MLA Style: Online sources: Parenthetical References

In addition to producing a "list of works cited" for your paper, you must provide details about the information you derived from each of your sources and where in the source you located this information. The best way to do this is to insert a brief parenthetical acknowledgement whenever you use another person's ideas or words. This allows the reader to refer to the "list of works cited" for complete information on the source.

With online sources there are no traditional "pages" to reference (as there are with print sources) when providing the necessary detail about information you derived from each source. However, there may be other reference markers you may use, such as numered paragraphs, sections, or screens.

Sources with reference markers

If the source has numbered paragraphs, sections, or screens, use "par." (or "pars."), "sec." (or "secs."), or "screen" (or "screens").

Example:

Brunsdon, Charlotte. "Inspector Morse." Encyclopedia of Television. The Museum of

   Broadcast Communication, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2004.

(Brunsdon, par. 2)

Sources with no type of reference markers

Example:

Sengers, Phoebe. "Cultural Informatics: Artificial Intelligence and the Humanities."

    Surfaces 8.107 (1999): 1-58. Web. 6 Feb. 2005.

(Sengers)