MLA Citation Style for Web Pages

This PDF document provides examples of how to properly format Web page citations in a Works Cited list. (To view this document, you will need the Adobe Reader software - a free download available from http://www.adobe.com .)

In-text Parenthetical References

A standard in-text parenthetical reference for a Web page includes the author's last name. The period goes after the reference. For example,

"Two trends are largely responsible for the rise in homelessness over the past 20-25 years: a growing shortage of affordable rental housing and a simultaneous increase in poverty" (Miller).

If you use a signal phrase that includes the author's name, no in-text parenthetical reference is needed. For example,

According to Juanita Miller, "Two trends are largely responsible for the rise in homelessness over the past 20-25 years: a growing shortage of affordable rental housing and a simultaneous increase in poverty."

For a Web page with	you will use	Your in-text parenthetical reference would look like this:
two authors	both authors' last names.	(Paradis and Worden)
three authors	all three authors' last names.	(French, Archer, and McCoy)
more than three authors	the last name of the first author followed by "et al."	(Skillings et al.)
a corporate author	the name of the corporation, association, or committee (minus any initial articles - A, An, The)	(National Rifle Association)
no author	the title of the Web page (if brief) or the first word/few words of the title underlined.	(Crime Library) (Stratospheric)

Formatting Long Quotes MLA Style

If a quote you are using in your paper is longer than four lines, you need to insert it as a block quote. On a new line, indent one inch from the left margin (two tabs). Double space the quote and do not include quotation marks. Place the in-text parenthetical reference at the end of the last line of the quotation. Insert the period before the reference. Below is an excerpt from a research paper that includes a block quote.

The cost of housing is an issue for poor people in general and for poor homeless people as well.

Homelessness and poverty are inextricably linked. Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, child care, health care, and education. Difficult choices must be made when limited resources cover only some of these necessities. Often it is housing, which absorbs a high proportion of income, that must be dropped. Being poor means being an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets. (Miller)

A lack of affordable housing in this country is forcing poor people onto the streets and keeping those already on the street from finding places to live.

Back to MLA Citation Style

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Last Updated 03/29/2007 09:57 AM