Citing
Government Documents:
Modern Language Association
according to the
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers, 7th edition.
New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2008.
Revised July 2010
Table of Contents
General Guidelines
- Works Cited List (Bibliography) | Parenthetical References | General Guidelines for Government Documents
Federal Government Documents
- Executive Department and Agency Documents
- Agency as Author | Personal Author | Multivolume Work | Editor/Compiler | Series with Personal Author | Series with Corporate Author
- Congressional Record | Committee Hearing | House/Senate Reports and Documents | Committee Print | Bills and Resolutions
- U.S. Code | U.S. Constitution | U.S. Statutes at Large | U. S. Supreme Court Decisions | Federal Register | Code of Federal Regulations | Treaties
- Periodical Articles from Federal Agencies
Nebraska Government Documents
- Documents Published by State Agencies
- Corporate Author | Personal Author | Conference Proceedings
- Periodical Articles from Nebraska Agencies
- Nebraska Legal References
- Laws of Nebraska | Nebraska Statutes | Nebraska Supreme Court | State Agency Regulations: Nebraska
Administrative Code
Electronic and Online
Government Documents
- CD-ROMs, DVDs and Diskettes
- Single CD or DVD | Multiple CD/DVD sets, periodical | Diskettes
- Online Resources - General Guidelines
- Online Nebraska State Government Documents
- Document from an International Organization
- Document from Lexis/Nexis
Congressional or other online
library subscription service
This guide is based on:
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA
Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of
America, 2008. Print. (*LB 2369 .G53
2009 -- Reference collection,
main floor)
GENERAL GUIDELINES
(Numbers in parentheses refer to pages in the above
title.)
The MLA Handbook recommends a citation method that uses parenthetical references
keyed to a list of research materials used. This list appears at the end of the
paper and is titled "Works Cited".
Since parenthetical references are
based on the list of works cited, the works cited section should be prepared
first (149).
You need to know if you have more than
one work by the same agency (include a shortened title in the parenthetical
reference if this is the case) or if two personal authors have the same last
name (use initials or first names in the parenthetical reference).
The works cited list is in alphabetical
order by the name of the agency or last name of personal authors.
»»NOTE: All entries on
a "Works Cited" list should be double spaced, both between lines in one entry, and between
entries.
»»NOTE: Use the "hanging indent"
style of indenting second and subsequent lines. If the entry continues on a second line,
indent the second line 5 spaces.
GENERAL GUIDELINES:
Works Cited List
Book or Monograph:
Format:
Author's name. Title of
the book. Publication information.
Author: Use the personal author; if there is none,
use the name of the government agency. If more than one personal author,
use comma between names.
Title: Take title from title page, not cover.
Capitalize all words except "a", "an", "the",
"and", and prepositions such as "between", "in",
"to", "of", "for", etc.
Publication
Information: Give the agency
responsible for the publication, city, publisher's name, and year of
publication.
Example:
Spires,
David N. Orbital Futures: Selected
Documents in Air Force Space History. 2 vols. United States Air Force.
Washington: GPO, 2004. Print.
Periodical Article:
Format:
Author's name. "Title of
article." Title of the journal.
Publication information.
(Publication information: Journal title, volume number, date of publication, inclusive page
numbers.)
Example:
Setzer,
Christian, and Marisa Elena Domino. "Medicaid Outpatient Utilization for
Waterborne Pathogenic
Illness Following Hurricane
Floyd." Public Health Reports
119 (2004): 472-478. Print.
Return to Table of
Contents
GENERAL GUIDELINES: Parenthetical References
Parenthetical references are short
notes in the text of the paper that indicate where the material came from. They
are used whenever a fact, opinion, or quotation from another work is borrowed
(214).
If the author's name has been mentioned in the text or if an entire work is
being cited, it is not necessary to repeat the name in the parenthetical
reference.
MLA recommends including long names in the text
("A study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
indicated...") rather than using an extended parenthetical reference.
Keep parenthetical references as brief and
as few as clarity and accuracy permit (216).
FORMAT
(Author's last name page number[s])
One space separates the name and page
number(s); do not use "p." or "pg."
The Handbook suggests placing the parenthetical reference at the end of a
sentence, if possible (217).
The period at the end of the sentence would
come after the parenthesis.
Example: "This point has been argued before" (Frye
178-85).
CITATION FORMS FOR GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS
Bibliographic citations for government
documents follow the same form as books and articles, as illustrated above.
In general, if the writer of the
document is not known, treat the government agency as the author: state the
name of the government first, followed by the name of the agency.
If two or more works issued by the same
government are being cited, substitute three hyphens for the government's name
in each entry after the first.
If the agency name is also the same,
three hyphens may be used in place of its name (175). MLA uses the abbreviations "Cong." and
"Dept." instead of the full word.
Example:
United States. Cong. House.
---. ---. Senate.
---. Dept. of Health and Human Services.
Federal publications are usually published
by the U. S. Government Printing Office, abbreviated "GPO", in
Washington, D.C.: "Washington: GPO, (year)."
Example:
United States. Cong. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Government
Publications of the United States, September 5,
1774-March 4, 1881. Comp. Benjamin Perley Poore. 48th Cong., 2nd
sess. Misc. Doc. 67, Washington: GPO, 1885. Print.
Return to Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT AND AGENCY DOCUMENTS
This category includes documents issued
by federal agencies such as the Dept. of Agriculture, Dept. of Health and Human
Services, Dept. of Justice, Federal Reserve Board, National Endowment for the
Arts, Consumer Product Safety Commission, and others that begin with
"Department of..." or have "Board", "Commission",
"Committee", or "Bureau" in their names.
Documents from Congress are cited
somewhat differently (see below).
Agency as author:
United
States. Dept. of Labor. Employment and Training Administration. Dictionary of Occupational Titles. 4th
ed. Washington: GPO, 1977. Print.
---.
Dept. of the Treasury. Bureau of Prohibition. Digest of Supreme Court Decisions Interpreting the National Prohibition
Act and Willis-Campbell Act. Washington: GPO, 1929. Print.
---.
Federal Trade Commission. Advertising and
Marketing on the Internet: Rules of the Road. Washington: GPO, 1998. Print.
»»NOTE: Three dashes take the
place of "United States" after it has been listed once.
Use of the subagency name is optional but gives the reader more help in
locating the source. Larger federal agencies have many subagencies which can
make identification of a specific document title difficult.
Personal author:
Pillsbury,
Michael. China Debates the Future
Security Environment. A study prepared at the Institute for National
Strategic Studies. Washington: National Defense University Press, 2000. Print.
OR: (Either is
acceptable. [176])
United
States. Dept. of Defense. Institute for National Strategic Studies. China Debates the Future Security
Environment. By Michael Pillsbury. Washington: National Defense University
Press, 2000. Print.
Multivolume work:
United States.
President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island. Reports of the Technical Assessment Task
Force. 3 vols. Washington: GPO, 1979. Print.
»»NOTE: If you use only one of the three volumes,
indicate which one was used. The total number of volumes in the set may be
listed after the date of publication. If the volumes were published over a
period of years, give the inclusive dates at the end of the citation,
"1979-82" (168). Using the above citation as an illustration:
United
States. President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island. Reports of the Technical Assessment Task
Force. Vol. 1. Washington: GPO, 1979. 3 vols. 1979-82. Print.
Editor/compiler:
A work that has been compiled or edited can be cited as the example, above, for personal author. After the person's name, use the
abbreviation "ed." or "comp." (or "eds.",
"comps." if more than one person was involved [164]). Use both if the
person performed both roles:
Sander, John, and Nora
J. Smith, eds. Accountability for Fiscal
Year 1998. U. S. Dept. of State. Washington: GPO,
1999. Print.
OR: (Either is acceptable)
United States. Dept.
of State. Accountability Report
for Fiscal Year 1998. Eds. John Sander and Nora J. Smith. Washington: GPO,
1999. Print.
Series with personal
author:
United States. Dept. of Agriculture. Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators, 1996-97. Ed.
Margot Anderson
and Richard Magleby.
Agricultural Handbook No. 712. Washington: GPO, 1997. Print.
»»NOTE: Editors' or authors'
names may be placed first, as in example above, under
"Editor/Compiler". The name of the series ("Agricultural
Handbook…") comes before publication information.
Series with corporate
author:
United States. Dept.
of Commerce. Census Bureau. Geographical
Mobility, March, 1997 to March, 1998: Population Characteristics. Current
Population Reports P20-520. Washington: GPO, 2000. Print.
Return to Table of Contents
CONGRESSIONAL
DOCUMENTS
General rule: When citing a congressional document (except
the Congressional Record, see below), include the number and session of the Congress, the house
(Senate or House of Representatives), the type of publication and its number
(if applicable).
Types of publications include bills (S 33; HR 77; no periods after S or HR),
resolutions (S. Res. 20; H. Res. 50), reports (S. Rept. 9; H. Rept. 142), and
documents (S. Doc. 333; H. Doc. 247; Misc. Doc. 67) (174).
Abbreviate "Congress" as
"Cong."
Congressional Record:
Cong. Rec. 7 Feb. 1973: 3831-51. Print.
(Use only the date and
page number[s])
Committee hearing:
United
States. Cong. Senate. Oversight of Government Management, Restructuring and the
District of Columbia Subcommittee of the Committee on Governmental Affairs. Hearing, Egg Safety: Are There Cracks in the
Federal Food Safety System? 106th Cong., 1st sess. Washington: GPO, 1999.
Print.
---.
---. House. Committee on Small Business. Hearing,
Women's Entrepreneurship: Successes and Challenges. 108th Cong., 2nd sess.
Washington: GPO, 2004. Print.
House/Senate reports
and documents:
United States. Cong.
House. Memphis Riots and Massacres.
By E. B. Washburne. 39th Cong., 2nd sess. H. Rept. 101. Washington: GPO, 1866.
Print.
Committee print:
United States. Cong.
House. Committee on Science. Unlocking
Our Future: Toward a New National Science Policy. By Vernon Ehlers. 105th
Cong., 2nd sess. Committee Print 105-B. Washington: GPO, 1998. Print.
Bills and resolutions:
United States. Cong.
Senate. Military Registration and
Mobilization Assessment Act of 1979. 96th Cong., 1st sess. S 226.
Washington: GPO, 1979. Print.
Return to Table of Contents
LEGAL
REFERENCES
If your paper requires many legal
references, MLA suggests consulting
the most recent edition of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. Cambridge: Harvard Law Rev. Assn. (205).
(Library Reference Collection, *KF 245 .B58 [year])
Do not italicize, underline or use quotation marks for
the titles of laws, acts, or documents such as the Declaration of Independence,
Constitution, or U. S. Code.
(205)
MLA does not use the
standard legal format for citations. The standard format, as recommended in the
Bluebook, is given after each example. Symbol
"§" means "section".
U. S. Code:
18 USC Sec. 1821.
1994. Print.
U. S. Code is abbreviated
"USC". The first number is the title number, "18 USC," and
the section number(s) follows: "1821." "1994" is the year
of the edition.
Standard legal format:
18 USC 1821
U. S. Constitution:
US Const., art. 1,
sec. 1. Print.
Do not underline "US
Const."
Standard legal format: U.S. Const., Art. I, §8, cl. 8
(Article 1, section 8, clause 8)
U. S. Statutes at
Large:
»»NOTE: Current public laws ("slip laws") are later cumulated
in the U. S. Statutes at Large. They should be cited to the Statute citation found in the upper right-hand corner on each page of
the slip law. State the name of the act, its public law number, the date it was
enacted, and the Statute
citation:
Marine Turtle Conservation Act of 2004. Pub.
L. 108-266. 118 Stat. 791. 2 July 2004. Print.
Do not underline the name of the act or
"Stat". "118" is the volume number and "791" is
the page number in the Statutes.
Use periods between and at the end of the citation elements (205).
Standard legal
format: 118 Stat. 791
U. S. Supreme Court Decisions
General rule: Name of the first plaintiff and the first
defendant, the number of the case, the name of the court that decided the case,
and the date it was decided. (206). Names of cases and court names are
frequently abbreviated.
The following example refers to the
William "Sky" King versus St. Vincent's Hospital case decided by the
U. S. Supreme Court in December, 1991.
King v. St. Vincent's Hospital.
No. 90-889. Supreme Court of the US. 16 December 1991. Print.
Standard legal format for this case: 502 US 215
(Volume 502, U. S. Supreme Court Reports, decision starts on page 215.)
Federal Register:
United States. Dept.
of Agriculture. Food and Nutrition Service. "Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women,
Infants and Children (WIC): Certification
Integrity." Federal Register 21
Jan. 2000: 3375-3379. Print.
»»NOTE: MLA does not provide guidance for the Federal Register. Example based on format for periodicals, p.
136-141, since it is published daily. Use the date and page numbers.
Standard legal format: 65 FR 3375-3379
(Volume 65, Federal Register, pages 3375-3379)
Code of Federal
Regulations:
United States. Dept. of Commerce. National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. National Marine Fisheries Service.
"Restrictions
Applicable to Threatened Marine and Anadromous Species." 50 CFR 223.201. 2003.
Print.
»»NOTE: MLA does not provide specific guidance for the
above. Example based on format for other legal citations with standard legal format at end (Title 50, part 223.201).
"Pt." is not used.
An alternative would be to cite it like
the U. S. Code:
50 CFR Pt. 223.201. 2003. Print.
Treaties:
MLA does not specifically address treaties.
Current United States treaties are issued individually by the Department of
State in "slip" form in the Treaties and Other International Acts
Series (TIAS).
Since 1950, the State Department publishes them in bound volumes
of the United States Treaties and Other International Agreements set, usually many years after the slip form
has been printed.
MLA states that names of laws, acts, and similar documents are not
underlined (205).
If the treaty has an individual identifying number (TIAS 10920), include it as
part of the citation.
Texts of treaties signed before 1950 can best be cited
to the treaty compilation by Charles Bevans, published from 1968 to 1974 (see below). The example is based on the form for citing a multi-volume
work (168 - 169).
Individual treaty
(slip form - current):
United States. Dept.
of State. "Environmental Cooperation: Memorandum of Understanding between
the United States of America and Poland, Signed at Washington May 15,
1995." Treaties and Other
International Acts Series 12646. Washington: GPO, 2000. Print.
Treaty in a
compilation (pre-1950):
United States. Dept. of State. "Establishment of Tariff
Duties with Respect to Japan, June 25, 1866." Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America,
1776-1949. Comp. Charles I. Bevans. Vol. 1. Washington: GPO, 1968. 13 vols.
1968-74. Print.
Treaty in annual
volume (post-1950):
United
States. Dept. of State. "People's Republic of China: Industrial and
Technological Cooperation, January 12, 1984." TIAS No. 10920. United States Treaties and Other
International Agreements. Vol. 35, part 4. Washington: GPO, 1996. Print.
Return to Table of Contents
PERIODICAL ARTICLES from FEDERAL AGENCIES
»»NOTE: MLA does not specifically
address citing federal government document periodicals. These examples are
drawn from the general guidelines for periodicals.
MLA recommends treating the government agency as
the author if there is no personal author (175). An article with a personal
author would be listed under the person's name.
MLA distinguishes scholarly journals from magazines by omitting the
volume and issue number in magazine citations (143).
General format:
Scholarly journal:
Author or agency name. "Title of article." Name of periodical Volume number (Year of publication): page
number(s). Print.
Do not use a period after the name of the periodical. Put the issue number
after the volume number if each issue is paged separately. End the citation
with a period.
Magazine:
Author or agency name. "Title of article." Name of magazine Day month year: page number(s). Print.
If the magazine is published weekly or every two
weeks, give the day, month, and year. Abbreviate all months except May, June
and July (141). Do not use volume and issue number, even if they are given (143).
If the magazine is published monthly or less frequently, give the month(s) and
year (143).
Issuing agency as
author; continuous pagination; scholarly journal:
Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. "Monetary Policy Report to the
Congress." Federal Reserve Bulletin
90 (2004): 265-288. Print.
Use only the volume number if the journal's page numbers start at the beginning
of the year and are continuous, i.e., January's issue ends with page 160 and
February's starts with 161, etc. (136).
Use the volume and issue number if each issue starts with page 1. Use this
format: volume number. issue number (with no space between): 14.2 (139).
Personal author of
article; issue-by-issue pagination; magazine:
Henkel,
John. "Buying Drugs Online: It's Convenient and Private but Beware of
'Rogue Sites'." FDA Consumer
Mar. 1998: 25-29. Print.
Do not use volume or issue number for a magazine, even if they are given (143).
Weekly or biweekly
magazine:
United States. Dept. of Commerce. International Trade Administration.
"Small and Minority Businesses Advise the Federal Government on U. S.
Trade Policy." Business America: The
Magazine of International Trade 29 Nov. 1993: 9-11. Print.
Give complete date followed by a colon and the
inclusive page numbers. Use a plus sign if the article is not printed on
consecutive pages: 65+ (it begins on page 65, then skips to page 70). Don't give
volume or issue number (143).
ERIC DOCUMENTS
MLA does not provide specific guidelines for
these publications. The following is based on the guidelines for articles in a
microform collection (206).
If the ERIC document was published
elsewhere before being included in ERIC, include the facts of original
publication followed by the ERIC statement:
Spolsky, Bernard. “Navajo Language
Maintenance: Six-Year-Olds in 1969.” Microform. Navajo Reading Study Prog. Rept. 5. Albuquerque: UP of New Mexico, 1969.
ERIC ED 043 004.
When citing a university press, always add the
abreviation "P" since the university may publish independently of its
press: "Ohio State UP", "UP of Mississippi" (247).
If the material was not previously
published, follow this format:
Streiff, Paul R. “Some Criteria for Designing Evaluation of
TESOL Programs.” ERIC (1970): ED 040
385.
Return to Table of Contents
NEBRASKA STATE
DOCUMENTS
MLA provides one example for citing state
documents (175). The examples below are based on it and the more general
instructions. They follow the format used for federal documents.
DOCUMENTS PUBLISHED BY STATE AGENCIES
Corporate author:
Nebraska. Dept. of
Education. Mathematics and Science
Frameworks for Nebraska Schools, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve.
Lincoln: NE Dept. of Education, 1994. Print.
Personal author:
Bleed, Ann S., and
Charles A. Flowerday, eds. “An Atlas
of the Sand Hills.” 3rd ed. expanded. Resource
Atlas No. 5b. Lincoln: U of Nebraska, Conservation and Survey Division,
1998. Print.
OR: (Either is
acceptable.)
University of
Nebraska-Lincoln. Conservation and Survey Division. “An Atlas of the Sand Hills.”
Eds. Ann S. Bleed and Charles A. Flowerday. 3rd ed. expanded. Resource Atlas No. 5b. Lincoln: U of
Nebraska, 1998. Print.
Conference proceedings:
University of
Nebraska-Lincoln. Cooperative Extension. Platte Watershed Program. Proceedings, North Platte River Basin
Ecosystem Symposium, 24-25 February 1998, Kearney, Nebraska. Lincoln:
U of Nebraska Cooperative Extension, 1998. Print.
PERIODICAL ARTICLES from NEBRASKA AGENCIES
Article with a personal author; continuous pagination; scholarly
journal:
Moul, Francis.
"The Biggest Partner: The Federal Government and Sioux County,
Nebraska." Nebraska History 80
(1999): 150-165. Print.
Article with issuing agency as author; issue-by-issue
pagination; magazine:
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. "Nebraska's Hunting
Heritage." Nebraskaland Mar. 1998:
6-11. Print.
Article with personal author; issue-by-issue pagination;
magazine:
Carlson, Marvin P. "Island Arcs, Accretionary Terranes and
Midcontinent Structure: New Understandings of the Geologic Architecture of the
U. S. Midcontinent." Resource Notes
[U of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources] Fall, 2000:
15-18. Print.
The name of the city or institution may be given in
brackets if the journal is not widely known (similar to citing a newspaper [141]).
This is not necessary if the issuing agency is the author of the article.
NEBRASKA LEGAL
REFERENCES
A format similar to that used for
federal legal materials may be followed. MLA provides no guidance for legal citations at the state level.
The standard legal citation format is given after each example. The symbol
"§" means "section".
Laws of Nebraska:
Nebraska Investment Finance Act. LB 626. 26 May 1983. Laws of Nebraska, 1983. Print.
»»NOTE: State the name of the
act, its legislative bill number (LB), the date it was enacted, the title of
the compilation of laws, and year (205).
Standard legal citation format, including a section number: Laws 1983, LB 626, §126
Nebraska Statutes:
Nebraska Investment Finance Act. Chap. 58. Sec. 201-272. Reissue of the Revised Statutes of Nebraska, 1943. 1984.
Print.
»»NOTE: Chapter 58, sections
201-272.
Standard legal citation format: Neb. Rev. Stat. 58 §201-272 (Reissue 1984).
Nebraska Supreme Court:
Anderson v. Carlson. No. 34884. Nebr. Supreme Court. Jan. 1961. Print.
Standard legal citation for this case: "171 Neb. 741" (volume 171, Nebraska Supreme Court Reports, page
741).
Names of cases, unlike those of laws, are italicized
in the text but not in bibliographic entries (206).
State agency
regulations: Nebraska Administrative Code (NAC):
Nebraska. Real Estate Appraiser Board. "Standards of Practice." 298
NAC 2.001. 2003. Print.
»»NOTE: Title 298, Nebraska
Administrative Code, chapter
2, section 001.
MLA does not provide
guidance for state agency regulations.
Example is standard legal citation format: (title number) (abbreviation for
name of code) (chapter and section of title being cited).
Return to Table of Contents
ELECTRONIC FORMATS: CD, DVD, Disk
Include the following information when citing a CD, DVD, or disk:
Name of author or
government agency. (Use "ed." if work has an editor.) Publication
format (CD-ROM, DVD, Diskette). Edition or version, if relevant. Place of
publication. Name of publisher. Date of publication.
If you cannot find some of this information, cite what
is available (208).
»»NOTE: In general, federal
agency compact discs, DVDs, and disks are published by the agency and not by
the U. S. Government Printing Office. Place of publication may not be
available.
If the title is a one-time publication,
use a comma between the name of the publishing agency and the date of
publication. If it is updated periodically, use a period between the agency
publisher and date. (see below)
CD-ROMS, DVDS AND DISKETTES
Single CD or DVD:
Government agency as
author:
United
States. Environmental Protection Agency. Breathing
Easy: What Home Buyers and Sellers Should Know about Radon. US
Environmental Protection Agency, 2002. DVD.
Personal
author:
McCrory, Patricia A.,
et al. Depth to the Juan de Fuca Slab
Beneath the Cascadia Subduction Margin: A 3-D Model for
Sorting Earthquakes. Data Series DS-91. US Geological Survey, 2004. CD-ROM.
»»NOTE: If there are more
than three authors, you may cite only the first one and use "et al."
("and others"; no period after "et") instead of listing all
of them (155).
To
cite part of a CD or DVD:
United States. Dept. of Commerce. National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. "Monthly Climatic Data for the World."
Aug. 1998. The National Climatic Data
Center Periodical Publications, July 1998 Thru September 1998. US Dept. of
Commerce. Dec. 1998. CD-ROM.
»»NOTE: To cite only part of
a work:
If the work you are citing is of a type likely to be
published on its own, such as a book, italicize the title, if not, use
quotation marks (209). (Note: "Thru" in example above is spelling
used on CD.)
Multiple CD/DVD sets,
periodical:
United
States. Dept. of Commerce. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “NOAA
Weather Charts: Chart Series C, Tropical Strip/Precipitation and Observed
Weather Charts.” June 1997. NOAA Weather
Charts 4 (1997). Disc 3. National Climatic Data Center, 1997. CD-ROM.
»»NOTE: Monthly publication with volume numbers: volume 4, published in
1997. To cite a CD or DVD set with more than one disc, indicate the total
number of discs or the disc number of the one you used (210).
Return to Table of Contents
ONLINE RESOURCES - GENERAL GUIDELINES
Since electronic texts are not fixed and stable like paper ones, citations must
provide more information. However, many sources do not supply all of the
desired information. Cite whatever information is available (182).
Title:
Italicize the name if the work is independent; in quotation marks if the work
is part of a larger work (184).
Dates:
Use both the date given on the document and the date it was accessed (6 Nov.
2004 is used in the examples below) (185).
URL:
Include the URL only as supplementary information, when the reader cannot
locate the source without it or when your instructor requires it. If it must be included, enclose it in angle
brackets, i.e., <http://www.example.com> and follow it with a period (182).
If a URL is too long to fit on one line, divide it after a slash, (do not add a hyphen to indicate it continues on the
next line) (182).
Since sites and other
resources on the web sometimes disappear altogether, it would be wise to
consider downloading or printing the material used during research so that it
can be verified if it is inaccessible later (183).
For other types of electronic resources see MLA Handbook, section 5.6.
Online Federal
Government Documents
To cite an entire online federal document:
»»NOTE: Either format is correct if there is a personal author (176-177).
United
States. Dept. of Justice. National Institute of Justice. Classification of High-Risk and Special Management Prisoners: A
National Assessment of Current Practices. By James Austin and Kenneth McGinnis.
June 2004. Web. 6 Nov. 2004.
OR
Sidle,
John G., and Craig A. Faanes. Platte
River Ecosystem Resources and Management with Emphasis on the Big Bend Reach,
Nebraska. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Grand Island NE. Vers. 16 July
1997. Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. Web. 6 Nov.
2004.
To
cite part of an online federal document:
Direct link to part
cited:
United
States. Dept. of Energy. Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments.
"Pt. 1, Ethics of Human Subjects Research: A Historical Perspective,
Chapter 1, Government Standards for Human Experiments, the 1940s and
1950s." Final Report of the Advisory
Committee on Human Radiation Experiments. Oct. 1995. Web. 6 Nov. 2004.
Jabri,
Ahmed. "A Refugee Is a Refugee: 50 Years of Excluding Palestinians from
International Protection." World
Refugee Survey, 2003. U. S. Committee for Refugees. 2004. Web. 6 Nov. 2004.
Path to part cited:
United States. Library of Congress. Federal
Research Division. "Chapter 2: Population Projections." India: A Country Study. Ed. James
Heitzman and Robert L. Worden. Sept. 1995. Web. 4 Nov. 2004.
»»NOTE: If you do need to
include a URL, follow the guidelines above.
Online Nebraska State Government Documents
To cite an entire online Nebraska document:
Nebraska. Dept. of
Economic Development. Nebraska's Economic
Performance, 2003. Aug. 2004. Web. 6 Nov. 2004.
To cite part of an online Nebraska document:
Nebraska.
Unicameral. Clerk of the Legislature. "Economy: Agriculture." Nebraska Blue Book Online, 2002-2003 Edition.
46th ed. 2003. Web. 6 Nov. 2004.
Document from an International Organization,
(United Nations, etc.)
United
Nations. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Statistics
Division. "School Life Expectancy (Expected Number of Years of Formal
Schooling), Latest Available Year." Social
Indicators. July 2004. Web. 6 Nov. 2004.
World Bank. World Development Report
2003: Sustainable Development in a Dynamic World. 2002. Web. 6 Nov. 2004.
Government Document from Lexis/Nexis
Congressional
or
other online Library subscription service
United
States. Cong. House. Committee on Rules. “Providing for the Consideration of
H.R. 1501, Consequences for Juvenile Offenders Act of 1999, and H.R. 2122,
Mandatory Gun Show Background Check Act of 1999.” 29 June 1999. 106th Cong. 1st
sess. H. Rept. 106-186. Lexis/Nexis
Congressional. Web. 6 Nov. 2004.
To Cite an Online Map (232)
"Nebraska."
Map. State and County Outline Maps. Map.
US Census Bureau. n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2004.
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Revised by:Rochelle KruegerLecturerGovernment Documents DepartmentCalvin T. Ryan LibraryUniversity of Nebraska at KearneyJuly 2010
Originally created by
Diana J. KeithTop of
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