by: Gwen Bloomsburg

A few weeks ago, I mentioned one of the best online tools for academic writing, the OWL, or Online Writing Lab, brought to the world by Purdue University. It was like asking you to eat your vegetables before you have dessert. Ideally, you go to OWL, consult APA guidelines there, adjust for UDLA norms, and apply these in your research paper, presentation, or essay. Or you could go to a website that does it all for you, for a small fee: EasyBib.com (http://www.easybib.com/).

According to my 13-year-old, EasyBib is the “best thing ever invented.” I remember when we used to think that about cassette tapes and the Walkman. In her case, EasyBib is the best thing because her school uses MLA style, not APA, and EasyBib in MLA is free. In the good old days on the internet (after we realized the “Web” was even cooler than the Walkman), everything was free.

Just as at OWL, EasyBib has resources for various styles, but if you sign up for a membership, all you have to do is type in relevant information and EasyBib will format the References list for you. Watch out for typos, and be sure you enter information in the correct category. EasyBib is not able to read your mind–yet. Maybe that really will be the best thing ever invented.