Learning how to cite a website can certainly be very useful for many individuals. Anytime we use someone else’s information in our work, giving them the credit they deserve is the right thing to do. Every format has its own website citation style. Heed to the following guidelines to learn how you can cite a website in Chicago and APA format.
First start off with gathering the following list of information pertaining to a website source:
• URL (uniform resource locator). It is the address at which you can easily find the website.
• Author (It is not given most of the times)
• Website Title
• Title of the post or article from where the content is quoted.
• Published date of the post or article
• Date on which you quoted the content from the source.
Next important thing is to identify the citation style which you will need to use in your assignment. Check out the guidelines of your school or college instructor to see what citation style you are asked to use in your assignment.
Web Citation – APA Style
In an American Psychological Association, in short APA style, you will need to insert your quotation in the text of your manuscript and then attach a Reference List at the end of the document. It is very important to ensure that the entry of the parenthetical reference is correctly written on the Works Cite page or not.
• Write the referenced content in the parentheses and do not end the sentence with a period, yet. Keep in mind that in APA style you first write the name of the author and then the date. So, write the last name of the author, put a comma, write the date of publication in the parentheses and put a period right after the parentheses. For example: Iguchi, (2003, February 3).
• In case if you don’t know the name of the author of the source then instead put the title of the work, use a comma, write the publication year in the parentheses and insert a period. For example: XYZ, (2003).
• If the author is known, write the name of the article with a period, write the name of the website and again put a period, write the retrieved, the date without parenthesis and then write the URL after a comma. For example:
Author, (year, month and date of publication). Name of article. Name of website. RETRIEVED date, URL
• However if the author is unknown, then cite the source in the following format:
Name of article.(year, month and date of publication). RETRIEVED date, URL
Web Citation – Chicago Style
The Chicago or Turabian citation style requires the use of footnotes. In this type of format you will need to use two entries. One entry of the source is inserted on the footnote and the other in the bibliography page.
Structure of a Chicago/Turabian website citation:
Last, First name of the author. Name of the article inside quotations. Title of the web. Month and year of publication. URL
Use the same citation for the bibliography as well.
