When your instructor uploads a work (from the public domain or by permission from the publisher) to a course management system like Google Classroom, you may be asked to cite the digital source or a previously existing version (MLA Handbook xxii). There may be reasons that one approach or the other works best in your classroom. Practicing the first method builds proficiency at citing specific versions of works. Practicing the second can convey more information to readers who lack access to the course materials cited. Both approaches are shown below using the MLA template of core elements.

To cite the digital source, begin with the work’s author and title. Then list as the title of the container the name of the platform where the work was shared. List the uploader’s name in the Contributor element, followed by the upload date and the URL:

Algarotti, Francesco. An Essay on the Opera. Google Classroom, uploaded by Rachel Ross, 1 May 2021, classroom.google.com.

If you wish, you may include original publication information in your entry. This example shows the work’s original publication date in the middle supplemental element. For more information, see the section on supplemental elements in the MLA Handbook (208–17).

Algarotti, Francesco. An Essay on the Opera. 1768. Google Classroom, uploaded by Rachel Ross, 1 May 2021, classroom.google.com.

If you are asked to cite original publication information only, use that information to fill the template and omit the platform and uploader:

Algarotti, Francesco. An Essay on the Opera. Glasgow, 1768.

Continue reading on the Style Center to learn more about citing course materials uploaded to learning management systems, including online lectures and slide presentations. 

Work Cited

MLA Handbook. 9th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2021.