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Tonya Searles The purpose of citationmachine.net is to aid anybody who is writing a referenced work to properly cite the material they are using. The website is dedicated to preventing plagiarism. The intended audience is high schools, universities, teachers and independent researchers. The website provides easy to see choices for referencing in the major formats used in writing such as APA, MLA, and Chicago. The user would select the format choice they wish to use and fill in the boxes with the appropriate information, and the machine generates a complete reference in the proper format. The site appears easy to use and read. For a student (or author of a paper) who wishes to cite their material this website is definitely relevant, accurate, and purposeful. However, although I can clearly see the website has been updated since my last visit there is no indication of its currency. The citations generated are in line with current standards when putting in an APA reference. There is also a link to an older version of the site which also indicates currency, albeit without a date. The creator of the website is David Warlick, and while there was little information about him on the site, a google search revealed him to be an author and educator, indicating he may be an authority in referencing materials. Strengths of the website include clear step by step instructions on how to use the citation machine. There are also links that will take you to places to evaluate the originality of an essay to further avoid plagiarism. A weakness of the website is the amount of ads on the site, but it is free, and a network, so ads are expected. The design of the website is not overly ostentatious. There are simply colored blocks with text to click on, and the orange and reds are not overly bright and distracting. I prefer websites that do not have a lot going on, and that have only links that serve a related purpose. With the exception of the unavoidable ads, this website fits th