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Citing Electronic Sources in MLA Style

ENGLISH 1101 / 07 & 20 G KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY D FALL 2009 E MR. HAGIN
NOTE: All page and section numbers refer to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research papers, 6th ed.

Standard Educational Website

Michael Harveys Nuts and Bolts of College Writing A targeted section called In-text Citations, located in the chapter on MLA Style.
http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu/mla.html#in-text

(5.9.1) The Basic Entry: A Document from an Internet Site (207-216) See also (5.9.3.b) A Part of an Online Book (220) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Author: Harvey, Michael. Specific Web Page Title (and Target): MLA Style: In-text Citations. Website Name: The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing. Sponsor: Washington College. Latest Update: 25 August 2008. Medium: Web. Your Date of Access: 20 October 2009.

Harvey, Michael. MLA Style: In-text Citations. The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing. Washington College, 25 August 2008. Web. 20 October 2009.

NOTES: The main part of the URL appears after the slashes and continues until it reaches a suffix (.com, .org, .gov, etc). The home page for a website can be accessed by removing everything after the suffix: (http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu). The information that follows the main URL indicates the interior sections of a website as you click its links and browse through its windows. Separated by a slash, these interior pages can assist the user in navigating the website, but also in documenting the website. Typically, the main URL will be listed in a Works Cited Page entry as either the main title or the sponsoring institution of the site. The interior pages that follow the slashes usually reflect the various section titles and article titles located within. In the above example, I decided to cite the article title as specifically as I could since the link was a targeted link. A target is a specific location on a long page that allows the user to be directed to the specific part requested. I decided to list the target title after the section title, separating the two with a colon to indicate their hierarchy (MLA Style: In-Text Citations). A target is represented by a pound symbol (#).

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Online Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia Britannica, an Entry entitled American Civil War.
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=6188

(5.6.8) An Article in a Reference Book (160-161) + Date of Access <URL>. 1. 2. 3. 4. Term, Keyword, or Article: American Civil War. Main Title and Edition: Encyclopdia Britannica, 2009. Medium: Web. Your Date of Access: 20 October 2009.

American Civil War. Encyclopdia Britannica, 2009. Web. 20 October 2009.

Online Dictionary / Reprint

The word Awesome from YourDictionary.com

http://yourdictionary.com/ahd/a/a0552600.html

(5.6.8) An Article in an Online Reference Book (160-161) + Date of Access <URL>. See also (5.9.3.b) Part of an Online Book (220) + (5.6.7) A Work in an Anthology, Reprinted in Format (159-160) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Definition (considered an Interior Title): Awesome. Indicate the specific definition used (if more than one is listed): Def. 2. Main Title: Websters New World College Dictionary. Edition: N/A. Year of Original Print Publication: 2005. But is Reprinted in this website by another company: Rpt. in Yourdictionary.com. Sponsor, year of this reprint: LoveToKnow, 2009. Medium: Web. Your Date of Access: 20 October 2009.

NOTES: You do not need to cite the original publisher of familiar reference books. If you tried to, you would not know the city of publication. (ADDITIONALLY: If you ever do refer to the Houghton-Mifflin Company in a book citation, then you would just write its abbreviated standard in MLA Style: Houghton. See pages 273-274 for the abbreviations commonly used to indicate publishers.)

Awesome. Def. 2. Websters New World College Dictionary, 2005. Rpt. in Yourdictionary.com. LoveToKnow, 2009. Web. 20 October 2009.

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Online News Article

A BBC News Article on Wiretapping at the United Nations
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3477479.stm

(5.9.4) An Article in an Online Periodical (221-224) See also (5.7.5) An Article in a Newspaper (185-187) and (5.7.6) An Article in a Magazine (187-188) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Author: N/A Article Title: Chiles UN Phones Were Tapped. Newspaper/Newsmagazine Title: BBC News. Volume Number, Issue Number, or Distinguisher: World Edition. Sponsor, Publication Date: British Broadcasting, 10 February 2004. Medium: Web. Your Date of Access: 20 October 2009.

Chiles UN Phones Were Tapped. BBC News. World Edition. British Broadcasting, 10 February 2004. Web. 20 October 2009.

A Framed Website / A Photograph

Website Portal: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/default.stm Direct Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/in_pictures/3230097.stm
(5.9.1) The Basic Entry: A Document from an Internet Site (specifically 212-215) See also (5.9.4) An Article in an Online Periodical (221-224) See also (5.7.5) An Article in a Newspaper (185-187) and (5.7.6) An Article in a Magazine (187-188) (5.9.9.d) A Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph (232) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Author: N/A Article Title (Picture Caption): Week in Pictures: 25-31 October. Main Title: BBC News. Volume Number, Issue Number, or Distinguisher: UK Edition. Sponsor, Publication Date: British Broadcasting, 31 October 2003. Medium: Web. Your Date of Access, then the Path: 20 October 2009. Path: Photo 4 of 13.

Week in Pictures, from BBC News

Week in Pictures: 25-31 October. BBC News. UK Edition. British Broadcasting, 31 October 2003. Web. 20 October 2009. Path: Photo 4 of 13.

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An Online Government Publication / Adobe PDF page

Executive Order Signed By Gov. Perdue Establishing the New State Flag
http://georgia.gov/vgn/images/portal/cit_1210/5226815Exec_order_flag.pdf

(5.6.21) A Government Publication (174-176) + date of access <URL> OR (5.9.3.c) An Online Government Publication (220-221) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. State or country issuing the law: Georgia. Title of the document: Executive Order. House Bill number: HB 380. City, government agency, and date of the law: Atlanta: State of Georgia, 8 May 2003. Medium: Web. Your Date of Access: 20 October 2009.

Georgia. Executive Order. HB 380. Atlanta: State of Georgia, 8 May 2003. Web. 20 October 2009.
NOTES: The author for most government documents will be the name of the federal or state body, followed by the more specific branch (e.g., United States. Cong. House.). Also, notice that the suffix of the website is different. The URL ends with .pdf rather than .html. This is because it is an Adobe pdf document (Portable Document Format), not a hypertext document (HTML means hypertext markup language). You can download a product called Adobe Reader for free by visiting the Adobe website (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html).

A GALILEO Article

A Research Article from Psychology of Women Quarterly

(5.9.7.a) A Work from a Library Subscription Service (229-230) See also (5.9.4) An Article in an Online Periodical (221-224) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Author: Belle, Deborah. Article title: Poverty, Inequality, and Discrimination as Sources of Depression among U.S. Women. Main title, edition, date, range: Psychology of Women Quarterly 27.2 (June 2003): 101-113. Database accessed to locate this article: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Medium: Web. Your Date of Access: 20 October 2009.

NOTES: The bibliographic listing shows that the Database is from the Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, while the Research Database is EBSCO. This may have caused confusion. Use the Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection as your database, since it can be underlined or italicized, as seen in the examples on pages 229-230. EBSCO is not italicized in these handbook examples, and should only be

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listed when you are using the basic blanket EBSCOhost search engine. Name the specific database instead when searching GALILEOs specific databases, accessed by the colored tabs on the home page. Avoid listing both EBSCO and GALILEO in this citation, since the name of the database should be underlined or italicized. GALILEO is the direct service accessed during your search (it is also the main part of the URL).

Belle, Deborah. Poverty, Inequality, and Discrimination as Sources of Depression among U.S. Women. Psychology of Women Quarterly 27.2 (June 2003): 101-113. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 20 October 2009.
MORE NOTES: The third component of this entry is the most complex. You will see that it includes the main title of the periodical, but it also adds the volume number, issue number, date, and page range, all with particular punctuation. All of this information is bundled together for a logical reason: periodicals retain their titles, but their content changes periodically (be it daily, weekly, quarterly, etc.). Be sure to punctuate this component correctly. The name of the library and sponsoring institution is important. You pay tuition to the university system to keep GALILEO going, so your connection to KSU is included in the next-to-last component. Finally, the URL for subscription databases and services (such as AOL) is not a direct connection to the web pages. If you attempt to paste the URL, you will be directed to the home page. Therefore, use the name of the service in the GALILEO and AOL URLs.

A CD-ROM Publication
A Definition from a CD-ROM Dictionary
(5.9.5) A Publication on CD-ROM, Diskette, or Magnetic Tape (224-228) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Author: N/A Article title: Albatross. (the entry that you looked up) Main periodical title: The Oxford English Dictionary. Editors/Translators Name: N/A Edition Number: 2nd ed. Version/Volume Number: N/A City: publisher, date: Oxford: Oxford UP, 1992. Page range or paragraph numbers: N/A Publication medium: CD-ROM.

Albatross. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1992. CD-ROM.

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A RealPlayer Audio File

Website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/09/20030906.html Audio Link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/09/20030906.a.ram
(5.9.9.b) A Sound Recording or Sound Clip (231-232) See also (5.8.2) An Sound Recording (196-198) (5.8.11) A Lecture, a Speech an Address, or a Reading (204) (5.9.4) An Article in an Online Periodical (221-224) (5.6.21) A Government Publication (174-176) + date of access <URL> See also (5.9.3.c) An Online Government Publication (220-221) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Speakers/Authors Name: Bush, George W. Title of Presentation and Date: Presidents Radio Address. Host: N/A. Sponsor, Date: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 6 September 2003. Network: N/A. Medium: Web. Your Date of Access: 20 October 2009.

Bush Radio Address on September 6, 2003 (Topic: No Child Left Behind)

Bush, George W. Presidents Radio Address. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 6 September 2003. Web. 20 October 2009.