---
title: "Make your references useful."
description: "Connect an idea to its source with a link that tells the reader what to expect."
canonical: https://editmd.app/learn/lessons/links/
markdown: https://editmd.app/learn/lessons/links.md
status: pre-release, waiting list open
generated: editmd-website
---

# Make your references useful.

Lesson 05 of 12 in Markdown School. Connect an idea to its source with a link that tells the reader what to expect.

## A label and a destination

A Markdown link has two parts: the text the reader sees in square brackets and the destination in parentheses. Keep them together. [CommonMark links](https://spec.commonmark.org/0.31.2/#links).

```markdown
[CommonMark syntax reference](https://commonmark.org/help/)
```

“CommonMark syntax reference” tells the reader more than “click here”. Pick a label that makes sense in the surrounding sentence and when scanned on its own.

## Put the reference beside the claim

A research note should make it easy to tell which source supports which statement. Place a reference next to the relevant passage. Keep your observations, quotations and interpretation distinguishable. Open the source and check it; plausible link text is not evidence that a source exists or supports the claim.

## Links inside a project

A relative link points from the current document to another file. Moving files can break that relationship. Keep your project structure consistent and check links where the document will be used.

```markdown
[Planting notes](notes/planting.md)
```

An image uses a related syntax with an exclamation mark. Its text should describe the image meaningfully. Unlike a link, a renderer may load an image automatically, so understand the application’s image settings. [CommonMark images](https://spec.commonmark.org/0.31.2/#images).

```markdown
![Two possible bench layouts](images/bench-layouts.png)
```

## Practise without leaving your draft

The lesson preview displays link labels without making them navigable, and displays image descriptions without fetching images. This keeps experimentation on the page. Copy your source into your document when you want to check the real destination.

## Exercise

Add a descriptive Markdown link to an HTTPS page. For this exercise, use https://commonmark.org/help/ and choose a useful label.

## Takeaway

A useful label explains the destination; a link alone does not prove a claim.

Related guide: https://editmd.app/docs/writing/. All lessons: https://editmd.app/learn.md