This was orginally posted to the Library Media list serve LM-NET.
Terry Holmes
TerryHolme@aol.com
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A Style Sheet for Citing Internet Sources
Using the Modern Language Association (version 3) format
The following style sheet was originally devised by Janice R. Walker of the
English Department at the University of South Florida, and has been adapted
for use in the Great Falls Public Schools by Tim Paul, GFPS Instructional
Technology Teacher. This style sheet was created in response to the growing
need for a standard way of citing Internet documents in scholarly writing and
is currently endorsed by the Alliance for Computers & Writing.
The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers has not quite caught up to
the complexity of Internet information, and does not yet offer a formal means
of citing material from the various Internet services. Until the Modern
Language Association's handbook addresses these issues specifically, Ms.
Walker's research is the most comprehensive available. Please consider it for
use in any situation where students must cite Internet sources.
Basic Format
Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Work." Title of Complete Work.
[protocol and address] [path] (date of message or visit).
Examples
WWW Sites (World Wide Web)
To cite files available for viewing/downloading via the World Wide Web, give
the author's name (if known), the full title of the work in quotation marks,
the title of the complete work if applicable in italics, the full http
address, and the date of visit.
Library of Congress. "Today - 2,000 Years Later." Scrolls From the Dead Sea:
The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Scholarship. http://sunsite.unc.edu/
expo/deadsea.scrolls.exhibit/Today/today.html (27 Oct. 1995).
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) Sites
To cite files available for downloading via ftp, give the author's name (if
known), the full title of the paper in quotation marks, and the address of
the ftp site along with the full path to follow to find the paper, and the
date of access.
Bruckman, Amy. "Approaches to Managing Deviant Behavior in Virtual
Communities." ftp.media.mit.edu/pub/asb/papers/deviance-chi94 (4 Dec.1994).
GOPHER Sites
For information found using gopher search protocols, list the author's name,
the title of the paper in quotation marks, any print publication information,
and the gopher search path followed to access the information, including the
date that the file was accessed.
gopher /University of Koeln/About MUDs, MOOs and MUSEs in Education/Selected
Papers/newsday (5 Dec. 1994).
Telnet Sites
List the author's name (if known), the title of the work (if shown) in
quotation marks, the title of the full work if applicable in italics, and the
complete telnet address, along with directions to access the publication,
along with the date of visit.
Gomes, Lee. "Xerox's On-Line Neighborhood: A Great Place to Visit." Mercury
News 3 May 1992. telnet lambda.parc.xerox.com 8888, @go #50827, press 13 (5
Dec. 1994).
Synchronous Communications (e.g., IRC, etc.)
Give the name of the speaker(s) and type of communication (i.e.,Personal
Interview), the address if applicable and the date in parentheses.
Pine_Guest. Personal Interview. telnet world.sensemedia.net 1234 (12
Dec.1994).
E-mail, Listserv, and Newslist Citations
Give the author's name (if known), the subject line from the posting in
quotation marks, and the address of the listserv or newslist, along with the
date. For personal e-mail listings, the address may be omitted.
Newsgroup:
York, Ian. "Re: Wonder Bread Psychosis." alt.folklore.urban. (18 Oct 1995).
Listserv:
Seabrook, Richard H. C. "Community and Progress."
cybermind@jefferson.village. virginia.edu (22 Jan. 1994).
Personal E-mail:
Thomson, Barry. "Virtual Reality." Personal e-mail (25 Jan. 1995).
___________________________________________________________________
Work Cited
Walker, Janice R. "MLA-Style Citations of Electronic Sources."
http://www.cas.usf.edu/ english/walker/mla.html (26 Oct. 1995).