MLA Format is mainly used to write papers and cite sources in liberal arts and humanities. In this article, we are going to explain how to cite a website in MLA format.
Information Required to Cite a Website in MLA Format
Before citing the website in MLA format, you should first find out some information about the website. The following list gives the basic information. But keep in mind that not every web page may contain this information. But collect as much of these information as possible.
- Article Title
- Title of the Website, project, database
- Publisher Information (name, date, etc.)
- Names of author/editor
- Medium of Publication
- Date you accessed the material
How to Cite a Website in MLA Format
After obtaining the following information, you can start citing the website. But there are different ways of citing. You can either cite the specific article you used or cite the entire website.
How to Cite the Entire Website
If you are citing the website you can use the following format.
Editor, author, or compiler name. Name of Site. Version number. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of publication. Medium of publication. Date of access. For example,
| Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003. Web. 25 May 2016. |
Guidelines for Citation in Different Scenarios
- If the publisher name is not known, use n.p. and if the publishing date is not available, use n.d.
| Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. n.p. n.d. Web. 25 May 2016. |
- If the author or editor is not known, you can directly start the citation with the name of the site.
| The Online Writing Center. Liberty University. n.d. Web. 25 May 2016. |
- When you are citing a website, the medium of publication should be written as Web.
- When you are writing the name of the author or editor, state the last name first. Last name should be followed by a comma and the first name. For example,
Schneider, Edgar.
Anderson, Hans.
- When you are writing the publication date and the date you accessed the website, use the following format.
Date Month Year.
25 May 2016.
19 June 2000.
How to Cite a Webpage
If you are citing a single page of a website, you can use the following format.
Name of Author, Editor, Contributor. “Name of Article”. Name of Website. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of publication.Medium of publication. Date of access.
| Winch, Guy. “At What Age Are You Most Likely to Be Lonely?”. Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, LLC, May 10 2016. Web. 25 May 2016. |
You can also use the same format to cite a web page that doesn’t mention an author.
| “Alerts and Warnings” TRAVEL.STATE. GOV. Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State.n.p.Web. 23 May 2016. |
How to Cite an Online Journal
|
Sun, Ping.“Using Blogs as a Support to Ideological and Political Education” Journal of Arts and Humanities 3.8 (2014) 109-113. Web. 23 May 2016. |
If you are citing an online journal, you can use the following MLA structure.
Author. “Article Title.” Journal Name Volume Number (Year Published): Page Numbers. Medium. Date Accessed
If the journal is available online and does not include page numbers, you can use the abbreviation n. pag.
