The Internet is a major source of information today and it is expected that before you start writing your papepr, you would turn to it for material.

But the Internet is open to everyone and web sites may be posted by professionals in the field as well as grade five students. Citations are meant to lend credibility to a paper, but citing a grade five student will do just the opposite.

How would you know whether the web site is by a professional in the field?

Ask the following questions and decide for yourself whether you should use the source or not:

1) Can you identify the author of the source? Has the person given his or her name? A source without an author is not reliable.
2) Has the author been cited by other writers? If the author is cited by another writer, the author may be credible.
2) Is the site by an established authority on the subject?
4) Is the web site by a respected organization, academic institution, a professional group, or a professional journal?
5) Was the web site updated recently? You may not like to cite from a source which was updated ten years ago.
6) Does the author acknowledge other sources in his text? This may indicate that the author has studied the subject.
7) Is there a list of works cited or a bibliography at the end of the text?
8) Do you find many grammatical errors or typographical errors in the text? Such errors may indicate that the author is careless and undependable.

The following guideline on how to cite from the Internet is based on:

American Psychological Association

http://www.psychwww.com/

Modern Language Association

http://www.mla.org/style/sources.cfm

Janice Walker's The Columbia Guide to Online Style

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/cgos/idx_basic.cfml

Xia Li and Nancy Crane's Electronic Sources: APA Style of Citation

http://www.uvm.edu/~ncrane/estyles/

The basic formats:

MLA:

Author's last name, first name. Title of document. Title of document source. Version, volume, or file number. Document date. Pages or paras. Access date. <Internet address.>

APA:

Author's last name, initial(s). Document date. Title of document. Title of document source. Version, file number, edition, revision, pages, or paras. Access date. Internet address.

Examples:

Book:

MLA:

Stewart, Kensey Jones. A Geography for Beginners. 1864. Documenting the American South. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 14 February 2000. http://metalab.unc.edu/docsouth/imls/stewart/menu.cfml

Author / Title / Date / Title of Project / Sponsoring Organization / Access date / Internet address

APA:

Stewart, K. J. (1864). A Geography for Beginners. Retrieved Feb. 14, 2000 from http://metalab.unc.edu/docsouth/imls/stewart/menu.cfml

Author / Date / Title / Access date / Internet address

Journal article:

MLA:

Peters, Tom. "Opportunity Knocks: Businesses Should be Prepared for More Women Executives." Forbes 159.11 (June 2, 1997): S132 (2). 15 February 2000 <http://web5.infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/310/750/
52314954w3/>

Author / Title / Journal title / Volume and issue number / Date / Pages or paras / Access date / Internet address

APA:

Peters, T. (June 2, 1997). Opportunity knocks: Businesses should be prepared for more women executives. Forbes, 159.11, S132 (2). Retrieved Feb. 15, 2000 from http://web5.infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/310/750/
52314954w3/

Author / Date / Title / Journal title / Volume, issue number, and pages / Access date / Internet address

Magazine article:

MLA:

Woodward, Kenneth L. "Finding God." Newsweek (7 February 2000)
16 February 2000 <http://newsweek.com/nw-srv/printed/us/na/
2877-2000jan30.cfm>

Author / Title / Magazine title / Date / Access date / Internet address

APA:

Woodward, K.L. (2000, February 7). "Finding God." Newsweek Retrieved
February 16, 2000 from http://newsweek.com/nw-srv/printed/us/na/
2877-2000jan30.cfm

Author / Title / Date /Magazine title / Access date / Internet address

Newspaper article:

MLA:

Lewis, Neil A. "President and Executives Call Regulations No Answer to Net Security." New York Times on the Web (16 February 2000) 26 February 2000 <http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/16net.cfml>

Author / Title / Newspaper title / Date / Access date / Internet address

APA:

Lewis, N.A. (2000, February 16). President and Executives Call Regulations No Answer to Net Security. New York Times on the Web. Retrieved February 16, 2000 from http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/
biztech/articles/16net.cfml

Author / Date / Newspaper title / Access date / Internet address

Article from a Database

MLA:

"Nightingale, Florence" Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 17 February 2000 <http://members.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=57215&sctn=1>

Title / Database name / Access date / Internet address

APA:

Nightingale, Florence. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved February 17, 2000 from http://members.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=57215&sctn=1

Title / Database name / Access date / Internet address

Citing from a Discussion List

MLA:

Charon, Rita. "Humanities and Medicine." 2 February 2000. Online posting. Literature and Medicine, New York University. 17 February 2000
<lit-med@endeavor.med.nyu.edu>

Author / Title / Date of posting / Online posting / Name of Discussion List / Access date / Internet address

APA:

Charon, Rita. Humanities and Medicine. (2000, February 2). Literature and Medicine, New York University. Online. Retrieved February 17, 2000 from lit-med@endeavor.med.nyu.edu

Author / Title / Date of posting / Name of Discussion List / Online / Access date / Internet address

Citing from a Personal Home Page

MLA:

Eliot, Norman. "Hamlet's Requests." 20 March 1997. Home page. 17 February 2000 <http://www.compulink.com/~eliot69/hamlet.cfm>

Author / Title / Date / Home page / Access date / Internet address

APA:

Eliot, Roland. (1997, March 20). Hamlet's madness from the point of view of a medical doctor. Home page. Retrieved February 17, 2000 from http://www.compulink.com/~eliot69/hamlet.cfm

Author / Date /Title / Home page / Access date / Internet address

Next to Writer's Block
Back to Sample Works Cited List (APA)