Although it is an optional element MLA 8 recommends including the date of access for online works because items can be changed or removed at any time. The date of access let's the reader know when and what type of version you may have consulted. It is especially helpful if the source doesn't provide a date of publication or production.
Example: "Sith." Wookieepedia, www.starwards.wikia.com/wiki/Sith, Accessed 8 Aug. 2017.
The purpose of citations is to make items easily retrievable for others so it is important to fill them out as completely and accurately as possible. If an item is irrelevant or missing, omit it from the citation.
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Article on a Website |
Douglas, Nick. "Where to Find the Best Collections of Regional Dialects and Local Accents." Lifehacker, 8 Sept. 2017, www.lifehacker.com/where-to-find-the-best-collections-of-regional-dialects-1801968451. Accessed 8 Nov. 2017. |
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Entire Website |
Amy. Information Literacy Librarian. 2013-2005, infolitlibrarian.blogspot.com. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. |
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Listserv or Discussion group post |
NohWonn. "Re: Why are the 90's so Disliked?" Comicbookresources, 8 Sept. 2017, community.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?100835-Why-are-the-90-s-so-Disliked/page2&s=cc2770480c522112d23ab7359cbf55f3. Accessed 19 Oct. 2017. |
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Saar, Michael. "Re: Nursing Research Article." Received by Nichole Thomas. 16 Oct. 2016. |
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Tweet |
@ThePunnyWorld. "I kept wondering why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me." Twitter, 25 Aug. 2017, 11:18 p.m., twitter.com/ThePunnyWorld/status/901297657494241280 |
MLA citation style requires a DOI for electronic articles when it's available. If your citation doesn't include a DOI you can use crossref.org to verify a DOI isn't included for your article. If there is no DOI, include the URL of the resource.
If you can not find the last date a web page is updated on you can still figure it out by entering the following text in the URL address bar:
javascript:alert(document.lastModified). (You may need to manual type javascript: if you paste the text into the address bar.)
This will bring up a pop-up box showing the last date the web page was updated on.
NOTE: Some sites update everyday. This may not be an indicator of when new content was added to the site.
