Citing Internet Sources (Elective #4)

Ashley S. Moss-Pham

 

 

I.                    The Site I Would Choose for Use with High School Students & Why

 

 

      Of the four sites I visited for this assignment, I would choose Write Source to teach high school students to cite electronic sources properly. That said, I believe that Classroom Connect deserves an honorable mention and could be used in conjunction with Write Source to very good effect. The major appeal of Write Source as a site for high school students is its beautiful design (i.e., fun graphics, and vivid jewel tones on a black background)  and the simplicity of its layout and presentation of information within individual sections (e.g., MLA format, APA format). The reason I put such stock in the visual appeal and simplicity of a website like this one is primarily psychological:  high school students find the subject of citing sources at once boring and intimidating. A bright, bold, fun-looking website with easy-to-navigate links does much to break through students’ psychological blocks to receiving such information as how to cite an electronic source properly.  For much the same reason, I like the fact that the designers of Write Source decided to keep the information about MLA and APA formats in separate sections. (One of the sites we were asked to review compared MLA, APA, and Chicago style citation all on the same page – horror of horrors for a high school student struggling to master just one kind of citation!) I also liked the comprehensiveness of this site in terms of its offering students information on evaluating sources, conducting research, finding homework help, etc. The only reservation I have about the site is the heavy-handedness of its advertising. While I have no objection to a website sponsor calling attention to the products it offers for sale, I do object to their spreading the advertisements all throughout the site which Write Source does.  As for Classroom Connect, while it is very simple in design and in terms of the scope of information it offers, I did notice that the site offered guidelines on how to cite online sounds, images, and video clips, something that the other three sites did not appear to address. Because of Classroom Connect’s inclusion of this information, I would use it as a supplement to the Write Source site if I were teaching high schools students to cite electronic sources.

 

 

 

“Electronic Sources: MLA Style.” [Online].  The Write Source.  20 January 2005

     10 June 2006. <http://www.thewritesource.com/mla.htm>

 

 

 

 

 

II.                  Sample Citations, MLA Style

 

  1. Salwen, Peter. “The Quotable Mark Twain.” Salwen Business

            Communications: Peter Salwen’s Home Page.  20 May, 1996. 9 June, 2006.

            <http://salwen.com/mtquotes.html>

 

  1.  “Afghanistan.”[Online].  The World Factbook 2006.  United States. CIA. 6 June,

                 2006. 9 June, 2006.<http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/af.html>

 

  1.  “2003 Winston Cup Series Drivers.” NASCAR.com. Turner Sports Interactive.

           Updated daily. 9 June, 2006. <http://www.nascar.com/drivers/list/wc/dps>

 

  1.  McKenzie, Jamie. “Building Good New Ideas.”  From Now On: The Educational

           Technology Journal. Vol.10/ No. 9/ June 2001. 10 June, 2006.

           <http://www.fno.org/jun01/building.html>