How to Cite This Site

Choose what to cite

A citation should let your reader find the material you actually used. Cite a chapter or section when you draw on its explanation, and cite the individual source when you use a historical document reproduced here. Cite the whole website only when discussing the site as a whole.

The examples below use a simple Public Pedagogy reference format. They are starting points, not automatic MLA, APA, or Chicago citations. If your assignment requires a particular style, follow that style and your instructor’s directions. Replace bracketed placeholders before submitting.

The website

Use this reference when discussing the website’s organization, purpose, or collection:

Public Pedagogy. https://textbook.publicpedagogy.org/. Accessed [Month Day, Year].

Use the date you visited the site. An access date records when you consulted a changing resource; it is not a publication date.

An entire textbook

Include the textbook’s displayed title, subtitle, edition when supplied, and its own URL:

United States History: A Primary-Source Approach. 1st edition. Public Pedagogy. https://textbook.publicpedagogy.org/textbooks/us-history. Accessed [Month Day, Year].

Western Civilizations. Public Pedagogy. https://textbook.publicpedagogy.org/textbooks/western-civ. Accessed [Month Day, Year].

These examples begin with the title because the current textbook records do not list authors. Do not invent an author, editor, publication year, or edition. Public Pedagogy identifies the hosting site; it does not replace a named original author credited in the material.

A chapter or section

For a particular explanation or passage, use the most specific page you read. Copy its URL from the address bar and include the displayed chapter number and title. Add the section title when citing a section page.

“[Section title].” In United States History: A Primary-Source Approach, 1st edition, ch. [number], “[Chapter title].” Public Pedagogy. [Full section URL]. Accessed [Month Day, Year].

For a chapter introduction, omit the section title and use the chapter’s URL. For Western Civilizations, substitute that textbook title and omit the edition unless one is supplied. If the page identifies a volume, include it too.

When referring to a passage in your writing, identify its chapter and section heading. Do not invent page numbers for a web page or use your browser’s printed page numbers as though they were the textbook’s pagination. If the material credits an original author or publication, preserve that attribution and identify the version you consulted here.

A historical document or other source

Open the source’s record in the Source Archive and select Copy textbook citation when the button is available. It copies the recorded source citation together with the textbook title, edition when available, chapter context, and a link to the source record.

If the source appears in several chapters, the button copies a separate citation for each placement. Keep the one for the chapter you used. If the source has no recorded textbook relationship, it copies only the original source citation; add the source-page URL and your access date to identify where you read it. Do not add a chapter relationship yourself without checking it.

Read the copied text before submitting. The button uses the source record’s available information and does not convert it to a named citation style. Preserve the original creator, title, and date where supplied, and add a passage locator when your assignment requires one. If no copy button is available, record the title, credited creator and date, source-page URL, and access date manually.

Cite the version you actually consulted. If you followed an external link and read the original publication, cite that publication. If you read an excerpt here, make clear that you used the excerpt on Public Pedagogy. Do not imply that you read an entire book or archival document when you used only an excerpt.

A Historical Thinking Guide

Use the guide’s title and its individual URL. For example:

“Building a Research Trail.” Historian’s Toolkit. Public Pedagogy. https://textbook.publicpedagogy.org/guides/building-a-research-trail. Accessed [Month Day, Year].

Before submitting

• Match the citation to the material you used: website, textbook, chapter, guide, or source.
• Open the URL to confirm that it leads to the right page.
• Replace every placeholder and use your actual access date.
• Preserve credited authorship and distinguish the source’s original date from the date you accessed it.
• Follow the assignment’s required citation style, including footnotes or in-text references where requested.