites

Enter the name of the teacher. Then provide the course title (or the school catalog designation for the course) in italics. Include the appropriate department and school names after the course title.

Felluga, Dino.english literature research. Purdue U, August 2006, web.ics.purdue.edu/~felluga/241/241/Home.html. Consulted on May 31, 2007.

English department. Purdue U, April 20, 2009, www.cla.purdue.edu/english/. Consulted on May 31, 2015.

A page on a website

For an individual page on a website, provide the author or pseudonym, if known, followed by an indication of the specific page or article referenced. Typically, the page or article title appears in a header at the top of the page. Follow this with the information covered above for entire sites. If the publisher is the same as the site name, include it only once.

LUNDMAN, Susan. "How to make vegetarian chili".As, www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html. Consulted on July 6, 2015.

„Athlete's foot: general description of the topic.”WebMD, September 25, 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview.

an electronic book

E-book citations are very similar to physical book citations. Simply indicate that the book in question is an ebook by entering the term "ebook" in the "Version" field of the MLA template (i.e. after the author, source title, container title, and title names). all other contributors). ).

Silva, Paul J.How to Write Well: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing.Ebook, American Psychological Association, 2007.

If the ebook is formatted for a specific reader or service, you can indicate this by treating this information the same way you would the edition number of a physical book. Often this means replacing "e-book" with "[Application/Service] ed".

Machiavelli, Nicholas.Prince, translated by W. K. Marriott, Kindle ed.

Observation:The MLA uses the term "electronic book" to refer to publications that are specially formatted for reading with an electronic book reader (for example, a Kindle) or equivalent web application. These eBooks have no URL or DOI. When citing book content from a regular web page with a URL, use the format of a page on an older website.

An image (including a painting, sculpture, or photograph)

Include the name of the artist, the work in italics, the date of creation, the institution, and the city where the work is located. Follow that first entry with the name of the site in italics and the date it was accessed.

Heaven, Francis.In Family Carlos IV. 1800. Prado National Museum, Madrid.Prado National Museum, www.museodelprado.es/es/la-coleccion/obras-de-arte/la-familia-de-carlos-iv/f47898fc-aa1c-48f6-a779-71759e417e74. Consulted on May 22, 2006.

Klee, Pablo.squeaker machine. 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York.the artful, www.artchive.com/artchive/K/klee/twittering_machine.jpg.html. Consulted in May 2006.

If the work cited is available only on the web, please provide the name of the artist and the title of the work and follow the citation format for a website. If the work is posted under a username, use that username for the author.

Adams, Clifton R. "People relaxing in a pool on a farm near Phoenix, Arizona, 1928."Found,National Geographic Creative, June 2, 2016, natgeofound.tumblr.com/.

An article in a web magazine.

Include the name of the author, the name of the article in quotation marks, the title of the web journal in italics, the name of the publisher, the date of publication, the URL, and the date of access.

BERNSTEIN, Marcos.„10 tips for writing the live network.”A List of Your Own: For People Who Build Websites, August 16, 2002, alistapart.com/article/writeliving. Consulted on May 4, 2009.

An article in an online scientific journal.

For all online scholarly journals, include the name of the author(s), the name of the article in quotation marks, the title of the publication in italics, all volume and issue numbers, and the year of publication. Include a DOI if available; otherwise, provide a URL or permalink to help readers find the source.

Article in an online-only academic journal

The MLA requires a page area for articles appearing in scientific journals. If the journal you are citing is in an online-only format (ie, there is no equivalent print publication) that does not use page numbers, please provide the URL or other location information.

DOLBY, Nadine. "Research in Youth Culture and Politics: Current Conditions and Future Directions".Social work and society: the online-only international journal,Volume 6, No. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Consulted on May 20, 2009.

Article in an online scientific journal that also appears in print

Cite articles in online scholarly journals that also appear in print, just as you would in a print scholarly journal.including article side section. Provide the URL and the date of access.

Wheelis, Mark.„Investigation of outbreaks under a protocol of the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention.”emerging infectious diseases, vol. 6, no. 6, 2000, pp. 595-600, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/6/00-0607_article. Consulted on February 8, 2009.

An article from an online database (or other electronic signature service)

Cite online databases (eg LexisNexis, ProQuest, JSTOR, ScienceDirect) and other subscription services as containers. Therefore, insert the database title in italics before the DOI or URL. If no DOI is provided, use the URL. If desired, enter the date of access.

Alonso, Alvaro and Julio A. Camargo.„Nitrite toxicity for three species of freshwater invertebrates.”environmental Toxicology,vol. 21, no. 1, February 3, 2006, p. 90-94.Wiley Online Library, https://doi.org/10.1002/tox.20155. Consulted on May 26, 2009.

Langhammer, Claire. "Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth Century England".historical magazine,volume 50, no. 1, 2007, p. 173-9ProQuest, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Consulted on May 27, 2009.

Email (including email interviews)

Include the author of the message, followed by the subject line in quotation marks. Indicates to whom the message was sent, with the phrase "Received by" and the recipient's name. Enter the date the message was sent. Use standard capital letters.

KUNKA, Andreas.„Re: Modern Literature”Received from John Watts on November 15, 2000.

Neyhart, David.„Theme: online tutoring.”Received from Joe Barbato on December 1, 2016.

A listserv, newsgroup, or blog post

Cite web posts like a normal web post. Include the author of the paper, the title of the publication in quotation marks, the name of the website in italics, the publisher, and the date of publication. Continue with the date of access. Include screen names as author names if the author's name is not known. If both names are known, enclose the author's name in parentheses.

Name of the author or compiler (if any). "Entry Title."Website Name, version number (if applicable), name of the institution/organization (sponsor or publisher) associated with the site, URL. access date.

Salmar1515 [Sal Hernandez]. "Re: Best Strategy: Fenced Pastures vs. Max Number of Rooms?"BoardGameGeek, 29 Sep 2008, boardgamegeek.com/thread/343929/best-strategy-fenced-pastures-vs-max-number-rooms. Consulted on April 5, 2009.

A tweet

Start with the user's Twitter handle instead of the author's name. Then enclose the entire tweet in quotes, and inside the quotes add a period after the tweet. Include the date and time of publication using the reader's time zone. Separate the date and time with a comma and end with a period. Enter the date of access if necessary.

@tombrokaw.„SC showed why all debates are the engines of this campaign.”Woe,January 22, 2012 3:06 am twitter.com/tombrokaw/status/160996868971704320.

@PurdueWLab.„Spring break is just around the corner and all of our locations will be open next week.”Gore, March 5, 2012 12:58 PM m., twitter.com/PurdueWLab/status/176728308736737282.

AYouTubeVideo

Video and audio sources should be documented using the same basic guidelines for citing MLA-style print sources. Include as much descriptive information as is necessary to help readers understand the nature and nature of the source you are citing. If the author's name is the same as the person who uploaded it, cite it only once. If the author is not the uploader, please cite the author's name before the title.

McGonigal, Jane. "Games and Productivity".YouTube, uploaded by Big Think, Jul 3, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdzy9bWW3E.

„8 Hot-Dog-Gadgets im Test.“YouTube,Uploaded by Crazy Russian Hacker, June 6, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBlpjSEtELs.

A comment on a website or article.

Enter the username as the author. use the phraseLeave a comment,before the title. Use quotation marks around the article title. Include the publisher, date, time (listed next to the comment), and URL.

Not omniscient enough. Leave a comment„The flight attendant tells the passenger to shut up after an argument over pasta.”ABC News, June 9, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. m. abcnews.go.com/US/flight-attendant-tells-passenger-shut-argument-pasta/story?id=39704050.