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MLA 9th ed. Style Guide: Web Sites, Blogs

Essential Elements

In general, a citation for information found on the Web should include the following:

  • Author's name (see Corporate Authors)
  • Title of work or Web page
  • Title of the Web site (if different from the specific work)
  • Version/edition used (if available)
  • Date of publication/last updated 
  • URL, omitting http://
  • Date accessed (if helpful to your reader) Ex. "Accessed 10 Aug. 2016."

Sample Citations - Web Sites

Blog

Example 1:

Levs, Josh. “Working Dads are Leaning In: And Their Companies Should Be, Too.”  	The Huffington Post, 16 June 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/quora/working-dads-are-leaning_b_10505642.html.

Example 2 (Blog Network):

Scharf, Caleb A. “3 Cosmic Mysteries: No. 1.” Life, Unbounded, Scientific American  	Blogs, 26 July 2016, blogs.scientificamerican.com/life-unbounded/3-cosmic-mysteries-no-1/.

Example 3 (Comment on Blog):

John. Comment on “Chewing Gum Can Improve Memory.” Study Skills Blog, 8 Dec. 2007, www.studyskillsblog.com/chewing-gum-can-improve-memory/.


Book Accessed on the Web

Blythe, LeGette. Hear Me, Pilate. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1961. Gutenberg Project, www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52650.

Corporate Authors for Web Sites

A corporate author may be a government agency, an institution, an association, or other organization.

Example 1:

If an organization is the author and publisher, begin the citation with the title of the work and list the organization only as the publisher. 

“Obesity.” Medline Plus, National Library of Medicine, United States, 21 July 2016,  	medlineplus.gov/obesity.html.

Example 2:

If the title of the web site is the same as the name of the publisher, there is no need to include additional publisher information. 

"Genetics of Diabetes." American Diabetes Association, 20 May 2014, diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/genetics-of-diabetes.html.


Journal Articles Accessed on the Web

Mahmood, Sajid. “Effectiveness of School-Based Intervention Programs in Reducing Prevalence of Overweight.” Indian Journal of Community Medicine, vol. 39, no. 2, 2014, pp. 87-93. Pub Med Central,  doi:10.4103/0970-0218.132724


News Organization

Wheeler, Brian, and Alex Hunt. “Brexit: All You Need to Know About the UK Leaving the EU.” BBC News, 21 July 2016, www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887.

Asimov, Nanett. “Almost 1 in 5 UC Students Goes Hungry, Survey Finds.” SF Gate, Hearst Communications, 11 July 2016, www.sfgate.com/education/article/Nearly-1-in-5-UC-students-goes-hungry-survey-8352973.php.