PLUG-INs A Student’s Guide to Information Literacy

1. PLUG-INsA Student’s Guide to Information Literacy REFERENCING INTERNET WEBSITES (MLA)

2. Hello. I am a tarantula. I make beautiful webs & I never bite unless you step on me. Today we are going to learn how to write MLA style references or citations for websites.

3. MLA means Modern Language Association. HCT students use the referencing format from MLA.

4. An online tool to format references (so you don’t have to) is NoodleTools from HCT Databases library.hct.ac.ae Click Resources then Databases. Or, go to www.easybib.com

5. But, it is always a good idea to learn how to write the references yourself. Because, someday the Internet might be down or your computer may crash.

6. There are 2 kinds of websites you will write references for. 1. Websites directly from the Internet. 2. Websites from HCT databases. Today we will talk about only websites from the Internet.

7. Some web pages have a great feature called “Cite this page.” Always look carefully for this feature is; it will save you a lot of work. Copy and paste into your document.

8. For example, Wikipedia has this feature. On the left, under Toolbox, link to “Cite this page.”

9. Scroll down to MLA style. Copy and paste into your document. Note : Because Wikipedia is not written by only one person there is no author in a Wikipedia citation.

10. What about Internet websites with no “Cite this page” feature? You need the following information in this order : Author (Last name, first name, initial). “Title of the page or article.” Name of the website. Date page was published or updated. Publisher or owner of website. Date you found the page <URL>

11. If no author is noted, start with the title of the article or webpage. Think carefully about these 3 things The title of the article or page The title of the entire website The publisher of the website Do not confuse them. Sometimes the publisher’s name is the same as the title but not always. Do not write the publisher if it is the same as the title.

12. Let’s write a citation for this webpage. There is no author noted, so we begin with the title of the page. www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ae.html

13. Here is how you format the webpage title. “United Arab Emirates.” Dot inside quotation mark Quotation mark Quotation mark. Space Capital letters & punctuation same as original

14. Next is the name of the entire website. The World Factbook. Underline Keep the same capital letters as the original Dot. Space. Note : It is also correct to use italic letters instead of the underline.

15. Next add the date the website was published. This date is usually at the bottom. It may say, “Last updated…” 23 Oct. 2008. Date. Space Dot. Space. Month, sometimes abbreviated with a dot. Space. Year

16. For some months, write an abbreviation instead of the full word. Jan. = January Feb. = February Mar. = March Apr. = April May = May June = June July = July Aug.= August Sept.= September Oct. = October Nov.= November Dec.= December Use a dot after abbreviations.

17. Good websites always show a last updating date. In fact, this is one way you can know if a website has accurate information. But, if you do not see this date anywhere on a page, write n.d. which means “Not dated.”

18. Next is the owner or publisher of the website; this may be a company, a university or a government agency. Central Intelligence Agency. Dot. Space. No underline. No quotation marks. Keep the same capital letters as the original.

19. Now, put the date that you found or accessed the webpage. Format the same as the webpage date except there is no dot after the year. 3 Nov. 2008 Space. No dot. Date. Space. Month, sometimes abbreviated with a dot. Space. Year

20. Last, put the URL. <www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ae.html>. Angle bracket Angle bracket Dot Exact URL

21. This webpage did not have an author. Here is how you format the author’s name if there is one. McKinney, Amrita Z. Middle initial (if included). Dot. Space Family name Comma, space First name, space. Dot if no initial.

22. Here is the complete citation for an Internet website. “United Arab Emirates." The World Factbook. 23 Oct. 2008. Central Intelligence Agency. 3 Nov. 2008 <www.cia.gov/library/publications/ the-world-factbook/geos/ae.html>. Indent 5 spaces or tab over after the first line. Double space between every line.

23. Just a few more things you need to know. • When you write your list : • Do not number your references or use bullets. • Use alphabetical order. • Left justify the first line & indent all other lines. • Double space between every line in a reference • and between each reference.

24. Here is an example of a reference list : no numbers or bullets for entries, alphabetical order, first line left justified, other lines indented and double spacing. “Bahrain.” The World Factbook. 23 Oct. 2008. Central Intelligence Agency. 3 Nov. 2008 <www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ae.html>. “Oman.” The World Factbook. 23 Oct. 2008. Central Intelligence Agency. 3 Nov. 2008 <www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ae.html>. “United Arab Emirates." The World Factbook. 23 Oct. 2008. Central Intelligence Agency. 3 Nov. 2008 <www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ae.html>.

25. I hope this helps you understand how to write references for websites. If you have any format questions : www.mla.org/style/style_faq/style_faq4 And, remember www.easybib.com

26. Another great website for format questions : library.hct.ac.ae/screens/cite.html This is the Official HCT Webpage about citing sources.

27. Thank you for listening. HAPPY WRITING !