how to cite a website mla in essay example

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MLA Style (9th Edition) Citation Guide: Websites

• Introduction to MLA Style
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• Magazine/Newspaper Articles
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Table of Contents

Entire website - no separate pages or sections, page or section from a website.

Note: For your Works Cited list, all citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

It can sometimes be difficult to find out who the author of a website is. Remember that an author can be a corporation or group, not only a specific person. Author information can sometimes be found under an "About" section on a website.

If there is no known author, start the citation with the title of the website instead.

The best date to use for a website is the date that the content was last updated. Otherwise look for a copyright or original publication date. Unfortunately this information may not be provided or may be hard to find. Often date information is put on the bottom of the pages of a website.

If you do not know the complete date, put as much information as you can find. For example you may have a year but no month or day. If the source does not include a copyright/last modified date, then omit the date and include an access date in your citation instead.

Access Date

Date of access is optional in MLA 8th/9th edition; it is recommended for pages that may change frequently or that do not have a copyright/publication date.

In your works cited list, abbreviate months as follows: 

January = Jan. February = Feb. March = Mar. April = Apr. May = May June = June July = July August = Aug. September = Sept. October = Oct. November = Nov. December = Dec.

Spell out months fully in the body of your paper. 

Author, or compiler name (if available).  Title of Website,  Name of Organization Affiliated with the Website, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. Accessed access date.

Works Cited List Example:

Mabillard, Amanda.  Shakespeare Online,  29 Dec. 2011, www.shakespeare-online.com. Accessed 6 July 2016.

In-Text Citation Example:

(Author's Last Name)

(Mabillard)

Note: In this example, the name of the organization affiliated with the website is omitted since it is the same as the website title.

Created by an Unknown Author, or the Author is the same as the Website Title/Publisher

 "Title of Section."  Title of Website,  Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, Date of publication or last modified date, URL. Accessed Date Month (abbreviated) Year.

Note: The publisher or sponsoring organization can often be found in a copyright notice at the bottom of the home page or on a page that gives information about the site . If the website publisher is the same as the author and title of the web site , then include only the title of the web site. 

“ Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview.”  WebMD, 25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview.

("Title of Section")

(“Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview”)

Created by a Known Author

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Page or Document."  Title of Website,  Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. Accessed Date Month (abbreviated) Year.

Morin, Amy. "How to Prevent the Media From Damaging Your Teen's Body Image."  Verywell Family,  About Inc., 6 Oct. 2019, www.verywellfamily.com/media-and-teens-body-image-2611245. Accessed 1 Nov. 2019.

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How to cite a website in a bibliography using MLA

The most basic entry for a website consists of the author name(s), webpage title, website title, *sponsoring institution/publisher, publication date, and DOI or URL.

Author Last Name, First Name. “Webpage Title.” Website Title , *Sponsoring Institution/Publisher, Publication Date, DOI or URL.

Owoseje, Toyin. “Britney Spears Apologizes to Fans for ‘Pretending’ to be OK in her Conservatorship.” CNN , 25 June 2021, cnn.com/2021/06/25/entertainment/britney-spears-conservatorship-instagram-intl-scli/index.html.

*If the sponsoring institution or publisher’s name is the same as the website title, do not include it. MLA prefers to avoid duplicating information in citations.

The first author’s name should be reversed, with a comma after the last name, followed by a period after the first name (or any middle name). The name should not be abbreviated and should be written exactly as it appears on the website. Titles and affiliations associated with the author should generally be omitted. A suffix, such as a roman numeral or Jr./Sr. should appear after the author’s given name, preceded by a comma.

For a page with two or more authors, list them in the order they appear on the website. Only the first author’s name should be reversed, while the others are written in normal order. Separate author names by a comma, and place the word “and” before the last author’s name.

Sanchez, Ray, and Eric Levenson. “Derek Chauvin Sentenced to 22.5 Years in Death of George Floyd.” CNN , 25 June 2021, cnn.com/2021/06/25/us/derek-chauvin-sentencing-george-floyd/index.html.

For pages with three or more authors, reverse the first author’s name as described above and follow it with a comma and the abbreviation “et al.” Do not italicize “et al.” in parenthetical citations or works-cited list entries.

Rebaza, Claudia, et al. “John McAfee Was Not Suicidal, Says Widow of Antivirus Software Magnate.” CNN , 25 June 2021, cnn.com/2021/06/25/tech/john-mcafee-wife-janice-intl/index.html.

If the article was written by a news service or organization, include the name in the author position and remove any introductory articles (e.g.,  A, An, The) from the name.

Associated Press. “Obama Inaugurated as President.” CNN , 21 Jan. 2009, cnn.com/2009/01/21/politics/obama-inaugurated-as-president/index.html.

If no author is available, begin the citation with the webpage title.

“Obama Inaugurated as President.” CNN , 21 Jan. 2009, cnn.com/2009/01/21/politics/obama-inaugurated-as-president/index.html.

The webpage title should be placed within quotation marks. Place a period after the webpage title within the quotation marks. The webpage title is followed by the name of the larger website container in italics, and it’s usually followed by a comma and any additional information such as version, number, publisher, publication date, or URL. The punctuation before the version element varies depending on whether the webpage is part of a larger work or “container.” When it is part of a larger work, use a comma followed by the version. When it is a work that stands alone, use a period followed by the version.

Smith, John. “Obama Inaugurated as President.” CNN , Version 12.1.1., 21 Jan. 2009, cnn.com/2009/01/21/politics/obama-inaugurated-as-president/index.html.

Include the sponsoring institution or publisher with a comma after the website title (or version number, if available). The sponsoring institution/publisher can usually be found at the bottom of the website in the footer. You may omit the publisher’s name when there is no publisher or when the publisher name isn’t required (for example, when the publisher title matches the website title or the website doesn’t list the publisher responsible for producing the work).

Smith, John. “Obama Inaugurated as President.” CNN , 21 Jan. 2009, cnn.com/2009/01/21/politics/obama-inaugurated-as-president/index.html.

Next, state the publication date of the webpage.  In works-cited list entries, use only the day-month-year style. Month names should be abbreviated, except for May, June, and July, and followed by a period. In some cases, a specific date might not be available, and the date published may only be specific to a month or even year. Provide whatever date information is available. When using seasons in the date, lowercase the season (spring 2021 not Spring 2021). If there is no date available, you may omit the publication date element from your citation. However, you may wish to include an access date in the supplemental element slot after the URL.

Smith, John. “Obama Inaugurated as President.” CNN , cnn.com/2009/01/21/politics/obama-inaugurated-as-president/index.html.

Smith, John. “Obama Inaugurated as President.” CNN , cnn.com/2009/01/21/politics/obama-inaugurated-as-president/index.html. Accessed 21 Jan. 2021.

According to MLA’s 9th edition, updated in 2021, you may usually leave out http:// or https:// from URLs unless you want to hyperlink them or unless instructed otherwise. When in doubt, ask your instructor. If a DOI is available, use that instead of the URL. For DOIs, use http:// or https:// before the DOI: https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxx.xxxx.xxxx. Use a period after the DOI and the URL.

Smith, John. “Obama Inaugurated as President.” CNN , 21 Jan. 2009, https://doi.org/12.3456/789.1011.1213.

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“A word after a word after a word is power.” — Margaret Atwood

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For an online news source with more than two authors (3+), use “ et al ” after the first author to indicate “ and others ” in your works cited entry. With this format, you do not have to write all the authors’ names since you are indicating the same using “et al.”

Last Name, First Name1, et al. “Title of the article.” Title of the newspaper , Date of publication, URL.

Kamelion, North, et al. “How do Zebras stay awake in the forest amidst a scavenger hunt?” Taj Road Journal , 9 Aug. 2020, www.tajroadjournal.com/posts/253839.

If you have the same author as the first author in more than one entry, then distinguish these entries by listing two authors in the entries and using “et al” for the other authors.

If there is no author given for an online news source, then the in-text citation should include the first main word or words of the article title within the quotation marks. For example:

In a works-cited entry, you will include the article title, newspaper name, publication date, and URL. See below for the format and example.

“Article Title.” Newspaper , Date, URL.

“High Winds Blow Michigan Anglers, Ice Shanty about a Mile across Saginaw Bay.” Detroit Free Press , 2022 March 7, https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/03/07/saginaw-bay-ice-shanty-winds/9411709002/.

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / MLA Format / How to Cite an Essay in MLA

How to Cite an Essay in MLA

The guidelines for citing an essay in MLA format are similar to those for citing a chapter in a book. Include the author of the essay, the title of the essay, the name of the collection if the essay belongs to one, the editor of the collection or other contributors, the publication information, and the page number(s).

Citing an Essay

Mla essay citation structure.

Last, First M. “Essay Title.” Collection Title, edited by First M. Last, Publisher, year published, page numbers. Website Title , URL (if applicable).

MLA Essay Citation Example

Gupta, Sanjay. “Balancing and Checking.” Essays on Modern Democracy, edited by Bob Towsky, Brook Stone Publishers, 1996, pp. 36-48. Essay Database, www . databaseforessays.org/modern/modern-democracy.

MLA Essay In-text Citation Structure

(Last Name Page #)

MLA Essay In-text Citation Example

Click here to cite an essay via an EasyBib citation form.

MLA Formatting Guide

MLA Formatting

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Citation Examples

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To cite your sources in an essay in MLA style, you need to have basic information including the author’s name(s), chapter title, book title, editor(s), publication year, publisher, and page numbers. The templates for in-text citations and a works-cited-list entry for essay sources and some examples are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

For citations in prose, use the first name and surname of the author on the first occurrence. For subsequent citations, use only the surname(s). In parenthetical citations, always use only the surname of the author(s).

Citation in prose:

First mention: Annette Wheeler Cafarelli

Subsequent occurrences: Wheeler Cafarelli

Parenthetical:

….(Wheeler Cafarelli).

Works-cited-list entry template and example:

The title of the chapter is enclosed in double quotation marks and uses title case. The book or collection title is given in italics and uses title case.

Surname, First Name. “Title of the Chapter.” Title of the Book , edited by Editor(s) Name, Publisher, Publication Year, page range.

Cafarelli, Annette Wheeler. “Rousseau and British Romanticism: Women and British Romanticism.” Cultural Interactions in the Romantic Age: Critical Essays in Comparative Literature , edited by Gregory Maertz. State U of New York P, 1998, pp. 125–56.

To cite an essay in MLA style, you need to have basic information including the author(s), the essay title, the book title, editor(s), publication year, publisher, and page numbers. The templates for citations in prose, parenthetical citations, and works-cited-list entries for an essay by multiple authors, and some examples, are given below:

For citations in prose, use the first name and surname of the author (e.g., Mary Strine).

For sources with two authors, use both full author names in prose (e.g., Mary Strine and Beth Radick).

For sources with three or more authors, use the first name and surname of the first author followed by “and others” or “and colleagues” (e.g., Mary Strine and others). In subsequent citations, use only the surname of the first author followed by “and others” or “and colleagues” (e.g., Strine and others).

In parenthetical citations, use only the author’s surname. For sources with two authors, use two surnames (e.g., Strine and Radick). For sources with three or more author names, use the first author’s surname followed by “et al.”

First mention: Mary Strine…

Subsequent mention: Strine…

First mention: Mary Strine and Beth Radick…

Subsequent mention: Strine and Radick…

First mention: Mary Strine and colleagues …. or Mary Strine and others

Subsequent occurrences: Strine and colleagues …. or Strine and others

…. (Strine).

….(Strine and Radick).

….(Strine et al.).

The title of the essay is enclosed in double quotation marks and uses title case. The book or collection title is given in italics and uses title case.

Surname, First Name, et al. “Title of the Essay.” Title of the Book , edited by Editor(s) Name, Publisher, Publication Year, page range.

Strine, Mary M., et al. “Research in Interpretation and Performance Studies: Trends, Issues, Priorities.” Speech Communication: Essays to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Speech Communication Association , edited by Gerald M. Phillips and Julia T. Wood, Southern Illinois UP, 1990, pp. 181–204.

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Cite a Website in MLA

Don't let plagiarism errors spoil your paper, citing a website in mla, how to create an mla website citation:.

When citing a website, you’re often actually citing a specific page on a website. You’re not actually citing the entire website.

Here is the most common way to cite a page on a website:

• Start the citation with the name of the author who wrote the information on the page. If there isn’t an author listed, do not include this information in the citation. Start the citation with the title.
• The title of the individual page is placed in quotation marks, followed by a period.
• Next, place the name of the website in italics, followed by a comma.
• If the name of the publisher matches the name of the author or the name of the title, do not include the publisher’s information in the citation.
• The date the page or website was published comes next.
• End the citation with the URL or DOI. When including the URL, copy the URL directly from the address bar or link in your browser window.

Last name, First name of author. “Title of Web Page.” Title of Website , Publisher, Date published, URL.

Rothfeld, Lindsay. “Smarter Education: The Rise of Big Data in the Classroom.” Mashable, 3 Sept. 2014, mashable.com/2014/09/03/education-data-video/#hViqdPbFbgqH.

You can usually leave out http:// or https:// from URLs unless you want to hyperlink them. For DOIs, use http:// or https:// before the DOI: https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxx.xxxx.xxxx.

If you’re still confused and feeling the urge to type “How to cite a website MLA” into Google, try out our free generator at the top of this page. Our citation generator MLA site is easy to use!

Social media:

If the user’s handle and real name are similar, you may include the real name and leave out the handle as long as a URL is also included. If the user’s real name and handle are different, include the hand in brackets after the real name.

Gates, Melinda. “Today, Bill and I were deeply humbled to accept France’s Legion of Honour award on behalf of all our foundation’s partners and grantees.” Twitter, 21 Apr. 2017, twitter.com/melindagates/status/855535625713459200.

Sandler, Adam. “California Strong celebrity softball game this Sunday at Pepperdine. All proceeds go to the victims of the wildfires and shooting in Thousand Oaks.” Facebook, 11 Jan. 2019, www.facebook.com/Sandler/.

Mizuhara, Kiko [@I_am_kiko]. “@vivi_mag_official shot by my sis @ashley_yuka.” Instagram, 25 June 2020, www.instagram.com/p/CB27SYahBpo.

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How to cite a website in MLA 8 format

We can cite a website in MLA 8 style for you automatically (and for free) with our citation generator below. Simply paste the page URL into the search box and then click on the result we find. Our tool will locate all the details you need and format the citation correctly, ready for you to copy into your paper.

 Information required

First, you need to locate these details for the website:

• Webpage author This can usually be found near the top of the page, but if there isn’t one listed you can use the website name in its place.
• Title of article or page The title is almost always at the top of the page in large or bold text. You can also find it by hovering your mouse over the browser tab.
• Date published This is usually very close to the title.
• Website name The website name can usually be found in the web address or by looking for a logo at the very top of the page.
• Publisher Sometimes a website won’t always have a publisher, but If the website is part of a larger group of websites then use this as the publisher.
• URL (or DOI) This can be copied straight from the address bar of your browser, and will start with either http:// or https://.
• Date accessed or viewed The access date is the date you took information from the article (generally this is today’s date if you are writing your paper right now).

Use this template, replacing the colored placeholders with the information you found on the page:

Author last name , Author first name . “ Article title .” Site name , Published date day, month, year , Article URL . Accessed Accessed date day, month, year .

The final formatted citation should look like this:

Casselman, Ben. “G.D.P. Grew at 4.1% Rate in U.S. in Latest Quarter. Here’s What That Means.” NY Times , 27 July 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/business/economy/economy-gdp.html. Accessed 27 July 2018.

 What to do when there’s no author

No author? No problem. You will need to collect all of the same information found above, except for the author’s name. Instead of beginning the citation with the author’s name, your citation will begin with the title in quotation marks. Adapting the example above would look like this:

“G.D.P. Grew at 4.1% Rate in U.S. in Latest Quarter. Here’s What That Means.” NY Times , 27 July 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/business/economy/economy-gdp.html. Accessed 27 July 2018.

 What about multiple authors?

If the page has 2 authors then you should append the second one in the usual order (first name followed by last name). For example:

Casselman, Ben, and Julia Dench. “G.D.P. Grew at 4.1% Rate in U.S. in Latest Quarter. Here’s What That Means.” NY Times , 27 July 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/business/economy/economy-gdp.html. Accessed 27 July 2018.

If there are more than 2 authors you would simply append ‘et al.’ after the first one. For example:

Casselman, Ben, et. al. “G.D.P. Grew at 4.1% Rate in U.S. in Latest Quarter. Here’s What That Means.” NY Times , 27 July 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/business/economy/economy-gdp.html. Accessed 27 July 2018.

Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.

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• A complete guide to MLA in-text citations

MLA In-text Citations | A Complete Guide (9th Edition)

Published on July 9, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on March 5, 2024.

An MLA in-text citation provides the author’s last name and a page number in parentheses.

If a source has two authors, name both. If a source has more than two authors, name only the first author, followed by “ et al. ”

If the part you’re citing spans multiple pages, include the full page range. If you want to cite multiple non-consecutive pages at the same time, separate the page numbers with commas.

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Table of contents

Where to include an mla in-text citation, citing sources with no author, citing sources with no page numbers, citing different sources with the same author name, citing sources indirectly, frequently asked questions about mla in-text citations.

Place the parenthetical citation directly after the relevant quote or paraphrase , and before the period or other punctuation mark (except with  block quotes , where the citation comes after the period).

If you have already named the author in the sentence, add only the page number in parentheses. When mentioning a source with three or more authors outside of parentheses, use “and others” or “and colleagues” in place of “et al.”

• MLA is the second most popular citation style (Smith and Morrison 17–19) .
• According to Smith and Morrison , MLA is the second most popular citation style (17–19) .
• APA is by far “the most used citation style in the US” (Moore et al. 74) , but it is less dominant in the UK (Smith 16) .
• Moore and colleagues state that APA is more popular in the US than elsewhere (74) .

Combining citations

If a sentence is supported by more than one source, you can combine the citations in a single set of parentheses. Separate the two sources with a semicolon .

Livestock farming is one of the biggest global contributors to climate change (Garcia 64; Davies 14) .

Consecutive citations of the same source

If you cite the same source repeatedly within a paragraph, you can include the full citation the first time you cite it, then just the page number for subsequent citations.

MLA is the second most popular citation style (Smith and Morrison 17–19) . It is more popular than Chicago style, but less popular than APA (21) .

You can do this as long as it remains clear what source you’re citing. If you cite something else in between or start a new paragraph, reintroduce the full citation again to avoid ambiguity.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

For sources with no named author , the in-text citation must match the first element of the Works Cited entry. This may be the name of an organization, or the title of the source.

If the source title or organization name is longer than four words, shorten it to the first word or phrase in the in-text citation, excluding any articles ( a, an, and the ). The shortened title or organization name should begin with the word the source is alphabetized by in the Works Cited.

Follow the general MLA rules for formatting titles : If the source is a self-contained work (e.g. a whole website or an entire book ), put the title in italics; if the source is contained within a larger whole (e.g. a page on a website or a chapter of a book), put the title in quotation marks.

If a source does not have page numbers but is divided into numbered parts (e.g. chapters, sections, scenes, Bible books and verses, Articles of the Constitution , or timestamps), use these numbers to locate the relevant passage.

If the source does not use any numbering system, include only the author’s name in the in-text citation. Don’t include paragraph numbers unless they are explicitly numbered in the source.

Note that if there are no numbered divisions and you have already named the author in your sentence, then no parenthetical citation is necessary.

If your Works Cited page includes more than one entry under the same last name, you need to distinguish between these sources in your in-text citations.

Multiple sources by the same author

If you cite more than one work by the same author, add a shortened title to signal which source you are referring to.

In this example, the first source is a whole book, so the title appears in italics; the second is an article published in a journal, so the title appears in quotation marks.

Different authors with the same last name

To distinguish between different authors with the same last name, use the authors’ initials (or, if the initials are the same, full first names) in your in-text citations:

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Sometimes you might want to cite something that you found quoted in a secondary source . If possible, always seek out the original source and cite it directly.

If you can’t access the original source, make sure to name both the original author and the author of the source that you accessed . Use the abbreviation “qtd. in” (short for “quoted in”) to indicate where you found the quotation.

In these cases, only the source you accessed directly is included in the Works Cited list.

You must include an MLA in-text citation every time you quote or paraphrase from a source (e.g. a book , movie , website , or article ).

Some source types, such as books and journal articles , may contain footnotes (or endnotes) with additional information. The following rules apply when citing information from a note in an MLA in-text citation :

• To cite information from a single numbered note, write “n” after the page number, and then write the note number, e.g. (Smith 105n2)
• To cite information from multiple numbered notes, write “nn” and include a range, e.g. (Smith 77nn1–2)
• To cite information from an unnumbered note, write “un” after the page number, with a space in between, e.g. (Jones 250 un)

If a source has two authors, name both authors in your MLA in-text citation and Works Cited entry. If there are three or more authors, name only the first author, followed by et al.

If a source has no author, start the MLA Works Cited entry with the source title . Use a shortened version of the title in your MLA in-text citation .

If a source has no page numbers, you can use an alternative locator (e.g. a chapter number, or a timestamp for a video or audio source) to identify the relevant passage in your in-text citation. If the source has no numbered divisions, cite only the author’s name (or the title).

If you already named the author or title in your sentence, and there is no locator available, you don’t need a parenthetical citation:

• Rajaram  argues that representations of migration are shaped by “cultural, political, and ideological interests.”
• The homepage of The Correspondent describes it as “a movement for radically different news.”

Yes. MLA style uses title case, which means that all principal words (nouns, pronouns , verbs, adjectives , adverbs , and some conjunctions ) are capitalized.

This applies to titles of sources as well as the title of, and subheadings in, your paper. Use MLA capitalization style even when the original source title uses different capitalization .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. (2024, March 05). MLA In-text Citations | A Complete Guide (9th Edition). Scribbr. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/in-text-citations/

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How to Cite a Website in an Essay

July 23, 2024

Finding proper information when writing an essay is pretty important because the writer is kind of responsible for the info he is spreading within the society. At the same time, the writer must leave links where he has got this or that data. It is important to give credit to the original author when you borrow some info from another source, another website and place it in yours. That is why we all need to understand how to cite a website in an essay or how to cite a quote from a website in an essay. Below you will find a detailed description of using every type of the presented style guides.

Style Guides and Citation Systems

There are different style guides on websites. It may make you confused, but once you find out which guide you use, all you have to do is follow that format. Here are some style guides or citation systems we will review today:

• Chicago Citation Style Guide

APA Citation Style

APA stands for American Psychological Association and is used within social sciences the most frequently.

There are two types of APA citing structure.

The one is with an author and all you have to do is write an author’s name (Surname, the first letter of his name), then you have to write an exact date of publication and where you retrieved this info. In general, it will look like:

“Author, A. (Year, month and date of publication). Retrieved from URL”

The second one is without an author and you will have to make an author’s name replaced by an article title.

It will look like:

“Article title. (Year, month and date of publication). Retrieved from URL”

MLA Citation Style

MLA stands for the Modern Language Association. This organization has its own citation style that is used for humanities subjects (such as language, literature, liberal arts, etc.). If this method of citation you decided to use, you will have to write down an author’s last name, then the first one, which means it goes reversed. The article title is next, then you will have to write the title of an individual web page, the title of a website, the publisher, the date and the link (URL). If you want to know how to cite a website in an essay MLA, scroll down!

The basic format of MLA style will look this way:

“Author’s last name, Author’s first name. “Title of Web Page.” Website’s Title, Publisher, Exact Date, URL.

Chicago Citation Style

You can meet with this type on a website too and you have to know that it consists of two varieties:

• notes and bibliography
• author-date

The bigger part of people uses the one that is required by their publishers or the one that is used by people in their field.

The basic format of Chicago Citation Style looks like:

“Author’s Last Name, Author’s First Name. ”Page Title.” Website Title. Web Address (Retrieved Date Accessed)”

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To address the fentanyl crisis, greater access to methadone is needed

This blog was also published in the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Weekly on July 24, 2024.

Over the past several years, the increasing prevalence of fentanyl in the drug supply has created an unprecedented overdose death rate and other devastating consequences. People with an opioid use disorder (OUD) urgently need treatment not just to protect them from overdosing but also to help them achieve recovery, but highly effective medications like buprenorphine and methadone remain underused. Amid this crisis, it is critical that methadone, in particular, be made more accessible, as it may hold unique clinical advantages in the age of fentanyl. 

Growing evidence suggests that methadone is as safe and effective as buprenorphine for patients who use fentanyl. In a 2020 naturalistic follow-up study, 53% of patients admitted to methadone treatment who tested positive for fentanyl at intake were still in treatment a year later, compared to 47% for patients who tested negative. Almost all (99%) of those retained in treatment achieved remission . An earlier study similarly found that 89% of patients who tested positive for fentanyl at methadone treatment intake and who remained in treatment at 6 months achieved abstinence .

Methadone may even be preferable for patients considered to be at high risk for leaving OUD treatment and overdosing on fentanyl. Comparative effectiveness evidence is emerging which shows that people with OUD in British Columbia given buprenorphine/naloxone when initiating treatment were 60% more likely to discontinue treatment than those who received methadone (1). More research is needed on optimal methadone dosing in patients with high opioid tolerance due to use of fentanyl, as well as on induction protocols for these patients. It is possible that escalation to a therapeutic dose may need to be more rapid.

It remains the case that only a fraction of people who could benefit from medication treatment for OUD (MOUD) receive it, due to a combination of structural and attitudinal barriers. A study using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from 2019—that is, pre-pandemic—found that only slightly more than a quarter (27.8%) of people who needed OUD treatment in the past year had received medication to treat their disorder. But a year into the pandemic, in 2021, the proportion had dropped to just 1 in 5 .

Efforts have been made to expand access to MOUD. For instance, in 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) advanced the most comprehensive Overdose Prevention Strategy to date. Under this strategy, in 2023, HHS eliminated the X-waiver requirement for buprenorphine. But in the fentanyl era, expanded access to methadone too is essential, although there are even greater attitudinal and structural barriers to overcome with this medication. People in methadone treatment, who must regularly visit an opioid treatment program (OTP), face stigma from their community and from providers . People in rural areas may have difficulty accessing or sticking with methadone treatment if they live far from an OTP.

SAMHSA’s changes to 42 CFR Part 8 (“Medications for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder”) on January 30, 2024 were another positive step taken under the HHS Overdose Prevention Strategy. The new rule makes permanent the increased take-home doses of methadone established in March 2020 during the COVID pandemic, along with other provisions aimed to broaden access like the ability to initiate methadone treatment via telehealth. Studies show that telehealth is associated with increased likelihood of receiving MOUD and that take-home doses increase treatment retention.

Those changes that were implemented during the COVID pandemic have not been associated with adverse outcomes. An analysis of CDC overdose death data from January 2019 to August 2021 found that the percentage of overdose deaths involving methadone relative to all drug overdose deaths declined from 4.5% to 3.2% in that period. Expanded methadone access also was not associated with significant changes in urine drug test results, emergency department visits, or increases in overdose deaths involving methadone. An analysis of reports to poison control centers found a small increase in intentional methadone exposures in the year following the loosening of federal methadone regulations, but no significant increases in exposure severity, hospitalizations, or deaths .

Patients themselves reported significant benefits from increased take-home methadone and other COVID-19 protocols. Patients at one California OTP in a small qualitative study reported increased autonomy and treatment engagement . Patients at three rural OTPs in Oregon reported increased self-efficacy, strengthened recovery, and reduced interpersonal conflict .

The U.S. still restricts methadone prescribing and dispensing more than most other countries, but worries over methadone’s safety and concerns about diversion have made some physicians and policymakers hesitant about policy changes that would further lower the guardrails around this medication. Methadone treatment, whether for OUD or pain, is not without risks. Some studies have found elevated rates of overdose during the induction and stabilization phase of maintenance treatment, potentially due to starting at too high a dose, escalating too rapidly, or drug interactions .

Although greatly increased prescribing of methadone to treat pain two decades ago was associated with diversion and a rise in methadone overdoses, overdoses declined after 2006, along with methadone’s use as an analgesic, even as its use for OUD increased. Most methadone overdoses are associated with diversion and, less often, prescription for chronic pain; currently, 70 percent of methadone overdoses involve other opioids (like fentanyl) or benzodiazepines .

Recent trials of models of methadone dispensing in pharmacies and models of care based in other settings than OTPs have not supported concerns that making methadone more widely available will lead to harms like overdose. In two feasibility studies, stably maintained patients from OTPs in Baltimore, Maryland and Raleigh, North Carolina who received their methadone from a local pharmacy found this model to be highly satisfactory, with no positive urine screens, adverse events, or safety issues. An older pilot study in New Mexico found that prescribing methadone in a doctor’s office and dispensing in a community pharmacy, as well as methadone treatment delivered by social workers, produced better outcomes than standard care in an OTP for a sample of stably maintained female methadone patients.

Critics of expanded access to methadone outside OTPs sometimes argue that the medication should not be offered without accompanying behavioral treatment. Data suggest that counseling is not essential. In wait-list studies , methadone treatment was effective at reducing opioid use on its own, and patients stayed in treatment. However, counseling may have benefits or even be indispensable for some patients to help them improve their psychosocial functioning and reduce other drug use. How to personalize the intensity and the level of support needed is a question that requires further investigation.

Over the past two decades, the opioid crisis has accelerated the integration of addiction care in the U.S. with mainstream medicine. Yet methadone, the oldest and still one of the most effective medications in our OUD treatment toolkit, remains siloed. In the current era of powerful synthetic opioids like fentanyl dominating the statistics on drug addiction and overdose, it is time to make this effective medication more accessible to all who could benefit. The recent rules making permanent the COVID-19 provisions are an essential step in the right direction, but it will be critical to pursue other ways that methadone can safely be made more available to a wider range of patients with OUD. Although more research would be of value, the initial evidence suggests that providing methadone outside of OTPs is feasible, acceptable, and leads to good outcomes.

• Nosyk B, Min JE, Homayra F, Kurz M, Guerra-Alejos BC, Yan R, et al, Comparative effectiveness of buprenorphine/naloxone versus methadone for treatment of opioid use disorder: emulating target trials with population-level data. Poster session presented at: The College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) 86th Annual Scientific Meeting; 2024 Jun 15-19; Montreal, CAN.

Dr. Nora Volkow, Director

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MLA Formatting Quotations

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When you directly quote the works of others in your paper, you will format quotations differently depending on their length. Below are some basic guidelines for incorporating quotations into your paper. Please note that all pages in MLA should be double-spaced .

Short quotations

To indicate short quotations (four typed lines or fewer of prose or three lines of verse) in your text, enclose the quotation within double quotation marks. Provide the author and specific page number (in the case of verse, provide line numbers) in the in-text citation, and include a complete reference on the Works Cited page. Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and semicolons should appear after the parenthetical citation.

Question marks and exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted passage, but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your text.

For example, when quoting short passages of prose, use the following examples:

When using short (fewer than three lines of verse) quotations from poetry, mark breaks in verse with a slash, ( / ), at the end of each line of verse (a space should precede and follow the slash). If a stanza break occurs during the quotation, use a double slash ( // ).

Long quotations

For quotations that are more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse, place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented 1/2   inch  from the left margin while maintaining double-spacing. Your parenthetical citation should come  after the closing punctuation mark . When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing throughout your essay.)

For example, when citing more than four lines of prose, use the following examples :

Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration: They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)

When citing long sections of poetry (four lines of verse or more), keep formatting as close to the original as possible.

In his poem "My Papa's Waltz," Theodore Roethke explores his childhood with his father:

The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy. We Romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother's countenance Could not unfrown itself. (qtd. in Shrodes, Finestone, Shugrue 202)

When citing two or more paragraphs, use block quotation format, even if the passage from the paragraphs is less than four lines. If you cite more than one paragraph, the first line of the second paragraph should be indented an extra 1/4 inch to denote a new paragraph:

In "American Origins of the Writing-across-the-Curriculum Movement," David Russell argues,

Writing has been an issue in American secondary and higher education since papers and examinations came into wide use in the 1870s, eventually driving out formal recitation and oral examination. . . .

From its birth in the late nineteenth century, progressive education has wrestled with the conflict within industrial society between pressure to increase specialization of knowledge and of professional work (upholding disciplinary standards) and pressure to integrate more fully an ever-widening number of citizens into intellectually meaningful activity within mass society (promoting social equity). . . . (3)

Adding or omitting words in quotations

If you add a word or words in a quotation, you should put brackets around the words to indicate that they are not part of the original text:

If you omit a word or words from a quotation, you should indicate the deleted word or words by using ellipses, which are three periods ( . . . ) preceded and followed by a space. For example:

Please note that brackets are not needed around ellipses unless they would add clarity.

When omitting words from poetry quotations, use a standard three-period ellipses; however, when omitting one or more full lines of poetry, space several periods to about the length of a complete line in the poem: