How to Do MLA Citation for Websites

Citing a website just means finding information and following a standard format.

Regardless of the writing you are preparing, all legitimate intellectual pieces must have sources. Judy Hunter has been a teacher at the Grinnell College Writing Lab since 1976, and explains that citation "is the basis of academics" and academia mainly involves "taking what is already known, established, or thought (and using reasoning) power to create new knowledge." To ensure your work is of the highest quality, cite all of the sources you use throughout your piece, including websites.

Instructions

In-Text Citation Website

1. Find the author of the website you are using as a source. You can usually locate the author's name below articles on the website, or on an "About" page.

2. Find the portion of your intellectual piece that uses the website as proof. This may range from one sentence to multiple ones. If it is more than one sentence, find the end of your writing that employs the website's information.

3. Cite the author of the website at the end of the section. Type the author's last name with brackets surrounding it. For example, "Judy Hunter explains that the number of quotations in any piece varies because some disciplines concentrate on language while others concentrate on ideas (Hunter)."

Works Cited Page Citation

1. Write all of the website's information on a piece of paper. This includes the author's name, website title, date of publication, date of access and the URL. Skip recording any information that you are unable to find.

2. Type this information onto your Works Cited page. It must adhere to the MLA format:

   Last name, first name. "Web page title." Website title. Date of publication. Date of access. <URL>.

   Leave out any information that you do not have.

3. Format the citation. Italicize the title of the website and leave the rest as is.

Tips & Warnings

• If no date of publication is provided, simply type "n.d." in its place. This is an abbreviation for "no date." Do not skip the date of publication portion of the citation as you may others because it is not considered acceptable.

• If there is no author listed, just use the title of the webpage for in-text citations. Referring to the original example, the in-text citation would be (The Importance of Citations) rather than (Hunter).

• Adhere to the MLA format. If you do not, your piece will look significantly less credible, as it will be assumed that you did not take the time to ensure your sources were properly cited.

References

• Grinnell College: The Importance of Citation
• Roane State College: MLA Format for Websites

Resources

• Modern Language Association