MLA Documentation: Citing Electronic Sources
The following formats and examples are offered as models for references that might appear in the "Works Cited" section (bibliography) of a business writer's research paper. These formats are based on the most current version of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. They also reflect the guidelines presented online by the Modern Language Association (MLA).
In-Text Citations
Normally, in-text citations include, in parentheses, the author's last name and the page cited, such as (Roever 355). However, electronic documents rarely contain page numbers. Therefore, in most instances include only the author's name, such as (Roever). To avoid confusion when citing more than one Web page by a single author, you may wish, however, to also indicate the final element of each relevant URL. Example: (Douglas 1998, chairman97.html). Do not cite page numbers from your printout because this pagination may vary in different printouts.
If paragraphs in the electronic document are numbered, include that information: (Wilson pars. 11-14).
If an electronic document has no author, use identifying words from the title, such as (Genetic Engineering).
Works-Cited List
Use hanging indented form for all entries; that is, the second and succeeding lines are indented five spaces.
Avoid dividing an electronic address at the end of a line. If absolutely necessary, do so at a logical place, such as at a diagonal (/), period, or hyphen.
The word "online" may be written as "on-line" or "online." Select one version; use it consistently.
The MLA requires that the year of journal publications be shown in parentheses, while the dates of newspaper publications are not shown in parentheses.
The MLA notes that italics can be ambiguous. For printed student writing submitted for grading and for printed writing submitted for professional editing, therefore, the MLA suggests underlining. If you wish to use italics instead, check with your instructor before doing so.
Either one or two spaces may be left after concluding punctuation marks. It is increasingly common, however, for papers to be prepared with a single space after all punctuation marks. That is the style shown here.
Basic Form
Title of Web site. Date of electronic publication, of the latest update,
or of posting, if available. Total number of pages, paragraphs,
or sections, if numbered. Name of organization sponsoring Web site.
Access date <URL>.
Examples
Personal Touch America. Nordstrom. 18 Aug. 1998 <http://www.npta.com/>.
Business Ethics Institutions & Organizations. Centre for Applied Ethics,
University of British Columbia. 2 Sept. 1998
<http://www.ethics.ubc.ca/resources/business/eth-inst.html>.
Basic Form
Name of site owner. Title of Web Site, if available; for a site with
no title, description of site (such as "Home page"). Date of latest
posting, if available. Name of organization sponsoring Web site.
Access date <URL>.
Example
Robertson, Richard E. Home page. Last updated 4 Mar. 1997. University
of Michigan. 18 August 1998 <http://msewww.engin.umich.edu/mse/
robertson.html>.
Basic Form
Author/editor (if known). Date of electronic publication, of the latest
update, or of posting. "Title of Page." Name of organization
sponsoring site. Access date <URL>.
Example
Ivester, M. Douglas. 19 Feb. 1998. "Annual Report: To Share Owners."
The Coca-Cola Company Web Site. 19 Aug. 1998 <http://cocacola.com/
co/chairman97.html>.
Basic Form
Author. "Chapter." Book Title. Publication information for printed
source (if available). Date of electronic publication, of the
latest update, or of posting, if given. Name of any institution
or organization sponsoring or associated with the Web site. Access
date <URL>.
Example
Strunk, William, Jr. "Elementary Rules of Usage." The Elements of Style.
Project Bartleby Archive, Columbia University. 20 Aug. 1998
<http://www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/strunk/strunk.html#11>.
Basic Form
Author of review. Review of Book Title by Author. Journal or Magazine Title: Volume,Issue, or other identifying number (Year of publication in parentheses): pages (if given). Access date <URL>.
Example
Hansen, Richard. Review of A Pragmatic Approach to Business Ethics by
Alex Michalos. The Online Journal of Ethics 1.1 (1995). 5 May
1996 <http://condor/depaul.edu/ethics/michalos.html>.
Basic Form
Author (if given). "Title of Material Accessed." Date of material (if
given). Title of Encyclopedia. Publication information for any
print version of the source if available. Date of electronic
publication, of the latest update, or of posting (if known).
[search term if necessary for retrieval]. Access date <URL>.
Example
"Stock Market Crash of 1929." Britannica Online. Vers. 98.2. April,
1998. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 20 August 1998
<http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=micro/567/22.html>.
Basic Form
Author (if given). "Title of Material Accessed." Date of material (if
given). Title of Encyclopedia. Edition, release, or version (if
relevant). CD-ROM. Name of vendor (if relevant). Electronic
publication date.
Example
"Genetic Engineering," Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia. Version 2.0.
CD-ROM. Compton's NewMedia, Inc., 1994.
Basic Form
Author. "Article Title." Journal Title Volume.Issue or other
identifying number (Year of publication in parentheses): paging.
Access date <URL>.
Examples
Koehn, Daryl. "The Ethics of Handwriting Analysis in Pre-Employment
Screening." The Online Journal of Ethics 1.1 (1995). 2 June 1996
<http://condor/depaul.edu/ethics/hand.html>.
Nakata, Cheryl and K. Sivakumar. "National Culture and New Product
Development: An Integrative Review." Journal of Marketing 60:1
(1996): 12 pp. 13 May 1996 <telnet://melvyl.ucop.edu>.
Basic Form
Author. "Article Title." Magazine Title. Date: page (for magazines
published every month or two months, do not give volume and issue
numbers even if they are listed). Access date <URL>.
Example
Murphy, H. Lee. "Saturn's Orbit Still High With Consumers." Marketing
News Online. 31 August 1998. 1 September 1998 <http://www.ama.org/
pubs/mn/0818/n1.htm>.
Basic Form
Author. "Article Title." Newspaper Title. Date, edition, section: page
(if given). Database name (if applicable). Access date <URL>.
Example
Markoff, John. "Voluntary Rules Proposed to Help Insure Privacy for
Internet Users." The New York Times. 5 June 1996, business sec.,
CyberTimes. 5 June 1996 <http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/
y05dat.html>.
Basic Form
Author (if given). "Article Title." Online posting. Date. Newsgroup
title or focus. Access date <URL>.
Examples
"Japan Sends Confusing Signal on U.S. Chip Dispute." Online
posting. 3 June 1996. World, Asia, and Japan business. 5 June
1996 <news:clari.world.asia.japan.biz>
Sommer, Elyse. "MetaphoricQuotes Related to Law." Online posting.
2 June 1996. Quotations. 3 June 1996 <news:alt.quotations>.
Basic Form
Author. "Subject of Message." Date. Online posting. Discussion List.
Access date <URL>.
Example
Sandwen, Janice. "GSA's Airline City-Pair Contracts." 8 August 1995.
Online posting. Travel. 11 Dec. 1996 <LISTSERV@financenet.gov/
Get950809>.
Basic Form
Sender (Sender's E-mail address). "Subject of Message." E-mail to
recipient (Recipient's E-mail address). Message date.
Example
Omar, Bill W. (bomar@aol.com). "Excellent Web Sites for Job Seekers."
E-mail to Mary Ellen Guffey (meguffey@westwords.com). 5 June 1998.
Chief Justice Richard
Barajas
Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics
Cathedral High School, El Paso, Texas
Last updated: January 22, 2001