How to Cite an Encyclopedia Article Online
Many types of professional or academic writing require that you cite a source for information in your article. Modern Language Association, or MLA, style provides the standard formatting requirements for citations. Online encyclopedia citations must include the following: author(s), title, name of encyclopedia, date of publication, service or database, the retrieval date and possibly the web address.
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Instructions
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How to Cite an Encyclopedia Article Online
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Begin by citing the name of the author of the article from the online encyclopedia, with the last name, followed by a comma, then the first name and a period. For example:
Spellbinder, Maurice.
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Cite the title of the article in quotation marks followed by a period. For example:
Spellbinder, Maurice. "How to Write Articles."
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Cite the name of the online encyclopedia in italics (if there is a volume and/or page numbers, they should follow in parentheses). End with a period. For example:
Spellbinder, Maurice. "How to Write Articles." Smithsonian Online Encyclopedia (Vol 3, pp 4-5).
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If there is a date of publication, write it inside parentheses followed by a period. If there is no date of publication, it is not necessary that it be cited. For example:
Spellbinder, Maurice. "How to Write Articles." Smithsonian Online Encyclopedia (Vol 3, pp 4-5). (1999).
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If there is a title of the service or database, cite it followed by a period. For example, an online encyclopedia is from the Web, therefore use the word "Web."
Spellbinder, Maurice. "How to Write Articles." Smithsonian Online Encyclopedia (Vol 3, pp 4-5). (1999). Web.
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Finally, cite the date of access by preceding it with the word "Retrieved" and ending it with a period. For example:
Spellbinder, Maurice "How to Write Articles," Smithsonian Online Encyclopedia (Vol 3, pp 4-5). (1999). Web. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
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It is no longer necessary to cite the web address itself, although it is still appreciated depending upon your audience and difficulty of finding your source material. When included, the address is placed within greater-than and less-than symbols:
Spellbinder, Maurice "How to Write Articles," Smithsonian Online Encyclopedia (Vol 3, pp 4-5). (1999). Web. Retrieved May 11, 2010. <http://www.referencearchive/Encyclopedia/vol3/html>.
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Tips & Warnings
When citing within the text itself, use only the title of the article or the name of the author. Put the title or author's name in quotation marks within parentheses. For example:
It wasn't until after the death of his brother that Walt decided to grow his burgeoning empire ("It All Started with a Mouse").
Only one space follows a period in an MLA citation.
Quotation marks are placed after the periods.
The online source (encyclopedia) used to be underlined--it is now recommended that it be italicized only.
References
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