Open your Internet browser and go to the website of the online encyclopedia you wish to cite. For example, "Britannica Online Encyclopedia" is the name of the website.
Click on the link to go to the web page of the topic or subject you wish to cite. If you do not know the link, use the search feature on the website to bring up a link to your subject. For example, "personal computer (PC)" is the topic of interest; click on the link to that web page on the website. Keep your Internet browser open.
Type the entry name (article title) in quotations and place a period at the end. Press the "Spacebar" key. In this example, it is typed like so: "Personal Computer (PC).
Type the subscription service (encyclopedia database name), and then end with a period. Use the "Underline" function in your word processor to underline the text, but exclude the period. Press the "Spacebar" key. Continuing with the example, it would be: Encyclopedia Britannica Online. (underlined).
Type the full subscription year, and then end with a period. Press the "Spacebar" key. For the example, it is: 2010.
Type the original source (publishing company), and then end with a period. Press the "Spacebar" key. Keeping with the example: Encyclopedia Britannica. (without the word "Online").
Type the date that you accessed the web page for reference. Press the "Spacebar" key. In this example it is: 7 July 2010.
Type the URL (web address) directly from the address bar in your Internet browser, and then enclose the address in left-angle and right-angle brackets, with a period at the end, like so: "<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/452928/personal-computer>" (without quotation marks).
Your final citation should look similar to the following example:
"Personal Computer (PC)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 2010. Encyclopedia Britannica. 7 July 2010. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/452928/personal-computer>.
Be sure to underline the subscription service.