How to Cite a Web Page
Thanks to the Internet, many online sources can now be used in academic tasks like term papers, theses, and dissertations. Citing a Web page can be problematic for some people, especially those who are not familiar with Internet resources or for those who need an online resource to be cited in their work. Here are some ways to cite a Web page.
Tips
While it’s sometimes useful to quote passages and sentences from a Web page, some universties and academic institutions frown on using them as primary text. Depending on the nature of the study, two to three Web sources cited would be enough; having more than half of your bibliography as cited from the Internet is lazy research. Here are some ways to help you utilize the Internet as a source for research:
Use Wikipedia as a portal. Citing a wiki is discouraged in many academic papers because it is not a reliable source of information. Instead, use Wikipedia or any other wiki as a portal for other more reliable sources of information cited in the wiki itself.
Paraphrase and précis. Instead of citing entire passages in block quotes, it’s best to reword them into phrases and sentences that retain the original idea, but are written in your own words.
Use the Internet for locating primary text. While the Internet is a great resource for free information, it is no substitute for a library. As much as possible, use Internet resources as secondary references that complement and supplement your existing bibliography.
Chicago Style
The Chicago Manual of Style (also known as the “Turabian”) was developed in the University of Chicago as a standard for term papers, theses, and dissertations. It is not used very often today, but some professors may choose to prescribe this style manual. While in-text citations are prescribed for Internet resources, you can cite an Internet resource in the Chicago style by following these steps in order:
Indent the first line by three spaces in a bibliography entry. For a footnote, the succeeding lines of the note should be indented three spaces after the first line.
State the author of the article, and follow it with a comma.
State the name of the article, enclosed in quotation marks, followed with a comma.
State the name of the website, followed by a comma.
Copy and paste the full URL of the site, and end with a period.
MLA Style
The style manual of the Modern Language Association (MLA) is the standard for the humanities and cultural studies. Citations in running text are acceptable in MLA. The URL is not needed in MLA, since the reviewer or the adviser can look it up on his or her own as long as you acknowledge that you took the resource from a Web page. You may also append the note in a bibliographical entry:
Leave the first line flush to the left, but the succeeding lines should be indented.
Cite the name of the author (last name first), and follow with a period.
State the name of the article, enclosed in quotation marks.
State the name of the site and when the article was published.
State when the article was retrieved.
APA Style
The style guide of the American Psychological Association (APA) is used by practicioners and students in the social sciences. In-text citations are acceptable in APA, but it is often recommended to state the source in the bibliography to make reading easier. To cite an Internet resource in APA, follow these steps:
Leave the first line flush to the left, but the succeeding lines should be indented.
Cite the name of the author (last name first), and follow with the year the article was written. Enclose the date with parentheses.
Cite the name of the article.
State the date when you accessed or retrieved the page.
State the name of the parent site.
State the URL of the article.
Citations are part of good scholarship. With these steps, you can easily cite Web pages and maintain scholarly integrity and intellectual honesty.