As an academic paper format, MLA covers a lot of important issues. It explains how to organize a list of references, in-text citations, and, finally, how to arrange academic papers in general. In this article, we’ll demonstrate how to format online sources in the MLA style.
General info
Using the MLA formatting accurately makes it easier for readers to navigate through academic texts. Generally speaking, it helps to arrange borrowed information and sources, including web pages and electronic documents. Nowadays, electronic documents in academic writing become very common, but many people don’t know how to cite such sources correctly.
First of all, publications on the Internet can change very quickly. Therefore, it is always a great approach to make copies of websites you are going to use. Secondly, it is also a smart decision to note when you address each web source for the first time. MLA offers the construction, “Accessed” to indicate the date you accessed the web source. However, using this pattern isn’t compulsory.
How to cite a website in the MLA format
The rules of the MLA website citation can be tricky. However, if you want your papers to meet high academic standards, you should know the practices of formatting.
It is essential to use a web address or URL when you include it in the list of references. If you have a DOI number, use it instead of the URL. Many web sources don’t have pages, so you may write par. or pars. to indicate paragraph numbers. Overall, the reference should look like this:
Author. “Title.” Title of container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication Date, Location (URL, DOI, or permalink), Date of Access (if available).
How to cite web sources in the text
When arranging in-text citations for sources on the Web, remember that your citation should be in line with your reference page. The rule is simple — use the first item that appears in the reference entry. It can be the author’s name, title, or website name.
More and more scholars and students use sources they find on the Internet. Therefore, you should know how to cite them in your academic papers properly.
Source: https://wr1ter.com/mla-website-citation
