Formatting Notes

Unless directed otherwise by your instructor, when using MLA 8 Style for your paper, follow these steps for formatting your citations:

• Start your works cited list on a separate page at the end of your paper
• Double space all of your citations, but don't add extra spaces between citations. Spacing should be consistent for the whole list.
• Use a hanging indent for each citation by indenting the second line and any following lines of a citation. 

The Purdue Owl site has a helpful page with more detailed information about formatting:

Due to some limitations on this guide's design, many of the examples do not use double spaces and hanging indents (they don't work well with responsive design). Any color-coded images of citations, however, do show citations with standard MLA style spacing and indents.

Websites & Blogs

Website

• Author [if available]. Name of Site, Sponsor or Organization Publishing the Site [if available], Date of publication or last update [if available], URL [or DOI or permalink]. Date of access [optional but recommended].
• If the website has no author, begin with the title of the website.

Example:

Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 2018, https://www.chicagoshakes.com/. Accessed 4 Feb. 2018.

Page from a Website

• Author [if available]. "Name of Webpage." Name of Site, Sponsor or Organization Publishing the Site [if available], Date of publication or last update [if available], URL [or DOI or permalink]. Date of access [optional but recommended].
• If there is no author, begin with the title of the website.

Examples: 

Barthell, Michael, and Amy Mitchell. "Americans’ Attitudes About the News Media Deeply Divided Along Partisan Lines." Pew Research Center, 10 May 2017, http://www.journalism.org/2017/05/10/americans-attitudes-about-the-news-media-deeply-divided-along-partisan-lines/. Accessed 17 Nov. 2017.

Heiner, Heidi Anne. "The Annotated Girl Without Hands." SurLaLune Fairy Tales, 7 July 2007, http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/armlessmaiden/index.html. Accessed 15 Aug. 2017.

Blog

Online Images

Online Images

• Artist [if available]. Title of Image. Date of Composition. Name of the Website Where You Found the Image, Publisher of the website [if different from the name of the website], URL. Access Date [optional, but encouraged].
• If the artist name or username is not available, begin with the title.
• If the image has no title, provide a brief description.

Examples:

"Dancing at Etsi Bravo." 2015. Inland 360, inland360.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/dancingatEtsiBravo-300x200.jpg. Accessed 8 Sept. 2017.

"Llama cake." 2018. Cake Wrecks, http://www.cakewrecks.com/display/ShowImage?imageUrl=/storage/TaraDoy.ow.EasterLlama28prettygreatbutcreepy29.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1530075541695. Accessed 28 June 2018.

Sherald, Amy. Former First Lady, Michelle Obama. 2018. National Portrait Gallery, npg.si.edu/sites/default/files/Single_michelle.jpg.
 

Email, Twitter, & Online Comments

Email

• Author. "Subject line of the email." Name of Recipient [preceded by "Received by"], Date message was sent.
  • Use standard capitalization.

Examples:

Smythe, Eleanor. "Many Thanks for Volunteering!" Received by Veronica Frank and Charles Nicholson, 4 Sept. 2016.

Zeltner, Abby. "Re: Author Signing in the CUB." Received by Linda Morris, 23 Nov. 2017.

Twitter

For more about citing tweets and Twitter threads, look at the MLA Style Center's post, which includes information on how to deal with twitter threads and tweets with no text: 

Short Tweet (less than 140 characters)

• Twitter handle of the tweet’s author [if real name is known, include it in parenthesis]. "entire text of tweet." Twitter, Date of tweet, URL. Access date [optional].

Example:

@viet_t_nguyen (Viet Than Nguyen). "Rather than respond to all my hate mail individually, or ignoring them, I think I'll put all those email addresses into a bcc file and send those people every one of my future op-eds regardless of whether they want them or not." Twitter, 16 May 2018, twitter.com/viet_t_nguyen/status/996991192196763648. Accessed 17 May 2018.

Long Tweet (more than 140 characters)

• Twitter handle of the tweet’s author [if real name is known, include it in parenthesis]. "beginning of tweet followed by an ellipsis. . . ." Twitter, Date of tweet, URL. Access date [optional].

Example:

@LibnOfCongress (Carla Hayden). "Access means accessibility here at @librarycongress. . . ." Twitter, 2 May 2018, https://twitter.com/LibnOfCongress/status/991666499722137600

Comment on an Online Article or Post

• Author [often this is a username]. Comment on "Title of Article or Post Being Commented on." Name of Website [if available], date, time [if available], URL. Access Date [optional but recommended]. 

Examples:

millennialmania. Comment on "Being the Song." Libba Bray, 10 Oct. 2016, 11:18 a.m., https://libbabray.com/being-the-song/.

Pusher of Buttons. Comment on "Video Games May Protect Mental Health and Avert Trauma, Addiction." Ars Technica, 29 Mar. 2017, 8:48 a.m., https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/03/video-games-may-tidy-and-protect-mental-health-averting-trauma-addiction/?comments=1. Accessed 20 Jan. 2018.