Online Materials
Journal Article Web
Magazine Article
Newspaper Article
Website (with author)
Website (no author)
Website (no author and no publication date)
E-books and e-books from websites
AI-Generated text
Practice Your Knowledge
Journal Article
Author. “Article Title.” Title of Journal, vol. #, no. #, Publication Date, pp.#-#, DOI.
Examples of a journal article works cited entry
Gabrhelová, Gabriela, et al. “Reducing the Incidence of Bullying in Secondary Schools.” Emerging Science Journal, vol. 8, no. 1, 2025, pp. 1-17, http://doi.org/10.28991/esj-2024-sied1-026.
Oh, Hans, et al. “Food Insecurity and Mental Health among Young Adult College Students in the United States.” Journal of Affective Disorders, vol. 303, 2022, pp. 359-363. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.02.009.
Prescott, Susan L., et al. “Crime and Nourishment: A Narrative Review Examining Ultra-Processed Foods, Brain, and Behavior.” Dietetics, vol 3, no. 3, 2024, pp. 318-345, http://doi.org/10.3390/dietetics3030025.
Here are some important rules to follow when citing journal articles:
- MLA prefers using a DOI (digital object identifier) for scholarly articles. DOI information is often found on the article’s landing page. If available, precede it with “https://doi.org/”
- If a DOI is not available, include the URL for the article minus the http://
- Articles found in library databases will include a stable URL, permalink or permanent link. This is the preferred link to include over a URL. If you can find a permalink, use that instead of a URL.
Magazine article
Author. “Article Title.” Title of Magazine, vol. #, no. #, Publication Date, pp. #-#, URL.
Examples of a magazine article works cited entry
Horvath, Jared Cooney. “5 Ways to Help Your Brain Learn Better.” Psychology Today, 2 Jul. 2024, www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/202407/5-ways-to-help-your- brain-learn-better.
Kantrowitz, Mark. “How to Negotiate a Better College Financial Aid Offer.” Forbes, 19 Apr. 2021, www.forbes.com/sites/markkantrowitz/2021/04/19/how-to-negotiate-a-better-college-financial-aid-offer.
Newspaper Article
Author. “Article Title.” Title of Newspaper, edition ed., Publication Date, pp. #-#, URL.
Examples of an online newspaper article works cited entry
Ansberry, Clare. “Why We Are Getting Worse at Grieving.” Wall Street Journal, 16 Feb. 2025, www.wsj.com/lifestyle/relationships/why-we-are-getting-worse-at-grieving-291f6fb4?mod=relationships_more_article_pos2.
BNO News. “Bird Flu Found on Mainland Antarctica for First Time.” BNO News, 25 Feb. 2025, bnonews.com/index.php/2024/02/bird-flu-found-on-mainland-antarctica-for-first-time.
Website (with author)
Author. “Title of Article/Page.” Name of Website, Publisher, Date of Publication, URL.
Example of a website (with author) works cited entry
Latson, Rebecca. “A Day In The Park: Mammoth Cave National Park.” National Parks Traveler, National Parks Traveler, 3 Mar. 2025, www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2025/03/day-park-mammoth-cave-national-park.
Website (no author)
“Title of Article/Page.” Name of Website, Publisher, Date of Publication, URL.
Example of website (no author) works cited entry
“National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Fact Sheet.” USDA Food and Nutrition Service, 11 Jun. 2024, www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/factsheet.
Website (no author and no publication date)
Author. “Title of Article/Page.” Name of Website, Publisher, URL. Date of access.
Example of a works cited entry of a webpage with no author and no publication date
“Higher Education for Foster Youth.” National Foster Youth Institute, nfyi.org/issues/higher-education. Accessed 7 Apr. 2025.
*The MLA Handbook 9th Ed. recommends including an access date for an online work if the work lacks a publication date or if the work could be altered or removed, which is more common with informal or self-published works. Place the access date at the end of the entry.
E-books
E-book entries are similar to those for print books. Identify e-books by adding the word “e-book” in the “version” slot of the MLA template (i.e., after the author, the title of the source, the title of the container, and the names of any other contributors).
Author. Title of Ebook, Contributor, version/edition ed., Publisher, Date of Publication.
If an e-book was retrieved from a website, cite it similarly to a print book, but indicate the website name, URL, and the access date.
Author. Title of Ebook, Contributor, version/edition ed., Publisher, Date of Publication, Website Name, URL. Date of access (if applicable).
Example of a works cited entry for an e-book and an e-book from a website
Lalor, Angela Di Michele. Making Curriculum Matter: How to Build SEL, Equity, and Other Priorities into Daily Instruction. E-book ed., Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development, 2021.
Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver’s Travels, and Other Writings. E-book ed., Houghton Mifflin, 1960, Internet Archive, archive.org/details/isbn_0395051231. Accessed 22 May 2024.
AI-Generated Text
“Text of prompt” prompt. AI Tool, Day Month version, Publisher, Day Month Year, URL.
Examples
“Tell me about the use of song in Shakespeare’s plays” prompt. ChatGPT 4.0, mini version, 25 Jan. 2025, OpenAI, chat.openai.com/chat.
“Describe the impact of the drought on Lake Powell” prompt. DeepSeek, Version 3, DeepSeek, 4 Mar. 2025, chat.deepseek.com.
*MLA does not recommend treating the AI tool as an author. That is why the prompt begins the works cited entry.
Practice: Identifying Correct Citation Formats
Practice: Identifying Elements of a Scholarly Article
Use the below image of the first page of a scholarly article to practice identifying the key elements of a MLA citation. The components of the citation are marked with a dot. Please use the drag-and-drop matching activity below the image to check your answers.
A shortened, stable version of a URL. This allows users affiliated with a college or institution to access that document seamlessly.
The date you located the material.
