Say I was trying to cite this question and properly format my works cited section using MLA. Where would I look to find information on how to format it?
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Are you asking for how to format a citation in the MLA style for a web address?– MitchDec 16, 2011 at 2:27
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@Mitch yes please.– David BDec 16, 2011 at 3:33
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1Oh. Did you try a web search already?– MitchDec 16, 2011 at 3:34
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1A Google search for "MLA web citation" produces the exact link Kate posted as the very first result. But I suppose waiting a full day for someone else to google it for you makes more sense.– Lèse majestéDec 18, 2011 at 9:59
2 Answers
The OWL at Purdue is my go-to source for MLA information. Check their page for electronic sources, or their home page.
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I up voted your answer. I also wrote out a long form version of an answer, using a different source. Since it was current MLA, it provided similar content to the excellent URL you provided. Dec 27, 2011 at 23:22
I paraphrased this from Robert Harris' MLA In-Text Citation Style, November 2010. It is based on the Seventh Edition of MLA for Research Writers, 2009, which remains the most current version. Harris distinguishes between a web page and a database. Here is the standard for a web page, or web address, as the question requested.
Last name, First name. “Article Title.” Web site name. Sponsoring organization name, Date of article. Web. Date you accessed article.
Include as much of the information that you can find for the website. If you don't have the date, use n.d.
for no date
as follows:
Last name, first name. “Article title.” Web site. Sponsoring Organization,
n.d.
Web. Date you accessed article.
If you don't have the author's name, nor the date of the article:
“Article title.” Web site. Sponsoring Organization,
n.d.
Web. Date you accessed article.
If the web site name is the same as the organization name, or no organization name is specified:
Last name, first name. "Article title." Site name, Date of article. Web. Date you accessed the article.
If the URL might be difficult to locate, include it in brackets at the end of the citation:
Last name, First name. “Article Title.” Web Site. Sponsoring Organization, Date of article. Web. Date you accessed article.
<http://xxxxxx.xxx/....>
.
Use exactly the same period and comma placements above for your citation.