Using MLA style, what is the correct format for a web address in a Works Cited entry?
1 Answer
Oddly enough, most professors don't require a URL.
Explanation:
The Bedford Handbook has several pages devoted to citing online sources. Bedford mentions that:
• MLA guidelines assume that readers can locate most Web sources by entering the author, title, or other identifying information in a search engine or a database. Consequently, the MLA Handbook
does not require a URL (Web address) in citations for online sources.
• Some instructors may require a URL; for an example, see the
note at the end of item 47.
Hacker, Diana; Sommers, Nancy. The Bedford Handbook (Page 603). Bedford/St. Martin's. Kindle Edition.
Here is an example they provide of a cited work with a URL within item 47:
Railton, Stephen. Mark Twain in His Times. Stephen Railton and U of Virginia
Lib., 2012. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. http://twain.lib.virginia.edu/.
(Hacker, Page 631.)
They put a "<" sign immediately before the URL and a ">" sign after it, but before the period. This sometimes creates a hypertext link to the site in question.
