Help with Assignments

[Excerpts from Using MLA Style to Cite and Document Sources, with modifications by COMP 380 instructors.]

Providing the URL or Internet address is the key element in citing electronic sources, provided it still exists. Documents in cyberspace--whether text files, graphic files, audio, or other file types--often have no clear designation of authorship, but the URL may include a pointer to the author. Documents with no apparent author should be listed by the title of the page.

Internet citations differ slightly, depending upon where you found them. The idea is to make it as easy as possible for your reader to locate the source. Include as much helpful information as you can.

The Citation Machine--site to help with creating citations

EVALUATE all sources carefully--especially those from the Internet.

Problems finding sources for your side of the argument?
Sometimes you will argue for a side that is opposed to much of the literature you find. Remember that you may question the authority of certain sources, especially those that you find on-line. How thorough were their studies? Does there appear to be a bias? How old is the study? Have there been newer studies done? Shouldn't there be? Has anything changed since that older study?

COMP 380-003 Computers & Society Spring 2008

Consult Strunk & White's The Elements of Style, which contains classic tips for good writing.

We also recommend the Grammar Hotline (962-4060) for grammar questions and UNC's Writing Center (lower level of Phillips Annex, 962-7710), for more general writing help. Take advantage of their fine services. They offer a very useful collection of writing handouts.