Finding Information for Citations
Websites and pages present challenges when creating citations. One benefit to correctly citing these sources is that it can also help you determine the quality of the source. The harder it is to find citation information, the more likely that it is not a reputable source.
A good place to look for information about a website and/or author is on an About or Information page. You can often learn about the credentials of authors and publishers, as well as affiliations and/or sponsors that might indicate bias and/or purpose.
- Author: Sometimes, the author's name will be displayed prominently at the beginning or end of the page you are reading. Other times, a website is all from one person. However, it can often be quite difficult to locate the author of a web page or article on a website. If it is not on the page, you will have to go looking for it, if it even exists. Sometimes you can find information about the author on an About or Information page. Sometimes the author will be an organization. If you cannot find an author, your citation will begin with the title.
- Title of article: This is the title of a page, article, post, etc. Sometimes you have to look at the tab in your browser to find a title if you can't find it on the page.
- Title of Website: This is usually the name of the web site. As an example, National Geographic would be the name of the website, while the individual entry would be the title.
- Date of Publication or Last Update: Look for a date that is indicated directly with the page or article, which may be a last updated date. Do not use a reviewed date or a website copyright date. If no date can be found, leave it out.
- Date of Access: This is the date that you got your information from the site.
- Internet Address: This is the URL from the address bar. In MLA style, leave out the http:// or https://. It is now acceptable to leave your addresses hyperlinked, as long as you do so consistently throughout your Works Cited.
