Author
It can sometimes be difficult to find out who the author of a website is. Remember that an author can be a corporation or group, not only a specific person. Author information can sometimes be found under an "About" section on a website.
If there is no known author, start the citation with the title of the website instead.
Date
The best date to use for a website is the date that the content was last updated. Otherwise look for a copyright or original publication date. Unfortunately this information may not be provided or may be hard to find. Often date information is put on the bottom of the pages of a website.
If you do not know the complete date, put as much information as you can find. For example you may have a year but no month or day.
Access Date
Date of access is now optional in MLA 8th edition. If no publication date is included, we recommend including the date you last accessed the site.
Note: For your Works Cited list, all citations should be double-spaced and have a hanging indent.
A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.
In your Works Cited list, abbreviate months as follows:
January = Jan.
February = Feb.
March = Mar.
April = Apr.
May = May
June = June
July = July
August = Aug.
September = Sept.
October = Oct.
November = Nov.
December = Dec.
Spell out months fully in the body of your paper.
"Title of Section." Title of Website, Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, Date of publication or last modified date, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.
Note: Date of access is now optional in MLA 8th edition. If no publication date is included, we recommend including the date you last accessed the site (MLA Handbook, p. 53).
Note: The publisher or sponsoring organization can often be found in a copyright notice at the bottom of the home page or on a page that gives information about the site. When the page is authored and published by the same corporation/group/organization, begin your citation with the section title (MLA Handbook, p. 25).
Note: The publisher may be omitted from the citation if the website title is essentially the same as the publisher name (MLA Handbook, p. 25)
| Works Cited List Example |
"Audit and Assurance." Chartered Professional Accountants Canada, 2016, www.cpacanada.ca/en/business-and-accounting-resources/audit-and-assurance. Accessed 6 July 2016. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
("Title of Section") ("Audit and Assurance") |
Note: The example above does not include a publisher or sponsoring organization because the organization is the same as the website title. According to p. 42 of the MLA Handbook, publisher information may be omitted for:
Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Website, Name of Organization Affiliated with the Website, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.
Note: Date of access is now optional in MLA 8th edition. If no publication date is included, we recommend including the date you last accessed the site.
| Works Cited List Example |
Mabillard, Amanda. Shakespeare Online, 29 Dec. 2011, www.shakespeare-online.com. Accessed 6 July 2016. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Author's Last Name) (Mabillard) |
Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Page or Document." Title of Website, Name of Organization Affiliated with the Website, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.
Note: Date of access is now optional in MLA 8th edition. If no publication date is included, we recommend including the date you last accessed the site.
| Works Cited List Example |
Morin, Amy. "Mom Am I Fat?: Helping Your Teen Have a Positive Body Image." Verywell Family, About Inc., 18 Jan. 2019, www.verywellfamily.com/media-and-teens-body-image-2611245. Accessed 12 May 2019. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Author's Last Name) (Morin) |
Example from Global Road Warrior
| Works Cited List Example |
Williamson, Jennifer. "Canada: Business: Attire." Global Road Warrior, World Trade Press, 2018, www.globalroadwarrior/com/#mode=country ®ionId=27&uri=country-content&nid=13.08&key=country-attire. Accessed 17 July 2016. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Author's Last Name) (Williamson) |
Last Name, First Name of First Author, and First Name Last Name of Second Author. "Title of Page or Document." Title of Website, Name of Organization Affiliated with the Website, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.
Note: Date of access is now optional in MLA 8th edition. If no publication date is included, we recommend including the date you last accessed the site.
| Works Cited List Example |
Wadhwa, Vivek, and Alex Stalkever. "How Can We Make Technology Healthier for Humans?" Wired, Conde Nast, 26 June 2018, www.wired.com/story/healther-technology-for-humans. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Author's Last Name and Author's Last Name) (Wadhwa and Stalkever) |
"Title of Page or Document." Title of Website, Name of Organization Affiliated with the Website, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.
Note: Date of access is now optional in MLA 8th edition. If no publication date is included, we recommend including the date you last accessed the site.
| Works Cited List Example |
"How to Teach Yourself Guitar." eHow, Demand Media, www.ehow.com/how_5298173_teach-yourself-guitar.html. Accessed 24 June 2016. Note: The above example has no copyright/last updated date. The date of access is crucial if the source has no date specifying when it was produced or published. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
("Title of Page or Document") ("How to Teach Yourself Guitar") Note: There is no author, so the title (or an abbreviated version of the title) is used in the in-text citation, in quotation marks, as it appears in the Works Cited List Example above. |
Title of Document: Subtitle if Given. Edition if given and is not first edition, Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Publication Date, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.
Note: Date of access is now optional in MLA 8th edition. If no publication date is included, we recommend including the date you last accessed the site.
| Works Cited List Example |
Highlights from the Competition Bureau’s Workshop on Emerging Competition Issues. Competition Bureau of Canada, 4 Mar. 2016, www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/vwapj/cb-Workshop-Summary-Report-e.pdf/$FILE/cb-Workshop-Summary-Report-e.pdf. Accessed 6 July 2016. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Title of Document) Example: (Highlights) Note: You can use a shortened form of the title by listing the first word or words of the full title. |
Author's Last Name, First Name or Username if real name not provided. "Title of Blog Post." Name of Blog, Blog Network/Publisher if given, Day Month Year of blog post, URL of blog post. Accessed Day Month Year blog was visited.
Note: Date of access is now optional in MLA 8th edition. If no publication date is included, we recommend including the date you last accessed the site.
| Works Cited List Example |
Naish, Darren. "If Bigfoot Were Real." Tetrapod Zoology, Scientific American Blogs, 27 June 2016, blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/if-bigfoot-were-real/. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Author's Last Name) (Naish) Note: Blog posts have no page numbers, so this information is left out of the in-text citation. Include a paragraph number only if these are clearly marked on the original blog post. |
"Title of Entry." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Day Month Year entry was last modified, Time entry was last modified, URL of entry. Accessed Day Month Year Wikipedia entry was last viewed.
Note: The date and time the article was last modified appears at the bottom of each Wikipedia article.
Note: Date of access is now optional in MLA 8th edition. If no publication date is included, we recommend including the date you last accessed the site.
Wikipedia may not be considered an acceptable source for a college or university assignment. Be sure to check with your instructor and to evaluate the Wikipedia content carefully.
| Works Cited List Example |
"Body Image." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 June 2016, 7:41 pm, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_image. Accessed 28 June 2016. |
| Citation Example |
("Title of Entry") ("Body Image") Note: If a dictionary or encyclopedia entry has no author, the in-text citation should include the title of the entry. The title of the entry should be in quotation marks, with each word starting with a capital letter. |
Author Last Name, First Name or Account Name. Description of Post. Facebook, Day Month Year of Post, Time of Post, URL. Accessed Day Month Year post was viewed.
Note: Date of access is now optional in MLA 8th edition. If no publication date is included, we recommend including the date you last accessed the site.
| Works Cited List Example |
Rick Mercer Report. Spread the Net Challenge Winners 2016. Facebook, 23 Mar. 2016, 9:00 a.m., www.facebook.com/rickmercerreport. Accessed 26 June 2016. Note: As Facebook posts can be lengthy, describe the post instead of reposting its content. To find the time of a Facebook post, hover your mouse next to the date of the post over the clock icon. It may not be possible to link directly to the specific post itself. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Author's Last Name or Account Name) (Rick Mercer Report)
|