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10 Easy Steps to Cite a Website in an Essay

Written by Jimmy Rustling

Essay writing consists of several stages. First, you conduct research and look for information for the paper. Secondly, you write an essay outline and prepare a draft. Thirdly, you proofread and edit the paper. And finally, you list all the information sources used in the process of paper writing. Have you passed through all the stages and need to complete the final one? Most students entrust it to the expert writing service, not by chance. It isn’t as easy as ABC to write the bibliography taking into account that modern students use web resources more often than any other sources of information.

Professional writers from DoMyEssay know how to cite web sources the right way. So, if you don’t know how to cite a website in the paper, you’d better ask experts “Do my essay for free” and get a well-structured essay with the reference list without errors. Check what steps competent writers take to cite a website in papers.

What Should You Do to Cite a Web Resource in Your Reference List?

There are certain citation guidelines you need to follow when citing a website in an essay as well as in other academic papers. Take into account that there is more than one citation style. MLA is one of the most popular citation styles.

  1. First, check whether you need to cite web resources in MLA, APA, or Chicago style. If your teacher hasn’t asked you to cite web resources using some other style, then, don’t hesitate to do this by following MLA website citation guidelines.
  2. Find examples of website citations on trusted educational sites. It is very helpful to have an illustrative example in front of you.  Look at your source of information and find all the pieces of information you need. To cite the website properly, you need to search for such information as the author, the title of the article, information about the publication, including the date, and the location of the information source you have used. The location can be either an URL or a page range.
  3. Check whether there is a citation author. You can find citations with one or two authors as well as citations without an author at all.
  4. If you know the author’s first and last name, mention them. Write the last name and the first name in the mentioned order, not vice versa. In case, there is no author, you should start with the title of the page. Remember that you shouldn’t list all the names of authors if there are more than three authors of the article. Write the name of the first one only.
  5. After you have written the name of the author, give the title of the website. If the web source of information doesn’t have any author, then, the title will be your first line in the citation.
  6. Check whether there is any information about the publisher. It isn’t a must to state what a sponsoring institution is but you can include additional information about the website if there is any.
  7. The next line in your citation should be the date of the publication. There is a certain order you should follow when you give this information. First, you need to write the day, then, the month of the publication, and finally, the year.
  8. After you have listed all the above-mentioned pieces of information, you should insert an URL. Copy it and make sure that you’ve copied only the necessary part.
  9. Check the citation according to the guidelines of the citation style you’ve used.
  10. If you have doubts regarding the correctness of the website citation, don’t take risks. You have two options. The first one is to use citation generators online. They are very user-friendly. You should just choose the source of information, enter the site URL, and press the button “Cite your source”. It takes seconds. But it is software that can’t be compared with the human mind. If you want to be sure that your essay will be evaluated high, ask a professional editor to check your paper and improve it, if necessary. It is the best way to make sure that your paper is free from any kind of errors, all the information sources are cited properly, and your paper sounds excellent.

It is a good idea to use professional writing help as the citation guidelines may change from time to time. Experienced writers are aware of all the changes and know what the latest citation version is. Some of the citation elements may be optional while others are a must. So, be sure that you haven’t missed anything and provided valid information about the internet source.

Every student should learn how to cite websites the right way as the internet has become the most common source of information. Most students search for articles on the internet rather than use printed publications. It is a pity when your content is brilliant but you get a low grade because you’ve cited sources of information with errors. So, devote some time to create a well-structured reference list with citations. Follow website citation guidelines and you will avoid many problems. Remember that using any piece of information, you should mention what the author is. Otherwise, you can be guilty of plagiarism. That’s why you are recommended to take citation rules responsibly and never neglect them.

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About the author

Jimmy Rustling

Born at an early age, Jimmy Rustling has found solace and comfort knowing that his humble actions have made this multiverse a better place for every man, woman and child ever known to exist. Dr. Jimmy Rustling has won many awards for excellence in writing including fourteen Peabody awards and a handful of Pulitzer Prizes. When Jimmies are not being Rustled the kind Dr. enjoys being an amazing husband to his beautiful, soulmate; Anastasia, a Russian mail order bride of almost 2 months. Dr. Rustling also spends 12-15 hours each day teaching their adopted 8-year-old Syrian refugee daughter how to read and write.