Citing a website article - MLA
Cite it at easybib.com
Website: A collection of online informational pages on the world wide web
that typically covers related topics
Structure: Last, First M. Website article. Website. Publisher, Date published.
Web. Date accessed. <URL>.
*Note: URL is optional. Consult your teacher
Citation: Satalkar, Bhakti. Water Aerobics." Buzzle.com. Buzzle.com, 15 July
2010. Web. 16 July 2010.
AUTOMATICALLY CITE YOUR SOURCES FOR FREE AT WWW.EASYBIB.COM
Data accessed: Depends on the day
When did you access the source? Web sources may change and must be considered unique
Website
Website article
Bottom of article
Author
Date electronically published:
7/15/10
Article footer – Often contains website publisher information
Website publisher
Website Evaluation Guide
Criteria for Evaluating Websites
Main Criteria Descriptions/Details Possible Answers
Author Who is providing the information?
What do you know about them and their
credentials, are they an expert?
Can you find out more and contact them?
Search for author or publisher in search engine.
Has the author written several publication on the
topic?
User generated, journalist,
varies greatly, none given/no,
NA, Scholars in research
Publisher/
Affiliation
Is there a sponsor or affiliation?
Who is linking to the page?
Do they take responsibility for the content?
Credible publisher, yes but
doesn't take responsibility, NA,
questionable publisher
questionable responsibility, Yes
but not credible, yes but not
necessarily credible
Bias/
Balance/
Purpose
Is the language free of emotion?
Does the organization or author indicate there
will be bias?
Is the website to inform or spread an agenda?
Are there ads? Are they trying to make money?
Why did they write the article?
Sometimes, Sometimes -
rightist, Sometimes - leftist,
corporate sponsorship, seems
balanced, NA, generates content
to sell ad space
Citations &
Links
Copy and paste a sentence into Google to see if
the text can be found elsewhere
Are there links to related sites and organized?
Citations/Bibliography provided?
Citations, citations and links,
links, no, NA, maybe
Accuracy Is the Data verifiable and accurate? Good, unknown, varies, NA
Complete Is the source comprehensive? Good, unknown, varies, NA
Currency When was the source last updated?
Does the source even have a date?
Yes - Up to date, Yes - Varies,
no, NA, unknown
Design &
Quality
Is the overall web design easy to use?
Is it presented in a professional manner?
Does it seem like current design?
Good, NA, Bad, old site, average
Reproduced Was it reproduced? If so, from where? Type a
sentence in Google to verify
If it was reproduced, was it done so with
permission? Copyright/disclaimer included?
No, NA, Yes with permission, yes
without permission, sometimes
with permission, sometimes
without permission
Credible Based on previous criteria, decide whether the
source is credible overall
Yes, No, NA, Maybe