English courses normally use what is called the MLA (Modern Language Association) style of documenting sources. Web sources, however, don't always provide all of the identifying elements used in an MLA citation (author, date of publication, publisher), but they do include a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) address. To cite all the information that is relevant to a Web source, use the following guidelines. Note that the format here varies slightly from the examples in the textbook.
At the end of your paper, include a page that identifies and provides full documentation for every source cited in your paper. For the heading, type Works Cited, centered at the top of the page. Present the list of sources in alphabetical order, according to the first word in each entry.
1. Author's name (if known.) List last name first. If there's more than one author, consult the textbook for the MLA format for listing multiple authors. Place a period at end of the name.
2. "Title of the page or article". This may be the official title the author has given to the document, or just the heading at the top of the page. Place the title in quotation marks and end with a period. If your site has no listed author, this article or page title will begin the Works Cited entry.
3. Name of the website. Or the title of the complete work, if the specific article or page is part of a larger series of related websites. This title is italicized, with no period at the end.
If you're citing an article that was originally published in a print magazine or newspaper (an article you've found on the Web in an online magazine, archive or database such as First Search or Wilson Select), list the title of the printed publication where the article first appeared.
Articles in scholarly journals require a slightly different format. See the textbook for examples.4. Date the site or document was published or put on the Web. (If available.) Place a period after the date.
If you're citing an article from an online archive or database, list the date of the printed publication, followed by a colon and the original page numbers from the print publication, if available. End with a period. (June 10, 2001: 13-16.)5. (Date you visited the site). Place the date in parentheses, followed by a period.
6. Name of the database. (If the document is from an online database -- First Search, for example). End with a period.
7. Full website address. (The URL, which begins with http://). If the entire URL won't fit on the current line, place it on a separate line. Don't add any punctuation at the end.
Examples:
Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Document." Title of Site or Complete Work. Date of posting or original publication [: page numbers]. (Date of visit). [Database archive name.] URL
Walker, Karen. "Developing Your Card Sense." Karen's Bridge Library March 27, 1997.
(October 14, 1999). http://www.prairienet.org/bridge/learn3.htm"Rare and Collectible LP's." Recycled Records (November 3, 1999).
http://www.recycledrecords.com/rare.htmEbert, Roger. "Field of Dreams." Roger Ebert on Movies: Chicago Sun-Times (October 1, 1999).
http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_reviews/1989/04/349987.htmlMcHardy, Anne. "Can We Learn To Read Again?” New Statesman June 6, 1997: 32-34.
(October 17, 1999). First Search Wilson Select. http://jake.prod.oclc.org/
When you use information from a Web source in the text of your paper, you must document it with a parenthesis note that refers to the source listed on your Works Cited page. A parenthesis note is required for ANY material that comes from an outside source, whether you use it as a direct quotation or put it into your own words in a summary or paraphrase.
To include these notes in your paper, use the standard MLA format explained in the textbook. In general, the parenthesis note will include the author's last name and the page number (Walker 2). If your source has no listed author, the note should include the first word or two of the Works Cited entry (which will be the title of the article or page), placed in quotation marks ("Rare" 1). Place the note before the sentence's final period.
Naming the source in the text of your sentence
If the material you are citing is a fact, statistic or other type of objective information, you will usually present the fact directly, without naming the source in your sentence. All the documentation will be contained in the parenthesis note:
According to the FDA, there have been 16 deaths associated with the use of Viagra (Quinn 2).
This note tells the reader that the information came from page 2 of the source by Quinn, which is documented under that name on your Works Cited page.
If the material you are citing is an expert's opinion or if you are quoting a source's exact words, always include an acknowledgement phrase in the text of your sentence. This phrase should include the writer's or speaker's full name and credentials (a job title, for example) if this is your first reference to the person. For subsequent references in your paper, you can identify the writer by last name only.
Your MLA parenthesis note for this type of citation will take one of two formats, depending on whether the words are a direct quote, and whether the speaker/writer is the actual author of the source:
1) If the person you are quoting or paraphrasing is the author of the source, your parenthesis note will include only the page number, since you've already identified the source in the sentence text:
According to FDA spokesman Joe Quinn, the growing number of fatalities from the use of Viagra could lead to a temporary withdrawal of the drug from the market (2).
This format tells the reader that the material is from page 2 of a source written by Joe Quinn. This source will be documented on your Works Cited page in an entry that begins with Quinn, Joe. Use this note format whether you quote or paraphrase the author.
2) You use a slightly different form if you are using a direct quote, but the speaker is not the writer of the source. In this case, you must identify the original source's author in the MLA note. A common example would be when a reporter quotes an outside expert in a newspaper story. For these situations, use the "quoted in" form:
FDA spokesman Joe Quinn says the popularity of Viagra may be a "dangerous panacea" to a nation of aging men (qtd. in Murray 2).
This tells the reader that the quotation came directly from the source (documented on your Works Cited Page) written by Murray. There will not be a source by Joe Quinn in your Works Cited list.
Page numbers
The major difference between printed sources and Web sources is that most Web documents won't have page numbers. If your reader wants to visit the site, though, it's helpful to provide a "relative" page number for the specific information you cite. To do this, just use the page number from your printer. If you cite a fact from a Web source and it appears on page 1 of the copy you print, then indicate the page number as 1 in your note, even if it's just a one-page document (Jones 1).
For tips and examples of how to refer to sources in the text of your paper, see MLA Notes.