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Why is the URL not enough for citation?

Why isn’t the URL enough for citation? The short answer is, because URLs can change. Websites undergo redesign all the time, and URLs often change without notice. Think of it as moving without leaving a forwarding address.

We cite our sources for two main reasons: one, to give credit to the source of your information (to avoid plagiarism); two, to make it possible for others to go back and find that source. If the only piece of information provided is a URL, and that URL is changed after you use it, this prevents others from verifying your source, resulting in plagiarism, which is a serious academic offense. In order to make the source “findable” you need to provide key pieces of information that don’t change. If you have also provided the author, title, date of publication, etc., it gives someone enough information to search for and find the source you used, even if it moves.

While you should always provide the URL for an online resource, you must include other pieces of information so that if that URL should change, that source could still be found. The format for a citation changes based on your field of study – you’ll learn MLA format in ENG 101 and 102, but other courses might ask you to use APA (social sciences), Chicago (history), AMA (medical), or others.

Avoiding Plagiarism Video

Style Manuals

MLA Handbook by The Modern Language Association of America
Call Number: LB2369 .G53 2016
ISBN: 9781603292627
Publication Date: 2016-04-01
The Modern Language Association, the authority on research and writing, takes a fresh look at documenting sources in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. Works are published today in a dizzying range of formats. A book, for example, may be read in print, online, or as an e-book--or perhaps listened to in an audio version. On the Web, modes of publication are regularly invented, combined, and modified. Previous editions of the MLA Handbook provided separate instructions for each format, and additional instructions were required for new formats. In this groundbreaking new edition of its best-selling handbook, the MLA recommends instead one universal set of guidelines, which writers can apply to any type of source. Shorter and redesigned for easy use, the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook guides writers through the principles behind evaluating sources for their research. It then shows them how to cite sources in their writing and create useful entries for the works-cited list. More than just a new edition, this is a new MLA style.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by American Psychological Association Staff
Call Number: BF76.7 .P83 2010
ISBN: 9781433805615
Publication Date: 2010-01-01
In addition to providing guidance on grammar, the mechanics of writing, and APA style, this manual offers an authoritative reference and citation system. It also covers the treatment of numbers, statistical and mathematical data, tables and figures.
Student's Guide to Writing College Papers by Kate L. Turabian; Gregory G. Colomb (Editor); Joseph M. Williams (Editor); University of Chicago Press Staff (Editor)
Call Number: LB2369 .T8 2010
ISBN: 9780226816319
Publication Date: 2010-04-15
Introduces students to the art of defining a topic, doing high-quality research with limited resources, and writing an engaging and solid college paper.