Felicia M. Davis
SLM 521-Spring 05
Elective #3

Citing Internet Sources

Sample Citations in MLA style:

1.  Quotable Mark Twain

                Salwen, Peter.  The Quotable Mark Twain. 1996.  26 Feb. 2005
                         <http://salwen.com/mtquotes.html>.


2.  The World Factbook

                United States.  Central Intelligence Agency.  The World Factbook: Afghanistan.
                        10 Feb. 2005.  26 Feb. 2005 <http://cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/af.html>.


3.  Nascar
    
                "2003 Winston Cup Series Drivers."  2005.  nascar.com.  26 Feb. 2005
                        <http://nascar.com/drivers/list/wc/dps/>.


4.  From Now On

                McKenzie, Jamie.  "Building Good New Ideas."  From Now On: The Educational Technology
                         Journal.  Vol. 10.9 (June 2001).  26 Feb. 2005 <http://fno.org/jun01/building.html>.
                

Commentary:

            After reviewing the websites for citing electronic  sources, I would make recommendations to my students based on the assumption that I am an English teacher.  The APA style seems to be used primarily for scientific research papers, so I would begin by recommending the MLA style.  Of the four sites I reviewed, I preferred the Write Source site (primary choice) and the Classroom Connect site (secondary choice).
            The Write Source site is uncluttered and very easy to follow.  It begins with a brief explanation of MLA style, emphasizing that the examples are only for electronic sources.  It provides spacing guidelines for citations just in case the spacing in the samples is distorted when the page is printed out.
            Continuing on there is an explanation of the difficulties that may be encountered with web sites that are often missing information that would traditionally be included in a citation, such as page numbers and authors' names.  Write Source advises students as to how to handle those situations.  Another very helpful aspect of the site is "Elements of On-Line Entry."  Twelve elements that could be included in an electronic citation are clearly defined.  Again, there is a notation in bolded letters reminding users that any elements that do not apply to the source or are not available do not need to be included.  Personally, I found this kind of information to be helpful and reassuring. The sample citations cover what I would consider to be the most common types of Internet sources that my students would likely encounter.  For each sample a notation is provided to help clarify any possible confusion with the format.
            Finally, at the top of the page there is a "Research" button that connects students to three related pages.The "APA Style" page is identical in structure to the "MLA Style" page except that the explanations and samples are in APA style.  The "Judging Resources" page contains five questions that students can use to judge the trustworthiness of the source and links to other sites about evaluating Internet sources.  The "Research Links" page provides access to general search engines and homework-help sites that could provide students with additional information and assistance with their research papers.  I can see the potential for these three related pages being very helpful to students as they explore the Internet in search of relevant and accurate information.
            My secondary choice would be the Classroom Connect site for one main reason.  This site includes sample citations for graphics, sounds, and video clips that students may want to use in a multimedia presentation.  It also provides links directly to the main APA and MLA sites for students who desire more detailed citation explanations.

        "Electronic Sources: MLA Style." 20 Jan. 2005.  The Write Source.
                27 Feb. 2005  <http://www.thewritesource.com/mla.htm>.

        "Citing Internet Resources."  2004.  Classroom Connect.  27 Feb. 2005
                <http://www.classroom.com/community/connection/howto/citeresources.jhtml>.