Web page
Original research draft · October 2026
Working pattern
[Author/organization], [Page title] ([publication/update date]), [URL] (accessed [date] if useful).
Capture from the source
Author; page title; visible date; exact URL; archived copy
Check before you use it
Verify that the link opens the actual item and distinguish publication and retrieval dates.
Common error: A footer year is not a reliable publication date.
Completed example
Office, page, dates, instructions, and capture are fictional. The reserved .example URL is a teaching address, not an inspected live website.
Northmere Archive Office, How to Request an Index Copy (updated June 6, 2025), https://training.example/requests/index-copy (accessed Oct. 1, 2026).
Read the supplied source facts
Fictional packet TRAIN-W73 preserves the Northmere Archive Office's page titled How to Request an Index Copy. The page displays a publication date of January 12, 2025, and a section-specific update of June 6. The researcher captures it on October 1. The sitewide footer says 2026, but no page content is assigned that publication year. The exact page URL ends in /requests/index-copy; the agency home page has a different address. The assignment asks for the instructions shown in the preserved June update, not for a claim that the website will remain unchanged. The fictional page was captured on October 1, 2026.
Why this works
The organization, item title, displayed update date, exact URL, and access date identify the page and distinguish content timing from retrieval timing. Do not use the footer's year as the page's publication date. Preserve the captured page and any linked attachment actually relied on, because a live link may later return revised instructions. If the page states that a separate rule governs, inspect that rule before characterizing these instructions as a legal requirement. The source card should record visible dates and their labels rather than resolving ambiguous metadata by guessing a convenient year.
When the facts change
If the page has no publication or update date, omit an invented date and identify retrieval information when useful under the receiving convention. If the instructions appear only in a linked PDF, cite that PDF's own title, version, and locator. If a later capture differs, compare the actual content before describing the difference as a policy change rather than a layout or navigation change.
Apply the receiving court or publication’s requirements. These working forms do not establish citation permission, precedential weight, or support for a legal proposition.