PLUG-INsA Student’s Guide to Information Literacy

REFERENCING INTERNET WEBSITES

(MLA)

Today we are going to learnhow to write MLA style

references or citations for

websites.

Hello. I am a tarantula. I make beautiful webs & I never bite unless you

step on me.

MLA means Modern Language

Association.

HCT students use the referencing format

from MLA.

An online toolto format references (so you don’t have to)

is NoodleTools from HCT Databases library.hct.ac.ae Click Resources then Databases.

Or, go to

www.easybib.com

But, it is always a good idea

to learn how to write the references

yourself.

Because, someday the

Internet might be down or your

computer may crash.

1. Websites directly from the Internet.

2. Websites from HCT

databases.

Today we will talk about only websites from the Internet.

There are 2 kinds of websites

you will write references for.

Some web pages have a great feature called

“Cite this page.” Always look

carefully for this feature is; it will

save you a lot of work. Copy and paste into your

document.

For example, Wikipedia has this feature.

On the left, under Toolbox, link to

“Cite this page.”

Scroll down to MLA style.

Copy and paste into your

document.Note : Because Wikipedia is not written by only one

person there is no author in a Wikipedia citation.

You need the following

information in this order :

What about Internet websites

with no “Cite this page”

feature?

1. Author (Last name, first name, initial).

2. “Title of the page or article.”3. Name of the website. 4. Date page was published or

updated.5. Publisher or owner of website.6. Date you found the page7. <URL>

If no author is noted, start with the title of

the article or webpage.

Think carefully about these 3 things 1. The title of the article or page 2. The title of the entire website 3. The publisher of the website Do not confuse them.

Sometimes the publisher’s name is the same as the title but not always. Do

not write the publisher if it is the same as the

title.

Let’s write a citation for this webpage. There is no author noted, so we begin with the title of the

page.

www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ae.html

Here is how you format the

webpage title.

“United Arab Emirates.”

Quotation mark. Space

Dot inside quotation markQuotation

markCapital letters & punctuation

same as original

Next is the name of the entire

website.

The World Factbook.

Keep the same capital letters as the

original

Underline Dot. Space

.Note : It is also correct to use italic letters instead of the

underline.

Next add thedate the website was

published. This date is usually at the bottom. It may say, “Last

updated…”

23 Oct. 2008. Date. Space

Year

Dot. Space.Month,

sometimes abbreviated with

a dot. Space.

For some months,

write an abbreviation

instead of the full word.

Jan. = January Feb. = February Mar. = March Apr. = April May = May June = June July = July Aug.= August Sept.= September Oct. = October Nov.= November Dec.= December

Use a dot after

abbreviations.

But, if you do not see this

date anywhere on a page, write n.d.

which means “Not dated.”

Good websites always show a last

updating date. In fact, this is one

way you can know if a website has

accurate information.

Next is the owner or publisher of

the website; this may be a company, a university

or a government agency.

Central Intelligence Agency.

Keep the same capital letters as the

original.

No underline.

No quotation marks.

Dot. Space

.

Now, put the date that you found

or accessed the webpage. Format the

same as the webpage date except there is no dot after

the year.

3 Nov. 2008 Date. Space

. Year

Space. No dot.

Month, sometimes abbreviated with a dot.

Space.

Last, put the URL.

<www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ae.html>.

DotExact URL

Angle bracket

Angle bracket

McKinney, Amrita Z.

Middle initial (if

included). Dot. Space

First name, space. Dot if no initial.

Comma, space

Family name

This webpage did not have an author.

Here is how you format the author’s name if there is one.

Here is the complete citation

for an Internet website.

“United Arab Emirates." The World Factbook. 23 Oct. 2008.

Central

Intelligence Agency. 3 Nov. 2008

<www.cia.gov/library/publications/

the-world-factbook/geos/ae.html>.

Indent 5 spaces or tab over after the first line. Double space between

every line.

Just a few more things you need to know.

When you write your list :• Do not number your references or use bullets.• Use alphabetical order. • Left justify the first line & indent all other lines.• Double space between every line in a reference and between each reference.

Here is an example of a reference list : no numbers or

bullets for entries, alphabetical order, first line

left justified, other lines indented and double spacing.

“Bahrain.” The World Factbook. 23 Oct. 2008. Central Intelligence Agency. 3 Nov.

2008

<www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ae.html>.

“Oman.” The World Factbook. 23 Oct. 2008. Central Intelligence Agency. 3 Nov. 2008

<www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ae.html>.

“United Arab Emirates." The World Factbook. 23 Oct. 2008. Central Intelligence

Agency. 3 Nov. 2008

<www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ae.html>.

If you have any format questions :

www.mla.org/style/style_faq/style_faq4

I hope this helps you

understand how to write references for

websites.

And, remember www.easybib.com

Another great website for

format questions : library.hct.ac.ae/screens/cite.html

This is the Official HCT

Webpage about citing sources.

HAPPY WRITING

!

Thank you for

listening.