Leland Speed Library  . . . . . . . . .              LIBRARY INSTRUCTION

The authoritative source for citing sources with MLA is the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, which can be purchased at the campus bookstore. The Sixth Edition is the latest version. The handbook is also available at the MC Speed Library at the 2nd floor Reference Desk.  More information is available at the Modern Language Association website.

Another good source for citing electronic information, including web pages and electronic journals, is Electronic Styles: A Handbook for Citing Electronic Information. This book is available at the 2nd floor Reference Desk.

The following are guidelines for citing electronic sources. Any questions not clearly answered here should be addressed to your professor.

In-Text Citations

References in the text to another source must guide the reader to the corresponding entry in the Works Cited list. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers advises that because Web documents usually do not have fixed page numbers or the pagination may vary according to the printer used, page numbers should be omitted in parenthetical references unless the Web document includes fixed page or paragraph numbers.

Italics Versus Underlining

The use of either italics or underlining is acceptable provided that they are used consistently through the manuscript. Check your instructor’s preference.

Examples of Citations of Electronic Sources Using MLA

• Web page with author
• Web page with no author
• Article from a commercial database (EBSCOhost, Lexis-Nexis, FirstSearch)
• Article from an online encyclopedia, journal, newspaper, news service

Web Page with author:

Padgett, John B. William Faulkner on the Web. 7 July 1999. 

	U of Mississippi. 17 Apr. 2000

	<http://www.mcsr.olemiss.edu/~egjbp/faulkner/faulkner.html>. 

Web Page with no author:

F. Scott Fitzgerald Centenary Home Page. 17 Dec. 1999. U of 

	South Carolina. 17 Apr. 2000 <http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/>.  

        NOTE:  In the above example, December 17, 1999 is the date of the last update to the page and April 17, 2000 is the date the writer accessed the site. U of South Carolina is the host site.

Article from a commercial database (such as EBSCOhost, Lexis Nexis Academic Universe, or FirstSearch) available via www and provided as a subscription service from your library:

Bemrose, John. "From Rag to Riches." Maclean's 23 Dec. 1996: 

	70. Academic Universe Lexis-Nexis. Mississippi College Lib., Clinton, MS. 

	17 Apr. 2000 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe>.

Holmes, Catherine D. "Jim Burden's Lost Worlds: Exile in My  

	Antonia." Twentieth Century Literature 45 (1999): 336-46. 

	WilsonSelect FirstSearch. Mississippi College Lib., Clinton, MS. 

	17 Apr. 2000  <http://firstsearch.oclc.org>. 

Levy, Anita. "Jane Eyre, the Woman Writer, and the History of Experience." 

	Modern Language Quarterly 56 (1995): 77-96. Academic Search Premier 

	EBSCOhost. Mississippi College Lib., Clinton, MS. 17 Apr. 2000 

	<http://search.epnet.com/login.asp?profile=web>. 
 	

        NOTE:  In the above examples, April 17, 2000 is the date the writer accessed the site. Since the articles come from a subscription or fee-based service, the MLA format includes the name of the database (underlined), the name of the database provider (if available), and the name and location of the library providing the subscription service. The Reference Librarians can assist you in identifying the names of the databases and vendors. The URL given in the citation points to the entry page for that database. When an article is retrieved from a commercial database, the URL as shown in the location box will not function in subsequent searches and should not be used in the citation. Use the entry page for the database.

Article from an online encyclopedia, journal, newspaper, or news service:

"Lost Generation." Britannica.com. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 17 Apr.2000
 
	<http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/5/0,5716,50175+1+49008,00.html>.

Shields, Carol. "Opting for Invention over the Injury of Invasion."

	New York Times on the Web 10 Apr. 2000. 17 Apr. 2000

	<http://www.nytimes.com/library/books/041000shields-writing.html>. 

Siegel, Jerome M. "Narcolepsy." Scientific American 22.1 (2000). 17 Apr. 2000
 
	<http://www.sciam.com/2000/0100issue/0100siegel.html>. 

    NOTE:  In the above examples, April 17, 2000 is the date the writer accessed the site. In the example from Britannica.com, the entire URL is given because it will retrieve the article in subsequent searches.