Information taken from Purdue University OWL (Online Wring Lab)

How to cite a web page in the body of your paper.

How to cite a web page in the reference list of your paper.

How much of a site counts as a single web page?

How to Cite a Web Page in the Body of your Paper [Top]

The theory

MLA format follows the author-page method of citation. A web page does not have page numbers, so this method of citation means that the author's last name must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear in your works-cited list (see How to List a Web Page in your Reference List, below). The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation.

Examples

Woon states that the ancient Greeks were a very 
patriarchal society.
   
Some argue that "The ancient Greeks were an extremely 
patriarchal society" (Woon).

If the author of the web page cannot be determined, use the short title that begins the entry in the Works Cited page.

Examples

The Encyclopedia Mythica states that the myth of Demeter 
symbolizes the cycle of rebirth found in nature.
   
I learned that that the myth of Demeter symbolizes "the 
budding and dying of nature" (The Encyclopedia Mythica).

Some argue that "This myth is a symbol of the budding 
and dying of nature" (The Encyclopedia Mythica).

 

How to List a Web Page in your Reference List [Top]

The theory

     Author(s). Name of Page. Date of Posting/Revision. Date of

          Access. <electronic address>.
N.B. It is necessary to list your date of access because web postings are often updated, and information available at one date may no longer be available later. Be sure to include the complete address for the site. Also, note the use of angled brackets around the electronic address; MLA requires them for clarity.

An Example

     Daly, Bill. Writing Argumentative Essays. 1997. 26 Jun. 1998

          <http://www.eslplanet.com/teachertools/argueweb/frntpage.htm>.

 

What is a webpage? [Top]

A web page is a single address on the Internet. If you are citing different parts of a web site with different addresses, you must include separate entries for them in your text and your list of works cited. Remember that if a web site uses frames, the individual parts of it nonetheless have different addresses. You can determine the address by opening the page in a separate window.

Examples

The first site I looked at was a site by a Swedish teacher, Johannes Persson, called Loki in the Eddas. ... What Persson tries to accomplish in his essay is to analyze the character as he is portrayed in the Eddas as well as other important sources of Norse mythology. He takes myths from the Eddas and uses them to provide evidence that Loki can be seen in three different lights: "the instigator of conflict, the provider and the transgressor of boundaries" (Persson, Conclusion).

Using the myth of Thiazi, Persson introduces it by saying that there are different versions to this story. In the version that he summarizes, the myth deviates a little from the way that Davidson tells it in that he states how Skadi, the giant’s daughter, "demands that the Aesir make her laugh, which is accomplished by one of Loki's more bizarre tricks" (Persson, The Companion of Odin). ...

Near the end of the essay, Persson also includes a section on the credibility of Snorri and whether or not he can be "trusted" because of his point of view coming from the Christian faith. "We must keep in mind that Iceland had been Christianized over 200 years before Snorri finished his Edda, and that those of his sources of his that were oral tradition certainly must have differed in many ways from the original stories" (Persson, Can Snorri Be Trusted?).

In the List of Works Cited:

     Persson, Johannes. Can Snorri Be Trusted?. 2000. 19 April. 2001

          <http://home.swipnet.se/~w-48599/oldnorse/loki/snorri.htm>.
     ---. Conclusion.. 2000. 19 April. 2001

          <http://home.swipnet.se/~w-48599/oldnorse/loki/conclusion.HTM>.
     ---. Loki in the Eddas.. 2000. 19 April. 2001

          <http://home.swipnet.se/~w-48599/lokiindex.htm>.
     ---. The Companion of Odin.. 2000. 19 April. 2001

          <http://home.swipnet.se/~w-48599/oldnorse/loki/odinn.htm>.