Here are some common features you should try and find before citing electronic sources in MLA style. Not every Web page will provide all of the following information. However, collect as much of the following information as possible both for your citations and for your research notes:
Author and/or editor names (if available)
Article name in quotation marks.
Title of the website, project, or book in italics.
Any version numbers available, including editions (ed.), revisions, posting dates, volumes (vol.), or issue numbers (no.).
Publisher information, including the publisher name and publishing date.
Take note of any page numbers (p. or pp.) or paragraph numbers (par. or pars.).
URL (without the https://) DOI or permalink.
Date you accessed the material (Date Accessed)—While not required, it is highly recommended, especailly when dealing with pages that change frequently or do not have a visible copyright date.
Remember to cite containers after your regular citation. Examples of containers are collections of short stories or poems, a television series, or even a website. A container is anything that is a part of a larger body of works.
Use the following format:
Author. Title. Title of container (self contained if book), Other contributors (translators or editors), Version (edition), Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication Date, Location (pages, paragraphs and/or URL, DOI or permalink). 2nd container’s title, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location, Date of Access (if applicable).
It is a good idea to list your date of access because web postings are often updated, and information available on one date may no longer be available later. When using the URL, be sure to include the complete address for the site except for the https://.
Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version number, Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available), URL, DOI or permalink. Date of access (if applicable).
The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and
Purdue U, 2008, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl. Accessed 23 Apr. 2008.
Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003,
www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/. Accessed 10 May 2006.
For an individual page on a Web site, list the author or alias if known, followed by an indication of the specific page or article being referenced. Usually, the title of the page or article appears in a header at the top of the page. Follow this with the information covered above for entire Web sites. If the publisher is the same as the website name, only list it once.
“Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview.” WebMD, 25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-
problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview.
Lundman, Susan. “How to Make Vegetarian Chili.” eHow,
www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html. Accessed 6 July 2015.
(from Purdue OWL, MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources Web Publications https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/)
From EasyBib, Citation Guides, How to Cite a Journal Article in an Online Database in MLA 8:
Basic Structure:
Author’s Last name, First name. “Title of the article.” Title of the journal, First name Last name of any other contributors (if applicable), Version (if applicable), Numbers (such as a volume and issue number), Publication date, Page numbers. Title of the database, URL or DOI.
Examples:
Brian, Real, et al. “Rural Public Libraries and Digital Inclusion: Issues and Challenges.” Information and Technology Libraries, vol. 33, no. 1, Mar. 2014, pp. 6-24. ProQuest,
ezproxy.nypl.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/docview/1512388143?accountid=35635.
Asafu-Adjaye, Prince. “Private Returns on Education in Ghana: Estimating the Effects of Education on Employability in Ghana.” African Sociological Review, vol. 16, no. 1, 2012, pp. 120-138. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24487691.
From Purdue OWL, MLA Works Cited Page: Electronic Source, A Page on a Web Site:
Basic Structure:
Last name, First name. "Title of Webpage." Title of Website, Publication Day Month Year, URL. Accessed date.
Examples:
"Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview." WebMD, 25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview.
Lundman, Susan. "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow, www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html. Accessed 6 July 2015.
From Purdue OWL, MLA Works Cited Page: Electronic Sources, A YouTube Video:
Basic Structure:
Last name, First name. "Title of Video." Title of Website, uploaded by Uploader's Name(s), Publication Date, Video URL.
Examples:
“8 Hot Dog Gadgets put to the Test.” YouTube, uploaded by Crazy Russian Hacker, 6 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBlpjSEtELs.
McGonigal, Jane. “Gaming and Productivity.” YouTube, uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdzy9bWW3E.
*Note: If the author’s name is the same as the uploader, only cite the author once. If the author is different from the uploaded, cite the author’s name before the title.