Imagine you are writing an ad slogan for a new type of breakfast cereal using the media technique of association. in order for the slogan to be effective, it should
a. invoke good memories of the past and provide a good explanation of the cereal’s content.
b. associate the cereal with something good and create positive feelings about the cereal.
c. build up the consumer’s self-esteem and validate that it is better than the competition.
d. review the contents of the cereal and convince consumers that the cereal is healthy.

author – information on the internet with a listed author is one indication of a credible site. the fact that the author is willing to stand behind the information presented (and in some cases, include his or her contact information) is a good indication that the information is reliable.

date – the date of any research information is important, including information found on the internet. by including a date, the website allows readers to make decisions about whether that information is recent enough for their purposes.

sources – credible websites, like books and scholarly articles, should cite the source of the information presented.

domain – some domains such as .com, .org, and .net can be purchased and used by any individual. however, the domain .edu is reserved for colleges and universities, while .gov denotes a government website. these two are usually credible sources for information (though occasionally a university will assign a .edu address to each of its students for personal use, in which case use caution when citing). be careful with the domain .org, because .org is usually used by non-profit organizations which may have an agenda of persuasion rather than education.

site design – this can be very subjective, but a well-designed site can be an indication of more reliable information. good design make information more easily accessible.

writing style – poor spelling and grammar are an indication that the site may not be credible. in an effort to make the information presented easy to understand, credible sites watch writing style closely.

the eye wink at the hand; yet let that be / which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.