Creating a basic citation using the Citation Wizard
You have seen how important it is to look beyond the first page when developing a citation. Citing web pages accurately requires critical thinking. Basic information is often hidden or even missing. Creating a citation for TechDictionary.com illustrates some common difficulties.
The Process
With TechDictionary.com in one window, I open the Citation Wizard in a second window and begin the process of creating a citation. I click from page to page, copying, pasting and typing, I gather as much information as I can find. Still some of the fields in the form are left blank because I was unable to find a publisher or location indicated on the TechDictionary.com site.
Results
I have selected the popular MLA citation style. When I click the "View" button at the bottom of the page, the Citation Wizard formats my data in basic MLA style. I receive the following citation:
I can now copy and paste the citation into any word processed document. Notice that the missing publisher information is highlighted by the placeholder **publisher**. I will correct this by editing a final draft of the citation. I will also note that there are more than three authors for this web site.
Remember, the Citation Wizard does not check for proper spelling, capitalization or dates that should be spelled out rather than numbered. You need to know these aspects of the style you are working with. We don't do everything for you, but we handle most of that tedious information order formatting and citation punctuation.
