IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Modern Language Association updated their guidelines on April 1, 2016. We have not yet updated this section of Resources for Researchers to reflect these changes. We have ordered a copy of the new guidelines and will update as soon as possible.
Basic Formats:
Internet Site
Please note that in MLA format, you capitalize the first letter of each key word in the title. However, in APA format, you only capitalize the first word of the title and the first word of the subtitle.
In MLA style, the title of the book is written in italics. In APA title, titles are underlined.
MLA Style
Format Author's Last Name, Author's First Name. "Title of the Internet Page: Subtitle of the Internet Page." Title of Internet Site. Date of Internet Site. Sponsoring Organization. Medium of Publication. Date of Access <URL>
Example
Burton, Kristen D. "'A Toast to Your Health': Getting Drunk in Colonial America." The Appendix Blog. 25 Feb. 2013. The Appendix: A New Journal of Narrative and Experimental History. Web. 3 Jan. 2014. <http://theappendix.net/blog/2013/2/getting-drunk-in-colonial-america>
URLs in MLA FORMAT
Because your reader could easily find Kristen D. Burton's article by searching for it by author and title, it is not necessary to include the URL in your citation.
The seventh edition of the MLA Handbook explains that
In the past, this handbook recommended including URLs of Web sources in works-cited-list entries. Inclusion of URLs has proved to have limited value, however, for they often change, can be specific to a subscriber or a session of use, and can be so long and complex that typing them into a browser is cumbersome and prone to transcription errors. Readers are now more likely to find resources on the Web by searching for titles and authors' names than by typing URLs. You should inlcude a URL as supplementary information only when the reader probably cannot locate the source without it or when your instructor requires it. (182)
