Lesson Topic 2: Source Certainty

An illustration of a computer monitor on a mobile stand. The monitor has an animated face and it shows a welcoming expression and hand gesture. After writing the thesis statement, the information for research appears from your topic. However, the sources that you find must be reliable, and reliable sources only appear in a few places. Remember that reliable means dependable and able to be trusted.

Any type of reference book from the reference section of a library is a reliable source. However, many students currently use internet sources. Be careful typing information into a search engine and using the first source that appears because only certain websites are considered reliable.

Reliable sources on the internet might be difficult to find. Students that have access to Gale and Galileo can use the various reference articles appearing on the subscription sites. However, aside from the articles on Gale and Galileo, only certain websites are consistently trustworthy. Educational and governmental websites are considered dependable because the reputation of the schools and governments are at stake, so they try to only publish trustworthy material.

Make sure to look at the very end of the link to determine the ending. The following are different types of websites that can be sources.

An illustration of a pencil fishing off a dock on a body of water. So, in researching the theme of love in Romeo and Juliet, the website below is reliable:

Example: http://pages.towson.edu

Notice how the website above ends in .edu.

Similarly, in researching the historical aspects of Romeo and Juliet as a topic, the website below is reliable:

Example: http://www.history-timelines.org.uk/

Notice that this website ends in a .org. Although the site above is not .edu or .gov, this particular .org is reliable.

Occasionally, websites that end in .net and .com are dependable, but you should check with your teacher if you are uncertain.

For your assignment at the end of this module, you will be using reliable sources to find support for your topic and formatting them in a proper MLA Works Cited.

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