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How To Write a Bibliography (Plus Printable Guide With Examples)

Give credit where credit is due.

Writing a research paper involves a lot of work. Students need to consult a variety of sources to gather reliable information and ensure their points are well supported. Research papers include a bibliography, which can be a little tricky for students. Learn how to write a bibliography in multiple styles and find basic examples below.

Plus grab our printable Bibliography Guide for Students with examples from all three major style guides: APA (American Psychological Association), MLA (Modern Language Association), or The Chicago Manual of Style . Just fill out the form on this page to get the free guide.

IMPORTANT: Each style guide has its own very specific rules, and they often conflict with one another. Additionally, each type of reference material has many possible formats, depending on a variety of factors. The overviews shown here are meant to guide students in writing basic bibliographies, but this information is by no means complete. Students should always refer directly to the preferred style guide to ensure they’re using the most up-to-date formats and styles.

What is a bibliography?

When you’re researching a paper, you’ll likely consult a wide variety of sources. You may quote some of these directly in your work, summarize some of the points they make, or simply use them to further the knowledge you need to write your paper. Since these ideas are not your own, it’s vital to give credit to the authors who originally wrote them. This list of sources, organized alphabetically, is called a bibliography.

A bibliography should include all the materials you consulted in your research, even if you don’t quote directly from them in your paper. These resources could include (but aren’t limited to):

• Books and e-books
• Periodicals like magazines or newspapers
• Online articles or websites
• Primary source documents like letters or official records

Bibliography vs. References

These two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but they actually have different meanings. As noted above, a bibliography includes all the materials you used while researching your paper, whether or not you quote from them or refer to them directly in your writing.

A list of references only includes the materials you cite throughout your work. You might use direct quotes or summarize the information for the reader. Either way, you must ensure you give credit to the original author or document. This section can be titled “List of Works Cited” or simply “References.”

Your teacher may specify whether you should include a bibliography or a reference list. If they don’t, consider choosing a bibliography to show all the works you used in researching your paper. This can help the reader see that your points are well supported and allow them to do further reading on their own if they’re interested.

Bibliography vs. Citations

Citations refer to direct quotations from a text that are woven into your own writing. There are a variety of ways to write citations, including footnotes and endnotes. These are generally shorter than the entries in a reference list or bibliography. Learn more about writing citations here.

What does a bibliography entry include?

Depending on the reference material, bibliography entries include a variety of information intended to help a reader locate the material if they want to refer to it themselves. These entries are listed in alphabetical order and may include:

• Author/s or creator/s
• Publication date
• Volume and issue numbers
• Publisher and publication city
• Website URL

These entries don’t generally need to include specific page numbers or locations within the work (except for print magazine or journal articles). That type of information is usually only needed in a footnote or endnote citation.

What are the different bibliography styles?

In most cases, writers use one of three major style guides: APA (American Psychological Association), MLA (Modern Language Association), or The Chicago Manual of Style . There are many others as well, but these three are the most common choices for K–12 students.

Many teachers will state their preference for one style guide over another. If they don’t, you can choose your own preferred style. However, you should also use that guide for your entire paper, following their recommendations for punctuation, grammar, and more. This will ensure you are consistent throughout.

Below, you’ll learn how to write a simple bibliography using each of the three major style guides. We’ve included details for books and e-books, periodicals, and electronic sources like websites and videos. If the reference material type you need to include isn’t shown here, refer directly to the style guide you’re using.

APA Style Bibliography and Examples

Technically, APA style calls for a list of references instead of a bibliography. If your teacher requires you to use the APA style guide , you can limit your reference list to only items you cite throughout your work.

How To Write a Bibliography (References) Using APA Style

Here are some general notes on writing an APA reference list:

• Title your bibliography section “References” and center the title on the top line of the page.
• Do not center your references; they should be left-aligned. For longer items, subsequent lines should use a hanging indent of 1/2 inch.
• Include all types of resources in the same list.
• Alphabetize your list by author or creator, last name first.
• Do not spell out the author/creator’s first or middle name—only use their initials.
• If there are multiple authors/creators, use an ampersand (&) before the final author/creator.
• Place the date in parentheses.
• Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle, unless the word would otherwise be capitalized (proper names, etc.).
• Italicize the titles of books, periodicals, and videos.
• For websites, include the full site information, including the http:// or https:// at the beginning.

Books and E-Books APA Bibliography Examples

For books, APA reference list entries use this format (only include the publisher’s website for e-books):

Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Publication date). Title with only first word capitalized (unless there’s a proper name/noun) . Publisher. Publisher’s website

• Wynn, S. (2020). City of London at war 1939–45 . Pen & Sword Military. https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/City-of-London-at-War-193945-Paperback/p/17299

Periodical APA Bibliography Examples

For journal or magazine articles, use the following format. If you viewed the article online, include the URL at the end of the citation.

Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Publication date). Title of article. Magazine or Journal Title (Volume number) Issue number, page numbers. URL

• Bell, A. (2009). Landscapes of fear: Wartime London, 1939–1945. Journal of British Studies (48) 1, 153–175. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25482966

Here’s the format for newspapers. For print editions, include the page number/s. For online articles, include the full URL:

Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year, Month Date) Title of article. Newspaper title. Page number/s. URL

• Blakemore, E. (2022, November 12) Researchers track down two copies of fossil destroyed by the Nazis.  The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2022/11/12/ichthyosaur-fossil-images-discovered/

Electronic APA Bibliography Examples

For articles with a specific author on a website, use this format:

Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year, Month Date). Title . Site name. URL

• Wukovits, J. (2023, January 30). A World War II survivor recalls the London Blitz . British Heritage . https://britishheritage.com/history/world-war-ii-survivor-london-blitz

When an online article doesn’t include a specific author or date, list it like this:

Title . (Year, Month Date). Site name. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL

• Growing up in the Second World War . (n.d.). Imperial War Museums. Retrieved May 12, 2023, from https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/growing-up-in-the-second-world-war

When you need to list a YouTube video, use the name of the account that uploaded the video, and format it like this:

Name of Account. (Upload year, month day). Title [Video]. YouTube. URL

• War Stories. (2023, January 15). How did London survive the Blitz during WW2? Cities at war: London [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/uwY6JlCvbxc

For more information on writing APA bibliographies, see the APA Style Guide website.

APA Bibliography (Reference List) Example Pages

MLA Style Bibliography Examples

MLA style calls for a Works Cited section, which includes all materials quoted or referred to in your paper. You may also include a Works Consulted section, including other reference sources you reviewed but didn’t directly cite. Together, these constitute a bibliography. If your teacher requests an MLA Style Guide bibliography, ask if you should include Works Consulted as well as Works Cited.

How To Write a Bibliography (Works Cited and Works Consulted) in MLA Style

For both MLA Works Cited and Works Consulted sections, use these general guidelines:

• Start your Works Cited list on a new page. If you include a Works Consulted list, start that on its own new page after the Works Cited section.
• Center the title (Works Cited or Works Consulted) in the middle of the line at the top of the page.
• Align the start of each source to the left margin, and use a hanging indent (1/2 inch) for the following lines of each source.
• Alphabetize your sources using the first word of the citation, usually the author’s last name.
• Include the author’s full name as listed, last name first.
• Capitalize titles using the standard MLA format.
• Leave off the http:// or https:// at the beginning of a URL.

Books and E-Books MLA Bibliography Examples

For books, MLA reference list entries use the following format. Add the URL at the end for e-books.

Last Name, First Name Middle Name. Title . Publisher, Date. URL

• Wynn, Stephen. City of London at War 1939–45 . Pen & Sword Military, 2020. www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/City-of-London-at-War-193945-Paperback/p/17299

Periodical MLA Bibliography Examples

Here’s the MLA-style format for magazines, journals, and newspapers. For online articles, add the URL at the end of the listing:

For magazines and journals:

Last Name, First Name. “Title: Subtitle.” Name of Journal , volume number, issue number, Date of Publication, First Page Number–Last Page Number.

• Bell, Amy. “Landscapes of Fear: Wartime London, 1939–1945.” Journal of British Studies , vol. 48, no. 1, January 2009, pp. 153–175. www.jstor.org/stable/25482966

When citing newspapers, include the page number/s for print editions or the URL for online articles:

Last Name, First Name. “Title of article.” Newspaper title. Page number/s. Year, month day. Page number or URL

• Blakemore, Erin. “Researchers Track Down Two Copies of Fossil Destroyed by the Nazis.” The Washington Post. 2022, Nov. 12. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2022/11/12/ichthyosaur-fossil-images-discovered/

Electronic MLA Bibliography Examples

Last Name, First Name. Year. “Title.” Month Day, Year published. URL

• Wukovits, John. 2023. “A World War II Survivor Recalls the London Blitz.” January 30,   2023. https://britishheritage.com/history/world-war-ii-survivor-london-blitz

Website. n.d. “Title.” Accessed Day Month Year. URL.

• Imperial War Museum. n.d. “Growing Up in the Second World War.” Accessed May 9, 2023. www.iwm.org.uk/history/growing-up-in-the-second-world-war.

Here’s how to list YouTube and other online videos:

Creator, if available. “Title of Video.” Website. Uploaded by Username, Day Month Year. URL.

• “How did London survive the Blitz during WW2?” Cities at war: London | War stories.” YouTube . Uploaded by War Stories, 15 Jan. 2023. youtu.be/uwY6JlCvbxc.

For more information on writing MLA-style bibliographies, see the MLA Style website.

MLA Bibliography (Works Cited) Example Pages

Chicago Manual of Style Bibliography Examples

The Chicago Manual of Style (sometimes called “Turabian”) actually has two options for citing reference material: Notes and Bibliography and Author-Date. Regardless of which you use, you’ll need a complete detailed list of reference items at the end of your paper. The examples below demonstrate how to write that list.

How To Write a Bibliography Using The Chicago Manual of Style

Here are some general notes on writing a Chicago -style bibliography:

• You may title it “Bibliography” or “References.” Center this title at the top of the page and add two blank lines before the first entry.
• Left-align each entry, with a hanging half-inch indent for subsequent lines of each entry.
• Single-space each entry, with a blank line between entries.
• Include the “http://” or “https://” at the beginning of URLs.

Books and E-Books Chicago Manual of Style Bibliography Examples

For books, Chicago -style reference list entries use the following format. (For print books, leave off the information about how the book was accessed.)

Last Name, First Name Middle Name. Title . City of Publication: Publisher, Date. How e-book was accessed.

• Wynn, Stephen. City of London at War 1939–45 . Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military, 2020. Kindle edition.

Periodical Chicago Manual of Style Bibliography Examples

Here’s the style format for magazines, journals, and newspapers. For online articles, add the URL at the end of the listing.

For journal and magazine articles, use this format:

Last Name, First Name. Year of Publication. “Title: Subtitle.” Name of Journal , Volume Number, issue number, First Page Number–Last Page Number. URL.

• Bell, Amy. 2009. “Landscapes of Fear: Wartime London, 1939–1945.” Journal of British Studies, 48 no. 1, 153–175. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25482966.

When citing newspapers, include the URL for online articles:

Last Name, First Name. Year of Publication. “Title: Subtitle.” Name of Newspaper , Month day, year. URL.

• Blakemore, Erin. 2022. “Researchers Track Down Two Copies of Fossil Destroyed by the Nazis.” The Washington Post , November 12, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2022/11/12/ichthyosaur-fossil-images-discovered/.

Electronic Chicago Manual of Style Bibliography Examples

Last Name, First Name Middle Name. “Title.” Site Name . Year, Month Day. URL.

• Wukovits, John. “A World War II Survivor Recalls the London Blitz.” British Heritage. 2023, Jan. 30. britishheritage.com/history/world-war-ii-survivor-london-blitz.

“Title.” Site Name . URL. Accessed Month Day, Year.

• “Growing Up in the Second World War.” Imperial War Museums . www.iwm.org.uk/history/growing-up-in-the-second-world-war. Accessed May 9, 2023.

Creator or Username. “Title of Video.” Website video, length. Month Day, Year. URL.

• War Stories. “How Did London Survive the Blitz During WW2? | Cities at War: London | War Stories.” YouTube video, 51:25. January 15, 2023. https://youtu.be/uwY6JlCvbxc.

For more information on writing Chicago -style bibliographies, see the Chicago Manual of Style website.

Chicago Manual of Style Bibliography Example Pages

Get Your Free Printable Bibliography Style Guide

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How to Write a Bibliography for a Research Paper

Do not try to “wow” your instructor with a long bibliography when your instructor requests only a works cited page. It is tempting, after doing a lot of work to research a paper, to try to include summaries on each source as you write your paper so that your instructor appreciates how much work you did. That is a trap you want to avoid. MLA style, the one that is most commonly followed in high schools and university writing courses, dictates that you include only the works you actually cited in your paper—not all those that you used.

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• If your assignment calls for a bibliography, list all the sources you consulted in your research.
• If your assignment calls for a works cited or references page, include only the sources you quote, summarize, paraphrase, or mention in your paper.
• If your works cited page includes a source that you did not cite in your paper, delete it.
• All in-text citations that you used at the end of quotations, summaries, and paraphrases to credit others for their ideas,words, and work must be accompanied by a cited reference in the bibliography or works cited. These references must include specific information about the source so that your readers can identify precisely where the information came from.The citation entries on a works cited page typically include the author’s name, the name of the article, the name of the publication, the name of the publisher (for books), where it was published (for books), and when it was published.

The good news is that you do not have to memorize all the many ways the works cited entries should be written. Numerous helpful style guides are available to show you the information that should be included, in what order it should appear, and how to format it. The format often differs according to the style guide you are using. The Modern Language Association (MLA) follows a particular style that is a bit different from APA (American Psychological Association) style, and both are somewhat different from the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS). Always ask your teacher which style you should use.

A bibliography usually appears at the end of a paper on its own separate page. All bibliography entries—books, periodicals, Web sites, and nontext sources such radio broadcasts—are listed together in alphabetical order. Books and articles are alphabetized by the author’s last name.

Most teachers suggest that you follow a standard style for listing different types of sources. If your teacher asks you to use a different form, however, follow his or her instructions. Take pride in your bibliography. It represents some of the most important work you’ve done for your research paper—and using proper form shows that you are a serious and careful researcher.

Bibliography Entry for a Book

A bibliography entry for a book begins with the author’s name, which is written in this order: last name, comma, first name, period. After the author’s name comes the title of the book. If you are handwriting your bibliography, underline each title. If you are working on a computer, put the book title in italicized type. Be sure to capitalize the words in the title correctly, exactly as they are written in the book itself. Following the title is the city where the book was published, followed by a colon, the name of the publisher, a comma, the date published, and a period. Here is an example:

Format : Author’s last name, first name. Book Title. Place of publication: publisher, date of publication.

• A book with one author : Hartz, Paula.  Abortion: A Doctor’s Perspective, a Woman’s Dilemma . New York: Donald I. Fine, Inc., 1992.
• A book with two or more authors : Landis, Jean M. and Rita J. Simon.  Intelligence: Nature or Nurture?  New York: HarperCollins, 1998.

Bibliography Entry for a Periodical

A bibliography entry for a periodical differs slightly in form from a bibliography entry for a book. For a magazine article, start with the author’s last name first, followed by a comma, then the first name and a period. Next, write the title of the article in quotation marks, and include a period (or other closing punctuation) inside the closing quotation mark. The title of the magazine is next, underlined or in italic type, depending on whether you are handwriting or using a computer, followed by a period. The date and year, followed by a colon and the pages on which the article appeared, come last. Here is an example:

Format:  Author’s last name, first name. “Title of the Article.” Magazine. Month and year of publication: page numbers.

• Article in a monthly magazine : Crowley, J.E.,T.E. Levitan and R.P. Quinn.“Seven Deadly Half-Truths About Women.”  Psychology Today  March 1978: 94–106.
• Article in a weekly magazine : Schwartz, Felice N.“Management,Women, and the New Facts of Life.”  Newsweek  20 July 2006: 21–22.
• Signed newspaper article : Ferraro, Susan. “In-law and Order: Finding Relative Calm.”  The Daily News  30 June 1998: 73.
• Unsigned newspaper article : “Beanie Babies May Be a Rotten Nest Egg.”  Chicago Tribune  21 June 2004: 12.

Bibliography Entry for a Web Site

For sources such as Web sites include the information a reader needs to find the source or to know where and when you found it. Always begin with the last name of the author, broadcaster, person you interviewed, and so on. Here is an example of a bibliography for a Web site:

Format : Author.“Document Title.” Publication or Web site title. Date of publication. Date of access.

Example : Dodman, Dr. Nicholas. “Dog-Human Communication.”  Pet Place . 10 November 2006.  23 January 2014 < http://www.petplace.com/dogs/dog-human-communication-2/page1.aspx >

After completing the bibliography you can breathe a huge sigh of relief and pat yourself on the back. You probably plan to turn in your work in printed or handwritten form, but you also may be making an oral presentation. However you plan to present your paper, do your best to show it in its best light. You’ve put a great deal of work and thought into this assignment, so you want your paper to look and sound its best. You’ve completed your research paper!

Back to  How To Write A Research Paper .

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How to Write a Bibliography in APA Format

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Emily is a board-certified science editor who has worked with top digital publishing brands like Voices for Biodiversity, Study.com, GoodTherapy, Vox, and Verywell.

• APA Bibliography
• How to Create One
• Why You Need It

Sample Bibliography

An APA format bibliography lists all of the sources that might be used in a paper. A bibliography can be a great tool to help you keep track of information during the research and writing process. In some cases, your instructor may require you to include a bibliography as part of your assignment.

At a Glance

A well-written APA format bibliography can help you keep track of information and sources as you research and write your psychology paper. To create a bibliography, gather up all of the sources that you might use in your paper. Create an APA format reference for each source and then write a brief annotation. Your annotation should be a brief summary of what each reference is about. You can quickly refer to these annotations When writing your paper and determine which to include.

What Is an APA Format Bibliography?

An APA format bibliography is an alphabetical listing of all sources that might be used to write an academic paper, essay, article, or research paper—particularly work that is covering psychology or psychology-related topics. APA format is the official style of the American Psychological Association (APA). This format is used by many psychology professors, students, and researchers.

Even if it is not a required part of your assignment, writing a bibliography can help you keep track of your sources and make it much easier to create your final reference page in proper APA format.

Creating an APA Bibliography

A bibliography is similar in many ways to a reference section , but there are some important differences. While a reference section includes every source that was actually used in your paper, a bibliography may include sources that you considered using but may have dismissed because they were irrelevant or outdated.

Bibliographies can be a great way to keep track of information you might want to use in your paper and to organize the information that you find in different sources. The following are four steps you can follow to create your APA format bibliography.

Start on a New Page

Your working bibliography should be kept separate from the rest of your paper. Start it on a new page, with the title "Bibliography" centered at the top and in bold text. Some people use the title "References" instead, so it's best to check with your professor or instructor about which they prefer you to use.

Gather Your Sources

Compile all the sources you might possibly use in your paper. While you might not use all of these sources in your paper, having a complete list will make it easier later on when you prepare your reference section.

Gathering your sources can be particularly helpful when outlining and writing your paper.

By quickly glancing through your working bibliography, you will be able to get a better idea of which sources will be the most appropriate to support your thesis and main points.

Reference Each Source

Your references should be listed alphabetically by the author’s last name, and they should be double-spaced. The first line of each reference should be flush left, while each additional line of a single reference should be a few spaces to the right of the left margin, which is known as a hanging indent.

The format of each source is as follows for academic journals:

• Last name of first author (followed by their first initial)
• The year the source was published in parentheses
• The title of the source
• The journal that published the source (in italics)
• The volume number, if applicable (in italics)
• The issue number, if applicable
• Page numbers (in parentheses)
• The URL or "doi" in lowercase letters followed by a colon and the doi number, if applicable

The following examples are scholarly articles in academic journals, cited in APA format:

• Kulacaoglu, F., & Kose, S. (2018). Borderline personality disorder (BPD): In the midst of vulnerability, chaos, and awe.  Brain sciences ,  8 (11), 201. doi:10.3390/brainsci8110201
• Cattane, N., Rossi, R., & Lanfredi, M. (2017). Borderline personality disorder and childhood trauma: exploring the affected biological systems and mechanisms.  BMC Psychiatry,   18 (221). doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1383-2

Visit the American Psychological Association's website for more information on citing other types of sources including online media, audiovisual media, and more.

Create an Annotation for Each Source

Normally a bibliography contains only references' information, but in some cases you might decide to create an annotated bibliography. An annotation is a summary or evaluation of the source.

An annotation is a brief description of approximately 150 words describing the information in the source, your evaluation of its credibility, and how it pertains to your topic. Writing one of these for each piece of research will make your writing process faster and easier.

This step helpful in determining which sources to ultimately use in your paper. Your instructor may also require it as part of the assignment so they can assess your thought process and understanding of your topic.

Reasons to Write a Bibliography

One of the biggest reasons to create an APA format bibliography is simply to make the research and writing process easier.

If you do not have a comprehensive list of all of your references, you might find yourself scrambling to figure out where you found certain bits of information that you included in your paper.

A bibliography is also an important tool that your readers can use to access your sources.

While writing an annotated bibliography might not be required for your assignment, it can be a very useful step. The process of writing an annotation helps you learn more about your topic, develop a deeper understanding of the subject, and become better at evaluating various sources of information.

The following is an example of an APA format bibliography by the website EasyBib:

There are many online resources that demonstrate different formats of bibliographies, including the American Psychological Association website . Purdue University's Online Writing Lab also has examples of formatting an APA format bibliography.

Check out this video on their YouTube channel which provides detailed instructions on formatting an APA style bibliography in Microsoft Word.

You can check out the Purdue site for more information on writing an annotated APA bibliography as well.

What This Means For You

If you are taking a psychology class, you may be asked to create a bibliography as part of the research paper writing process. Even if your instructor does not expressly require a bibliography, creating one can be a helpful way to help structure your research and make the writing process more manageable.

For psychology majors , it can be helpful to save any bibliographies you have written throughout your studies so that you can refer back to them later when studying for exams or writing papers for other psychology courses.

American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association . 7th Edition. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2020.

Masic I. The importance of proper citation of references in biomedical articles.   Acta Inform Med . 2013;21(3):148–155. doi:10.5455/aim.2013.21.148-155

American Psychological Association. How do you format a bibliography in APA Style?

Cornell University Library. How to prepare an annotated bibliography: The annotated bibliography .

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

How to Write a Bibliography: Referencing Styles Explained

• Student Advice

Published: 13 July 2021

Author: Greg Robson

If you aren't familiar with writing bibliographies as part of your assignments, it can feel pretty confusing. Often, bibliographies are an afterthought or something left to the last minute. However, if you collect the information as you study, bibliographies can be a hassle-free part of your project. …

Continue reading (2 minutes)...

If you aren't familiar with writing bibliographies as part of your assignments, it can feel pretty confusing. Often, bibliographies are an afterthought or something left to the last minute. However, if you collect the information as you study, bibliographies can be a hassle-free part of your project.  

In this guide, we explain exactly what a bibliography is, the different referencing styles and where to find the necessary information.  

What is a bibliography? 

A bibliography is the list of sources you used to build your assignment. You should include anything you actively referenced in your work and anything you read as part of your project's research and learning phase, even if you don't explicitly cite them within your project.    

What are primary and secondary sources? 

Your course teacher may request you order your bibliography using primary and secondary sources. This is much more simple than it sounds.   

A primary source refers to works created by people directly connected with the topic you are writing about. For example, if you are discussing a  psychological study , a primary source would be a psychologist who was actively involved in the study.  

On the other hand, secondary sources refer to any authors that discuss the topic you are studying but have no direct association.   

What should you include in a bibliography? 

We recommend compiling your bibliography as you study. Whether or not you directly reference sources, if you use them as part of your studies, they should be included. By collecting this information and building your bibliography as you go, you’ll find it far less stressful and one less thing to worry about.    

Information required for referencing printed sources: 

• The name of the author.  
• The title of the publication or article.  
• The date of publication.  
• The page number in the book where the citation can be found.  
• The name of the publishing company.  
• If you’re referencing a magazine or printed encyclopedia, record the volume number.  

Information required for referencing web sources: 

• The name of the author or editor.  
• The title of the webpage.  
• The company that created the webpage.  
• The URL of the piece.  
• The last date you visited the webpage.  

Where to find this information 

The information you need to include in your bibliography will be located in different places, which can be pretty frustrating, particularly if you’ve left your referencing to the last minute. However, there are a few specific places where this information is likely to be found:  

• The contents page (for magazine or journal articles).  
• The first, second or editorial page (for newspapers).  
• The header or footer of the webpage.  
• The contact, or about, page of the website.  

What are the different bibliography styles?  

In addition to structuring your bibliography correctly, depending on whether your source is a book, magazine, newspaper or webpage, you need to find out what bibliographic style is required.  

  Different course tutors will ask for a specific referencing style. This means that you simply present your source information in a different order.   

There are four main styles that you might be asked to follow: MLA, APA, Harvard or MHRA, and the chosen style will change your reference order:    

MRL reference order 

• Full name of the author (last name first).  
• The title of the book.  
• Publication place.  
• The name of the book publisher.  
• The publication date.  

APA/Harvard reference order  

• If using Harvard referencing, title your bibliography as ‘References’.  
• Author’s last name.  
• Author's first initial.  
• The publication date (in brackets).  
• The book title.  
• The publication place.  

MHRA reference order  

• Author’s first and last name  
• The title of the book  
• The publication date  

Points three to five should all be included in the same bracket.  

How to write a bibliography 

Whatever the style needed for your bibliography, there are some simple rules to follow for success:  

• Collect citation information as you go.  
• All citations must be listed alphabetically using the author's last name (if using the MHRA style, use the author’s first name).  
• If you can’t source the author's name, alphabetise using the book or article title.   
• If there are multiple authors of an article or book, alphabetise by the first author.  
• Consistency is key. All the information must be listed in exactly the same way.  
• Each source should begin on a new line.   
• Bibliographies should be placed at the end of your assignment.

If you’re unsure about constructing your bibliography, get in touch with your  tutor , who will be able to help.  

We hope this handy guide clears up any confusion you have about referencing styles. If you’re looking to level up your learning, our experienced learning advisers are here to help. For more information,  browse our complete range of courses  or give us a call on 0121 630 3000.  

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• Harvard Style Bibliography | Format & Examples

Harvard Style Bibliography | Format & Examples

Published on 1 May 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 7 November 2022.

In Harvard style , the bibliography or reference list provides full references for the sources you used in your writing.

• A reference list consists of entries corresponding to your in-text citations .
• A bibliography sometimes also lists sources that you consulted for background research, but did not cite in your text.

The two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. If in doubt about which to include, check with your instructor or department.

The information you include in a reference varies depending on the type of source, but it usually includes the author, date, and title of the work, followed by details of where it was published. You can automatically generate accurate references using our free reference generator:

Harvard Reference Generator

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Table of contents

Formatting a harvard style bibliography, harvard reference examples, referencing sources with multiple authors, referencing sources with missing information, frequently asked questions about harvard bibliographies.

Sources are alphabetised by author last name. The heading ‘Reference list’ or ‘Bibliography’ appears at the top.

Each new source appears on a new line, and when an entry for a single source extends onto a second line, a hanging indent is used:

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Reference list or bibliography entries always start with the author’s last name and initial, the publication date and the title of the source. The other information required varies depending on the source type. Formats and examples for the most common source types are given below.

• Entire book
• Book chapter
• Translated book
• Edition of a book

Journal articles

• Print journal
• Online-only journal with DOI
• Online-only journal without DOI

• General web page
• Online article or blog
• Social media post

Newspapers and magazines

• Newspaper article
• Magazine article

When a source has up to three authors, list all of them in the order their names appear on the source. If there are four or more, give only the first name followed by ‘ et al. ’:

Sometimes a source won’t list all the information you need for your reference. Here’s what to do when you don’t know the publication date or author of a source.

Some online sources, as well as historical documents, may lack a clear publication date. In these cases, you can replace the date in the reference list entry with the words ‘no date’. With online sources, you still include an access date at the end:

When a source doesn’t list an author, you can often list a corporate source as an author instead, as with ‘Scribbr’ in the above example. When that’s not possible, begin the entry with the title instead of the author:

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Though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a difference in meaning:

• A reference list only includes sources cited in the text – every entry corresponds to an in-text citation .
• A bibliography also includes other sources which were consulted during the research but not cited.

In Harvard referencing, up to three author names are included in an in-text citation or reference list entry. When there are four or more authors, include only the first, followed by ‘ et al. ’

In Harvard style referencing , to distinguish between two sources by the same author that were published in the same year, you add a different letter after the year for each source:

• (Smith, 2019a)
• (Smith, 2019b)

Add ‘a’ to the first one you cite, ‘b’ to the second, and so on. Do the same in your bibliography or reference list .

To create a hanging indent for your bibliography or reference list :

• Highlight all the entries
• Click on the arrow in the bottom-right corner of the ‘Paragraph’ tab in the top menu.
• In the pop-up window, under ‘Special’ in the ‘Indentation’ section, use the drop-down menu to select ‘Hanging’.
• Then close the window with ‘OK’.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, November 07). Harvard Style Bibliography | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 24 June 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-bibliography/

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How to Write a Bibliography for Assignments

Team Desklib

Published: 2022-09-24

Every written assignment must include a bibliography, which is just as important as the material itself. This phrase refers to a list of all the resources you used to complete a particular assignment.

These resources primarily fall under two categories:

Written down, such as in books, articles, reports, etc.

The majority of digital sources are found on the web.

Many students  find it difficult to finish the first, second, and third pages of their bibliography. Continue reading if you want to learn how to effectively compose a  Bibliography for a project  on any subject.

Every written assignment must include a bibliography, which is just as important as the material itself. This phrase refers to a list of all the resources you used to complete a particular assignment. These resources primarily fall under two categories:

The majority of digital sources are found on the web

Things to be noted while writing a Bibliography

A work's author should be credited using their full name;

Title in its entirety (for magazines, be sure to note the volume and number);

Date, location, and publication company (often, the city will suffice);

The name of the publishing house;

The page's border.

When using web sources, the following information is necessary

If there is a clear title, 

The name of the business that designed the website;

The date that you last used this source; 

Copy the URL in its entirety.

What is the Meaning of Bibliography 

A research paper may be required for several academic assignments. The chore of writing a paper for a school project can be challenging. You must keep track of the sources you utilize, whether you are writing for a college or high school audience, and cite them at the end of your paper. Your professor or you will determine the style of a reference list or bibliography you use for your academic project.

Better use end-to-end numbering when compiling a bibliographic list. Before you hit the submit button on your work, go over the basics and double-check that no sources were consulted. All sources must be cited in this manner.

Not sure about the proper order in which to list your sources? Generally, follow the accepted procedure. 

The official literature is the first to be cited in an academic publication. Therefore, the works by foreign authors ought to be removed. You should continue immediately to the native works in the other language.

The alphabet is your best buddy if one author uses a lot of sources.

Theses and term papers have no place in a bibliography. These are instructional pieces. The specific guidelines of a journal govern the sequence of links in a bibliography for academic articles. As a result, before turning in a paper, you should thoroughly research how to create a bibliography for an assignment using, for example, the MLA style.

Last but not least, remember that the bibliographic description includes crucial details about the document. Its presentation often adheres to a set of guidelines. Typically, the goal is the same: to identify and describe the document's general features in the bibliographic record.

Despite the intricacy, adhering to following general guidelines will help you succeed while creating bibliographies for your assignments. 

Understand the Bibliography Format 

You have completed your essay. Make an alphabetical list of all the books, magazines, and websites you used right now. This list is sometimes referred to as the bibliography. Get a sample of a bibliography in the MLA, APA, or Chicago styles because a bibliography example can be more persuasive than words. Then, educate yourself on the many kinds of bibliographies that are available and that you might utilize.

It can be complicated when it comes to bibliography examples. This is due to the fact that, in terms of writing styles, the word "bibliography" can have two different meanings.

A general term for all source listings in all writing styles is "bibliography." It also serves as the heading for the end citation in Chicago/Turabian. However, MLA and APA styles use reference lists rather than bibliographies in actuality. Following are the differences between each style: 

All the sources utilized to construct a piece of literature are included in the bibliography. Even if you didn't cite something in the writing itself, everything you used to create the work falls under this category. This may comprise background materials but need not be confined to them.

Only the sources that were specifically cited in the text of the essay or paper are listed in the references. These are genuine quotations and concepts that have been applied by other authors or materials.

Step-by-step Bibliography Writing

We have put together a thorough, step-by-step guide to help you better understand how to construct a bibliography for an assignment.

Choose your sources:     There aren't many things more crucial when it comes to academic tasks than sources. As a result, college students must become adept at conducting research and locating reliable sources. Here's an illustration for you. Let's say you are political science, security studies, or international relations major. On the other hand, the best strategy would be to search Scopus or Web of Science for the most reliable sources, such as the academic journals listed below: -   Security on a global scale; -   The world's affairs; -   Journal of American Political Science

Analyse Every Source:  Beyond having some seemingly excellent sources available, your primary duty while completing a bibliography goes beyond that. The task includes evaluating each and every one of them. Let's examine some typical traits of reliable sources: -   -  Find current publications, such as those that were released no earlier than 2011; -  The texts should, of course, be authored by reputable authors; -   Whenever a website is required, look for those of governmental and educational institutions; -   If you haven't already, look into the Google Scholar database as well as other academic databases.

Here are some indications that a source is not reliable for you:

Unqualified authors (those without academic degrees or institutional ties) have published texts;   avoid commercial websites to avoid blatantly biassed promotional content;

It is best to omit any texts that lack appropriate references;

Blog posts lack sufficient authority.

Examine the author's experience and credentials.

Lastly, you must be selective while choosing sources and writers if you want to create a stellar bibliography. Before adding a resource, please respond to the following questions at least twice:

Is the author authority in the subject matter of your research questions?

Are you and a certain researcher on any similar intellectual wavelengths? What school of thinking does this scientist represent?

Not everything will always function properly. However, these straightforward responses will enable you to select the appropriate writers to mention.

How to Cite Various Sources

You must follow specific guidelines while working on a variety of sources in order to create a stellar bibliography. You can learn how to cite someone for an assignment, regardless of the subject.

The bibliography item will closely mirror the one for a book if you use the one from the journal. Normally, mention the author's name and the article's title.

Name of the journal, volume, issue (sometimes, the year of publication is included), page range.

When you use evidence from one of your sources in your assignment, you will typically need to include a citation in the text of your paper (references). When you discuss or summarise an idea or piece of information in your either in your own words or a direct quote from that source.

Avoid using a lot of in-depth direct quotes. For direct quotations, even if your in-text citations are exact, these mostly indicate. You are able to point out a pertinent quotation to the reader. 

It is necessary to confirm the significance and intent of the quote after it has been used. transparent to your reader. How does the quotation help to make your point or support it?

The information you provide in your in-text reference must be sufficient for your reader to locate the complete specifics of the source of your evidence in your "List of References" (or "Bibliography").

The extent to which the information in your in-text citation will replicate the detail provided in the ‘List of References’ depends on the referencing system. Systems that use endnotes or footnotes typically provide more information about the entire source than Harvard in-text references that are enclosed in brackets. If a "brief direct quotation is given," Harvard often simply wants the author's last name and the date of publication, with page numbers provided. 

If you keep track of each book, encyclopedia, or article you use as you read and make notes, it will be simpler for you to create your final bibliography. Start a preliminary or draft bibliography by making a list of all your sources on a separate piece of paper. For each source, make a note of the whole title, author, publication location, publisher, and publication date.

List your sources (texts, articles, interviews, etc.) in alphabetical order by the last names of the writers when creating a final bibliography. Encyclopedias and movies are examples of sources without writers that should be arranged alphabetically by title. Use the format that your teacher likes if there are multiple options for bibliographies.

Final Take : 

You must include a specific list called a  bibliography for assignments  or in your essay whenever you refer to a book, magazine, or website. Even if you are only using the source to further your understanding of the subject without really quoting it, you still need to include it. You would just need to include the author's name and the source's publication date when citing the source in the text.

Additional information is required in your bibliography, where the citation about it will appear. The citation style and source type, though, would be important factors. Check out our guide if you're not familiar with the standards and the various citation formats.

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What is a Bibliography?

What is an annotated bibliography, introduction to the annotated bibliography.

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• the authors' names
• the titles of the works
• the names and locations of the companies that published your copies of the sources
• the dates your copies were published
• the page numbers of your sources (if they are part of multi-source volumes)

Ok, so what's an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is the same as a bibliography with one important difference: in an annotated bibliography, the bibliographic information is followed by a brief description of the content, quality, and usefulness of the source. For more, see the section at the bottom of this page.

What are Footnotes?

Footnotes are notes placed at the bottom of a page. They cite references or comment on a designated part of the text above it. For example, say you want to add an interesting comment to a sentence you have written, but the comment is not directly related to the argument of your paragraph. In this case, you could add the symbol for a footnote. Then, at the bottom of the page you could reprint the symbol and insert your comment. Here is an example:

This is an illustration of a footnote. 1 The number “1” at the end of the previous sentence corresponds with the note below. See how it fits in the body of the text? 1 At the bottom of the page you can insert your comments about the sentence preceding the footnote.

When your reader comes across the footnote in the main text of your paper, he or she could look down at your comments right away, or else continue reading the paragraph and read your comments at the end. Because this makes it convenient for your reader, most citation styles require that you use either footnotes or endnotes in your paper. Some, however, allow you to make parenthetical references (author, date) in the body of your work.

Footnotes are not just for interesting comments, however. Sometimes they simply refer to relevant sources -- they let your reader know where certain material came from, or where they can look for other sources on the subject. To decide whether you should cite your sources in footnotes or in the body of your paper, you should ask your instructor or see our section on citation styles.

Where does the little footnote mark go?

Whenever possible, put the footnote at the end of a sentence, immediately following the period or whatever punctuation mark completes that sentence. Skip two spaces after the footnote before you begin the next sentence. If you must include the footnote in the middle of a sentence for the sake of clarity, or because the sentence has more than one footnote (try to avoid this!), try to put it at the end of the most relevant phrase, after a comma or other punctuation mark. Otherwise, put it right at the end of the most relevant word. If the footnote is not at the end of a sentence, skip only one space after it.

What's the difference between Footnotes and Endnotes?

The only real difference is placement -- footnotes appear at the bottom of the relevant page, while endnotes all appear at the end of your document. If you want your reader to read your notes right away, footnotes are more likely to get your reader's attention. Endnotes, on the other hand, are less intrusive and will not interrupt the flow of your paper.

If I cite sources in the Footnotes (or Endnotes), how's that different from a Bibliography?

Sometimes you may be asked to include these -- especially if you have used a parenthetical style of citation. A "works cited" page is a list of all the works from which you have borrowed material. Your reader may find this more convenient than footnotes or endnotes because he or she will not have to wade through all of the comments and other information in order to see the sources from which you drew your material. A "works consulted" page is a complement to a "works cited" page, listing all of the works you used, whether they were useful or not.

Isn't a "works consulted" page the same as a "bibliography," then?

Well, yes. The title is different because "works consulted" pages are meant to complement "works cited" pages, and bibliographies may list other relevant sources in addition to those mentioned in footnotes or endnotes. Choosing to title your bibliography "Works Consulted" or "Selected Bibliography" may help specify the relevance of the sources listed.

This information has been freely provided by plagiarism.org and can be reproduced without the need to obtain any further permission as long as the URL of the original article/information is cited. 

How Do I Cite Sources? (n.d.) Retrieved October 19, 2009, from http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_how_do_i_cite_sources.html

The Importance of an Annotated Bibliography

An Annotated Bibliography is a collection of annotated citations. These annotations contain your executive notes on a source. Use the annotated bibliography to help remind you of later of the important parts of an article or book. Putting the effort into making good notes will pay dividends when it comes to writing a paper!

Good Summary

Being an executive summary, the annotated citation should be fairly brief, usually no more than one page, double spaced.

• Focus on summarizing the source in your own words.
• Avoid direct quotations from the source, at least those longer than a few words. However, if you do quote, remember to use quotation marks. You don't want to forget later on what is your own summary and what is a direct quotation!
• If an author uses a particular term or phrase that is important to the article, use that phrase within quotation marks. Remember that whenever you quote, you must explain the meaning and context of the quoted word or text. 

Common Elements of an Annotated Citation

• Summary of an Article or Book's thesis or most important points (Usually two to four sentences)
• Summary of a source's methodological approach. That is, what is the source? How does it go about proving its point(s)? Is it mostly opinion based? If it is a scholarly source, describe the research method (study, etc.) that the author used. (Usually two to five sentences)
• Your own notes and observations on the source beyond the summary. Include your initial analysis here. For example, how will you use this source? Perhaps you would write something like, "I will use this source to support my point about . . . "
• Formatting Annotated Bibliographies This guide from Purdue OWL provides examples of an annotated citation in MLA and APA formats.

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• Online Guide to Writing

Types of Documentation

Bibliographies and Source Lists

What is a bibliography.

A bibliography is a list of books and other source material that you have used in preparing a research paper. Sometimes these lists will include works that you consulted but did not cite specifically in your assignment. Consult the style guide required for your assignment to determine the specific title of your bibliography page as well as how to cite each source type. Bibliographies are usually placed at the end of your research paper.

What is an annotated bibliography?

A special kind of bibliography, the annotated bibliography, is often used to direct your readers to other books and resources on your topic. An instructor may ask you to prepare an annotated bibliography to help you narrow down a topic for your research assignment. Such bibliographies offer a few lines of information, typically 150-300 words, summarizing the content of the resource after the bibliographic entry.   

Example of Annotated Bibliographic Entry in MLA Style

Waddell, Marie L., Robert M. Esch, and Roberta R. Walker. The Art of Styling         Sentences: 20 Patterns for Success. 3rd ed. New York: Barron’s, 1993.         A comprehensive look at 20 sentence patterns and their variations to         teach students how to write effective sentences by imitating good style.

Mailing Address: 3501 University Blvd. East, Adelphi, MD 20783 This work is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License . © 2022 UMGC. All links to external sites were verified at the time of publication. UMGC is not responsible for the validity or integrity of information located at external sites.

Table of Contents: Online Guide to Writing

Chapter 1: College Writing

How Does College Writing Differ from Workplace Writing?

What Is College Writing?

Why So Much Emphasis on Writing?

Chapter 2: The Writing Process

Doing Exploratory Research

Getting from Notes to Your Draft

Introduction

Prewriting - Techniques to Get Started - Mining Your Intuition

Prewriting: Targeting Your Audience

Prewriting: Techniques to Get Started

Prewriting: Understanding Your Assignment

Rewriting: Being Your Own Critic

Rewriting: Creating a Revision Strategy

Rewriting: Getting Feedback

Rewriting: The Final Draft

Techniques to Get Started - Outlining

Techniques to Get Started - Using Systematic Techniques

Thesis Statement and Controlling Idea

Writing: Getting from Notes to Your Draft - Freewriting

Writing: Getting from Notes to Your Draft - Summarizing Your Ideas

Writing: Outlining What You Will Write

Chapter 3: Thinking Strategies

A Word About Style, Voice, and Tone

A Word About Style, Voice, and Tone: Style Through Vocabulary and Diction

Critical Strategies and Writing

Critical Strategies and Writing: Analysis

Critical Strategies and Writing: Evaluation

Critical Strategies and Writing: Persuasion

Critical Strategies and Writing: Synthesis

Developing a Paper Using Strategies

Kinds of Assignments You Will Write

Patterns for Presenting Information

Patterns for Presenting Information: Critiques

Patterns for Presenting Information: Discussing Raw Data

Patterns for Presenting Information: General-to-Specific Pattern

Patterns for Presenting Information: Problem-Cause-Solution Pattern

Patterns for Presenting Information: Specific-to-General Pattern

Patterns for Presenting Information: Summaries and Abstracts

Supporting with Research and Examples

Writing Essay Examinations

Writing Essay Examinations: Make Your Answer Relevant and Complete

Writing Essay Examinations: Organize Thinking Before Writing

Writing Essay Examinations: Read and Understand the Question

Chapter 4: The Research Process

Planning and Writing a Research Paper

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Ask a Research Question

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Cite Sources

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Collect Evidence

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Decide Your Point of View, or Role, for Your Research

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Draw Conclusions

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Find a Topic and Get an Overview

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Manage Your Resources

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Outline

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Survey the Literature

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Work Your Sources into Your Research Writing

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Human Resources

Research Resources: What Are Research Resources?

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found?

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Electronic Resources

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Print Resources

Structuring the Research Paper: Formal Research Structure

Structuring the Research Paper: Informal Research Structure

The Nature of Research

The Research Assignment: How Should Research Sources Be Evaluated?

The Research Assignment: When Is Research Needed?

The Research Assignment: Why Perform Research?

Chapter 5: Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity

Giving Credit to Sources

Giving Credit to Sources: Copyright Laws

Giving Credit to Sources: Documentation

Giving Credit to Sources: Style Guides

Integrating Sources

Practicing Academic Integrity

Practicing Academic Integrity: Keeping Accurate Records

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Paraphrasing Your Source

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Quoting Your Source

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Summarizing Your Sources

Types of Documentation: Bibliographies and Source Lists

Types of Documentation: Citing World Wide Web Sources

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - APA Style

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - CSE/CBE Style

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - Chicago Style

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - MLA Style

Types of Documentation: Note Citations

Chapter 6: Using Library Resources

Finding Library Resources

Chapter 7: Assessing Your Writing

How Is Writing Graded?

How Is Writing Graded?: A General Assessment Tool

The Draft Stage

The Draft Stage: The First Draft

The Draft Stage: The Revision Process and the Final Draft

The Draft Stage: Using Feedback

The Research Stage

Using Assessment to Improve Your Writing

Chapter 8: Other Frequently Assigned Papers

Reviews and Reaction Papers: Article and Book Reviews

Reviews and Reaction Papers: Reaction Papers

Writing Arguments

Writing Arguments: Adapting the Argument Structure

Writing Arguments: Purposes of Argument

Writing Arguments: References to Consult for Writing Arguments

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Anticipate Active Opposition

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Determine Your Organization

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Develop Your Argument

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Introduce Your Argument

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - State Your Thesis or Proposition

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Write Your Conclusion

Writing Arguments: Types of Argument

Appendix A: Books to Help Improve Your Writing

Dictionaries

General Style Manuals

Researching on the Internet

Special Style Manuals

Writing Handbooks

Appendix B: Collaborative Writing and Peer Reviewing

Collaborative Writing: Assignments to Accompany the Group Project

Collaborative Writing: Informal Progress Report

Collaborative Writing: Issues to Resolve

Collaborative Writing: Methodology

Collaborative Writing: Peer Evaluation

Collaborative Writing: Tasks of Collaborative Writing Group Members

Collaborative Writing: Writing Plan

General Introduction

Peer Reviewing

Appendix C: Developing an Improvement Plan

Working with Your Instructor’s Comments and Grades

Appendix D: Writing Plan and Project Schedule

Devising a Writing Project Plan and Schedule

Reviewing Your Plan with Others

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• Bibliography

If you are using Chicago style footnotes or endnotes, you should include a bibliography at the end of your paper that provides complete citation information for all of the sources you cite in your paper. Bibliography entries are formatted differently from notes. For bibliography entries, you list the sources alphabetically by last name, so you will list the last name of the author or creator first in each entry. You should single-space within a bibliography entry and double-space between them. When an entry goes longer than one line, use a hanging indent of .5 inches for subsequent lines. Here’s a link to a sample bibliography that shows layout and spacing . You can find a sample of note format here .

Complete note vs. shortened note

Here’s an example of a complete note and a shortened version of a note for a book:

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), 27-35.

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated , 27-35.

Note vs. Bibliography entry

The bibliography entry that corresponds with each note is very similar to the longer version of the note, except that the author’s last and first name are reversed in the bibliography entry. To see differences between note and bibliography entries for different types of sources, check this section of the Chicago Manual of Style .

For Liquidated , the bibliography entry would look like this:

Ho, Karen, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street . Durham: Duke University Press, 2009.

Citing a source with two or three authors

If you are citing a source with two or three authors, list their names in your note in the order they appear in the original source. In the bibliography, invert only the name of the first author and use “and” before the last named author.

1. Melissa Borja and Jacob Gibson, “Internationalism with Evangelical Characteristics: The Case of Evangelical Responses to Southeast Asian Refugees,” The Review of Faith & International Affairs 17, no. 3 (2019): 80-81, https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2019.1643983 .

Shortened note:

1. Borja and Gibson, “Internationalism with Evangelical Characteristics,” 80-81.

Bibliography:

Borja, Melissa, and Jacob Gibson. “Internationalism with Evangelical Characteristics: The Case of Evangelical Responses to Southeast Asian Refugees.” The Review of Faith & International Affairs 17. no. 3 (2019): 80–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2019.1643983 .

Citing a source with more than three authors

If you are citing a source with more than three authors, include all of them in the bibliography, but only include the first one in the note, followed by et al. ( et al. is the shortened form of the Latin et alia , which means “and others”).

1. Justine M. Nagurney, et al., “Risk Factors for Disability After Emergency Department Discharge in Older Adults,” Academic Emergency Medicine 27, no. 12 (2020): 1271.

Short version of note:

1. Justine M. Nagurney, et al., “Risk Factors for Disability,” 1271.

Nagurney, Justine M., Ling Han, Linda Leo‐Summers, Heather G. Allore, Thomas M. Gill, and Ula Hwang. “Risk Factors for Disability After Emergency Department Discharge in Older Adults.” Academic Emergency Medicine 27, no. 12 (2020): 1270–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.14088 .

Citing a book consulted online

If you are citing a book you consulted online, you should include a URL, DOI, or the name of the database where you found the book.

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), 27-35, https://doi-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/10.1215/9780822391371 .

Bibliography entry:

Ho, Karen. Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street . Durham: Duke University Press, 2009. https://doi-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/10.1215/9780822391371 .

Citing an e-book consulted outside of a database

If you are citing an e-book that you accessed outside of a database, you should indicate the format. If you read the book in a format without fixed page numbers (like Kindle, for example), you should not include the page numbers that you saw as you read. Instead, include chapter or section numbers, if possible.

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), chap. 2, Kindle.

Ho, Karen. Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street . Durham: Duke University Press, 2009. Kindle.

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• Sample Bibliography

How to Write a Bibliography

Last Updated: June 12, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Diane Stubbs . Diane Stubbs is a Secondary English Teacher with over 22 years of experience teaching all high school grade levels and AP courses. She specializes in secondary education, classroom management, and educational technology. Diane earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Delaware and a Master of Education from Wesley College. There are 13 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 667,655 times.

When you write a paper or a book, it's important to include a bibliography. A bibliography tells your reader what sources you've used. It lists all the books, articles, and other references you cited in or used to inform your work. Bibliographies are typically formatted according to one of three styles: American Psychological Association (APA) for scientific papers, Modern Language Association (MLA) for humanities papers, and Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) for the social sciences. Make sure you always check with your superior - whether a professor or boss - about which style they prefer.

Sample Bibliographies

Writing an APA Bibliography

• For example, if the author's name for a source is "John Adams Smith," you would list him as "Smith, J.A.," before listing the title of his piece.

• For example, if one source has twelve authors, and the seventh author is "Smith, J.A." and the twelfth is "Timothy, S.J.," you would list the first six authors, then write "Smith, J.A. ...Timothy, S.J."

• For example, if you have a World Health Organization Report without an author as one of your sources, you would write, "World Health Organization, "Report on Development Strategies in Developing Nations," July 1996."

• For example, an article citation might look like this: Jensen, O. E. (2012). "African Elephants." Savannah Quarterly , 2(1), 88.
• If the periodical the article comes from always begins with page number 1 (these types of periodicals are called “paginated by issue” periodicals, you should include the full page range of the article.
• If the article was retrieved online, end the citation with the words "Retrieved from" followed by the web address.

• Example: Worden, B. L. (1999). Echoing Eden. New York, New York: One Two Press.
• If the title is more than one word long and doesn’t contain any proper nouns, only the first word should be capitalized. Only the first letter of any subtitle should be capitalized as well.

• For example, a cited website might look like this: Quarry, R. R. (May 23, 2010). Wild Skies. Retrieved from https://wildskies.com.
• If no author is available, just start with the title. If no date is available, write "n.d."

Writing a MLA Bibliography

• You shouldn’t use an author’s title or degrees when listing their names in your bibliography. This is true even if they are listed that way on the source.

• For example, a book citation might look like this: Butler, Olivia. Parable of the Flower. Sacramento: Seed Press, 1996.

• For example, an article published in a scholarly journal might look like this: Green, Marsha. "Life in Costa Rica." Science Magazine vol. 1, no. 4, Mar 2013: 1-2.
• If you’re citing an article in a newspaper, you only need the name of the newspaper, followed by the date it was published, and the page number. A citation for that might look like this: Smith, Jennifer. “Tiny Tim Wins Award.” New York Times, 24 Dec 2017, p. A7.

• For example, a website citation might look like this: Jong, June. "How to Write an Essay." Writing Portal. 2 Aug. 2012. University of California. 23 Feb. 2013. <https://writingportal.com>
• Some websites, particularly academic ones, will have what’s called a DOI (digital object identifier). Write “doi:” in front of this number in place of the website’s url if a DOI is available.

Writing a CMS Bibliography

• Example: Skylar Marsh. "Walking on Water." Earth Magazine 4(2001): 23.

• For example, a book entry might look like this: Walter White. Space and Time . New York: London Press, 1982

• Example: University of California. "History of University of California." Last modified April 3, 2013. https://universityofcalifornia.com.
• Unless there is a publication date for the website you’re citing, you don’t need to include an access date. If you do have an access date, it goes at the end of the citation.

Expert Q&A

• Ask your teacher or professor which style they prefer you to use in your paper. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 2
• Be sure to include each and every source you reference in your work. Thanks Helpful 7 Not Helpful 5
• When writing a bibliography or a reference page, it really comes down to looking at an example and applying it to your own information. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://libguides.reading.ac.uk/citing-references/compilingbibliography
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/03/
• ↑ Cite articles
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/08/
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/
• ↑ https://www.scribbr.com/mla/works-cited/
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_basic_format.html
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/06/
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/07/
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/02/
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/03/
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/05/

About This Article

To create an APA bibliography, title a separate page at the end of your paper "References." Then, use the authors' last names to organize your list alphabetically, for example by writing the author John Adam Smith as "Smith, J. A." If a source has more than 7 authors, list the first 7 before adding an ellipses. To cite an article, include the author's name, year of publication, article title, publication title, and page numbers. When citing a book, begin with the author's name, then the date of publication, title in Italics, location of the publisher, and publisher's name. For tips on how to write an MLA or CMS bibliography, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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• Referencing
• Bibliographies

How to create a bibliography or reference list

A list of all cited source materials, known as a bibliography or reference list , must be included at the end of your essay.

They are divided into two sections: primary sources and secondary sources . Each of these sections need to be in alphabetical order .

Each bibliographical reference needs:

• the author's last name followed by their first initial(s)
• the year of publication
• the name of the work (in italics)
• the publication details

What is the difference between a bibliography and a reference list?

Depending on the assessment task, you will either be asked to create a bibliography or a reference list. Here are the differences between the two:

• A bibliography lists all of the materials that have been consulted during your research, regardless of whether or not you've quoted from them
• A reference list  states only the sources that you've quoted in your assignment

Regardless of which you're required to create, you must follow the formatting shown below.

Correct Format for Different Source Types

These examples use the popular APA (American Psychological Association) referencing style. 

Required Elements:

Author's Surname, First Initials. (Year of Publication).  Name of book . City of Publication: Name of Publishing Company.

Academic Journal Articles

Author's Surname, First Initials. (Year, Month day OR Season - if known - of publication). Article title.  Name of Journal the Article Appeared In ,  Journal Volume Number (Issue or Part Number), page number(s) of the article.

Newspaper or Magazine Articles

Author's Surname, First Initials. (Year, Month day of publication). Article title.  Name of Newspaper/Magazine , page number(s) of the article.

Speaker's Surname, First Initials. (Year, Month Day Speech was Given). Title of Speech.  Institution, City the Speech was Given at/in.

Author's Surname, First Initials. (Year of Publication). Name of webpage.  Retrieved from URL.

Ancient Sources

Ancient Author's Name.  Name of Ancient Work.  (Name of Modern Translator that You're Using, trans.). Location of Modern Translation's Publisher: Name of Modern Translation's Publishing Company, Year of Modern Translation's Publication.

Referencing a Source Found in Another Source

On some occasions you find a source in the pages of different source. Your first task should be to try and quote the source you have found separately from the book that it is in. Do this, look in the bibliography of the book in order to gain the necessary details.

However, if you cannot find the information necessary to create a separate bibliographical entry, you will need to create a bibliographical entry that acknowledges the book that the source was found in.

To do this you will need:

• as many of the details that you can find of the source you are using. (Anything you don't know is left out).
• the full bibliographical details of the book it was found in, along with the page number in the book where the source was found. This is preceded by the phrase "As found in" and the entire bibliographical reference is placed in brackets.

For example:

Nixon, R. (1969). (As found in US Government Printing Office 1969, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Richard Nixon , Washington D.C.: US Government Printing Office, pp. 903).

Example Reference List

Reference List

Primary Sources

Appian.  The Civil Wars .  (John Carter, trans). New York: Penguin, 1996.

Department of Defence. (1959). Strategic basis of Australian defence policy . Canberra: Department of Defence.

Department of Defence. (1976). Defence White Paper . Canberra: Department of Defence.

Millar, T. (1979). The political-military relationship in Australia . Strategic and Defence Studies Centre Working Paper , 6, p. 12.

Nixon, R. (1969). (As found in US Government Printing Office 1969, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Richard Nixon , Washington D.C.: US Government Printing Office, p. 903).

Secondary Sources

Dibb, P. (2007). The self-reliant defence of Australia: The History of an Idea . (As found in   Huisken, R., & Thatcher., M. (eds). History as policy: Framing the debate on the future of Australia’s defence policy . Canberra: ANU Press and Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, p. 11-26).

Horner, D. (1997). Security objectives . (As found in Mediansky, F. (ed). Australian foreign policy: Into the new millennium . South Melbourne: Macmillan, p. 73-92).

Lawson, E. (2009). The Australian defence environment . Australian Defence Force Journal , 179, p. 70-81.

White, H. (2007). Four decades of the defence of Australia: Reflections on Australian defence policy over the past 40 years . (As found in Huisken, R & Thatcher, M. (eds). History as policy: Framing the debate on the future of Australia’s defence policy . Canberra: ANU Press and Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, p. 163-187).

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How to Write Bibliography for Assignment: Best Tips for Students

Table of Contents

What Is A Bibliography?

Why are bibliographies needed, how to write a bibliography for an assignment, example of a bibliography for an assignment, annotated bibliographies.

Bibliographies are generally not the easiest or most fun writing tasks, but they are necessary, so it’s important to get them right!  Read on, to find out ‘how to make bibliography’!

A bibliography is an alphabetized list of resources (e.g., books, journals, articles, websites, images, movies, newspapers, videos) used in the creation of an academic assignment. A bibliography will include resources you have cited within the assignment as well as resources that you used to help your general understanding of the assignment topic (background sources). A bibliography differs from a reference page for an assignment as a reference page (or reference list) only includes cited resources.

Most bibliographies appear on a separate numbered page, use double line spacing, a clear, traditional font, such as times new roman   (font size 11-12), and include the following:

• A centred heading ‘Bibliography’.
• The creators’ names
• The titles of the resources
• The publishers’ names
• The publication years/dates
• The date accessed (for online documents and websites)

Bibliographies do not necessarily list the resource information in this order and different citation styles may have different requirements as regards line spacing and whether a hanging indent* is required Furthermore, additional information such as page numbers, the location of publication, issue numbers, and volume numbers may be required.

*Text in the bibliography entry is indented (excluding the first line). 

The purpose of a bibliography is to enable a reader to locate the resources used, to find out more information on the topic if they desire, and to acknowledge the work of others. If you fail to accurately acknowledge the work of others in your bibliography or reference list , you are claiming it to be yours and you can face the consequences of plagiarism investigations. Thus, although a bibliography may be boring and seem unimportant, they are an essential part of your assignment.

There are five main styles of bibliography that also have different editions e.g., APA 5th, APA 6th, and APA 7th.  Referencing in an assignment is tricky, and you will need to ensure you have included an in-text citation (citation in the assignment) for any resources you directly copied or paraphrased information from.  Your educational instructor can tell you which type of citation style and edition you are required to use if you are unsure but provided below are the most up-to-date editions for each main citation style. The following recommendations are intended as a basic guide only:

APA 7th edition requires the creator’s name, date of publication, title, then publisher. Do not forget about the hanging indent if there is more than one line:

Hamilton, S. (2001). Indian Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction . Oxford Paperbacks.

Website entry in APA 7th:

Ruhl, C. (2021, June 29). Montessori Method of Education | Simply Psychology . www.simplypsychology.org. https://www.simplypsychology.org/montessori-method-of-education.html

MLA 9 th edition needs the creator’s name, title, publisher, then date of publication and a hanging indent:

Katz, Mark. Groove Music. The Art And Culture Of The Hip-Hip DJ . Oxford University Press, 2012.

Website entry in MLA 9 th :

Ruhl, Charlotte. “Montessori Method of Education | Simply Psychology.” www.simplypsychology.org , 29 June 2021, www.simplypsychology.org/montessori-method-of-education.html.

Harvard Citation style includes the creator’s name, date of publication, title, then publisher:

Burg, D., 2005. Encyclopedia of student and youth movements . New York: Facts on File.

Website entry in Harvard citation style:

Ruhl, C. (2021). Montessori Method of Education | Simply Psychology . [online] www.simplypsychology.org. Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/montessori-method-of-education.html [Accessed 28 Nov. 2021].

Turabian citation style lists the author, title, publisher, then date of publication and a hanging indent:

Dianne Berkell Zager, Autism Spectrum Disorders Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2005.

Your Bibliography: 

Berkell Zager, Dianne. Autism Spectrum Disorders . Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2005.

Website entry in Turabian citation style:

Ruhl, Charlotte. 2021. “Montessori Method of Education | Simply Psychology.” www.simplypsychology.org. June 29, 2021. https://www.simplypsychology.org/montessori-method-of-education.html.

Chicago citation style begins each entry with the author’s name, date of publication , then the title of the resource, followed by the publisher and a hanging indent:

Symons, Michael. 2021. “A History Of Cooks And Cooking (The Food Series)”.  Abebooks.Com.         https://www.abebooks.com/9780252071928/History-Cooks-Cooking-Food-Series -0252071921/plp.

Website entry in Chicago citation style:

You can write bibliographies manually, but you may find it easier to use an online citation generator , many of which are free.  However, these are not failproof and none are 100% accurate all the time so be sure to enter the information accurately and skim read over each entry after it has been generated.

Find the writer according to your requirements

• AssignmentBro is a team of experienced writers in any field of academic research
• We thoroughly choose writers with advanced multistep selection process
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To help you gain a better idea of what a completed bibliography may look like, here’s one of the most common types in the most recent edition (APA 7th):

If you are requested to provide an annotated bibliography , then you will need to include a descriptive summary of each resource (around 150 words) under each bibliography entry.

Bibliographies are complex but are often a requirement in academic writing. Ensure you know exactly which style and edition are used by your educational establishment, then find an online citation generator to help you. Be sure to double-check each generated entry and don’t forget the in-text citation (reference in an assignment) for each bibliography entry you have copied or paraphrased.

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Common Assignments: Annotated Bibliographies

Basics of annotated bibliographies.

An annotated bibliography is a combination of the words "annotation" and "bibliography." An annotation is a set of notes, comments, or critiques. A bibliography is list of references that helps a reader identify sources of information. An annotated bibliography is a list of references that not only identifies the sources of information but also includes information such as a summary, a critique or analysis, and an application of those sources' information.

Review our resources on the following pages for more information about each component of an annotated bibliography. As always, read the instructions and any examples in your assignment carefully; some of what follows might not be required in your particular course.

Components of an Annotated Entry

Download the following sample to see the components of an annotated bibliography. Follow the links to more information on formatting, summary, critique/analysis, application, and example in the left sidebar menu. Note that citations are not necessary in the annotations since the notes are understood to be about the listed source.

• Annotated Bibliography Sample Document A sample of an annotated bibliography illustrating its various components. Updated to APA 7 guidelines.

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Citing references

• Introduction
• Using quotes & paraphrases
• Writing citations
• Citation examples (Harvard style)

Reference list vs bibliography - what's the difference?

Compiling a reference list or bibliography.

• Different styles & systems of referencing
• Which style does your School/Department use?
• Avoiding unintentional plagiarism
• Using Turnitin to develop your referencing
• Managing your references
• Getting help

A  reference list  is a list of all the sources that you have referred to in your text. A reference list may be ordered in alphabetical order of authors' names, or numerically, depending on the referencing system you are using.

If you have been asked to include a reference list, you may also include a bibliography which lists works that you have read but not cited.

A  bibliography  lists all the sources you used when researching your assignment. You may include texts that you have not referred to directly in your work, but which have had an influence on your ideas. If you find you have a lot of works that are not referred to directly though, you may wish to look back over your work and check that all of the ideas are fully referenced.

Compiling a reference list

A reference list should be ordered alphabetically by author’s surname unless you are using a numeric referencing system. In this case, sources are assigned a number when they first appear in the text, and are listed in numerical order.

Example bibliography using the Harvard referencing style

Abu Salem, H., Gemail, K.S. and Nosair, A.M. (2021) 'A multidisciplinary approach for delineating wastewater flow paths in shallow groundwater aquifers: A case study in the southeastern part of the Nile Delta, Egypt',  Journal of Contaminant Hydrology,  236, article number 103701.

Ashbourn, J. (2014)  Biometrics in the new world: the cloud, mobile technology and pervasive identity . 2nd edn. London: Springer.

Environment Agency (2020)  The flood and coastal erosion risk management strategy action plan 2021.  Bristol: Environment Agency.

Mintel (2019)  Sports and energy drinks - UK.   Available at: http://www.academic.mintel.com (Accessed: 5th July 2022).

Nasta, S. and Stein, M.U. (ed.) (2020)  The Cambridge history of Black and Asian British writing . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Tiwari, S. and Ambinakudige, S. (2020) 'Streetscapes and stereotyping: streets named after Martin Luther King, Jr., and the geographies of racial identity',  GeoJournal,  doi:10.1007/s10708-020-10291-4.

World Health Organization (2020)  Salt reduction . Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/salt-reduction (Accessed: 24 June 2022).

Compiling a bibliography

Use a single list which integrates all the different types of source material you have used. The exception is where you have discussed a number of primary sources (such as novels, films, ancient sources, letters, historical documents etc), when you should separate your bibliography into primary and secondary sources. All lists should be ordered alphabetically by first-named author's surname or organisation if there is no named author.

Video on compiling a bibliography

Although this video focuses on compiling a bibliography most of the guidance also applies to compiling a reference list.

If you are unable to view this video on YouTube it is also available on YuJa - view the Compiling a bibliography video on YuJa (University username and password required)

• Compiling your bibliography transcript Read the transcript.
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• What Is an Annotated Bibliography? | Examples & Format

What Is an Annotated Bibliography? | Examples & Format

Published on March 9, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 23, 2022.

An annotated bibliography is a list of source references that includes a short descriptive text (an annotation) for each source. It may be assigned as part of the research process for a paper , or as an individual assignment to gather and read relevant sources on a topic.

Scribbr’s free Citation Generator allows you to easily create and manage your annotated bibliography in APA or MLA style. To generate a perfectly formatted annotated bibliography, select the source type, fill out the relevant fields, and add your annotation.

An example of an annotated source is shown below:

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Table of contents

Annotated bibliography format: apa, mla, chicago, how to write an annotated bibliography, descriptive annotation example, evaluative annotation example, reflective annotation example, finding sources for your annotated bibliography, frequently asked questions about annotated bibliographies.

Make sure your annotated bibliography is formatted according to the guidelines of the style guide you’re working with. Three common styles are covered below:

In APA Style , both the reference entry and the annotation should be double-spaced and left-aligned.

The reference entry itself should have a hanging indent . The annotation follows on the next line, and the whole annotation should be indented to match the hanging indent. The first line of any additional paragraphs should be indented an additional time.

In an MLA style annotated bibliography , the Works Cited entry and the annotation are both double-spaced and left-aligned.

The Works Cited entry has a hanging indent. The annotation itself is indented 1 inch (twice as far as the hanging indent). If there are two or more paragraphs in the annotation, the first line of each paragraph is indented an additional half-inch, but not if there is only one paragraph.

Chicago style

In a  Chicago style annotated bibliography , the bibliography entry itself should be single-spaced and feature a hanging indent.

The annotation should be indented, double-spaced, and left-aligned. The first line of any additional paragraphs should be indented an additional time.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

For each source, start by writing (or generating ) a full reference entry that gives the author, title, date, and other information. The annotated bibliography format varies based on the citation style you’re using.

The annotations themselves are usually between 50 and 200 words in length, typically formatted as a single paragraph. This can vary depending on the word count of the assignment, the relative length and importance of different sources, and the number of sources you include.

Consider the instructions you’ve been given or consult your instructor to determine what kind of annotations they’re looking for:

• Descriptive annotations : When the assignment is just about gathering and summarizing information, focus on the key arguments and methods of each source.
• Evaluative annotations : When the assignment is about evaluating the sources , you should also assess the validity and effectiveness of these arguments and methods.
• Reflective annotations : When the assignment is part of a larger research process, you need to consider the relevance and usefulness of the sources to your own research.

These specific terms won’t necessarily be used. The important thing is to understand the purpose of your assignment and pick the approach that matches it best. Interactive examples of the different styles of annotation are shown below.

A descriptive annotation summarizes the approach and arguments of a source in an objective way, without attempting to assess their validity.

In this way, it resembles an abstract , but you should never just copy text from a source’s abstract, as this would be considered plagiarism . You’ll naturally cover similar ground, but you should also consider whether the abstract omits any important points from the full text.

The interactive example shown below describes an article about the relationship between business regulations and CO 2 emissions.

Rieger, A. (2019). Doing business and increasing emissions? An exploratory analysis of the impact of business regulation on CO 2 emissions. Human Ecology Review , 25 (1), 69–86. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26964340

An evaluative annotation also describes the content of a source, but it goes on to evaluate elements like the validity of the source’s arguments and the appropriateness of its methods .

For example, the following annotation describes, and evaluates the effectiveness of, a book about the history of Western philosophy.

Kenny, A. (2010). A new history of Western philosophy: In four parts . Oxford University Press.

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A reflective annotation is similar to an evaluative one, but it focuses on the source’s usefulness or relevance to your own research.

Reflective annotations are often required when the point is to gather sources for a future research project, or to assess how they were used in a project you already completed.

The annotation below assesses the usefulness of a particular article for the author’s own research in the field of media studies.

Manovich, Lev. (2009). The practice of everyday (media) life: From mass consumption to mass cultural production? Critical Inquiry , 35 (2), 319–331. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/596645

Manovich’s article assesses the shift from a consumption-based media culture (in which media content is produced by a small number of professionals and consumed by a mass audience) to a production-based media culture (in which this mass audience is just as active in producing content as in consuming it). He is skeptical of some of the claims made about this cultural shift; specifically, he argues that the shift towards user-made content must be regarded as more reliant upon commercial media production than it is typically acknowledged to be. However, he regards web 2.0 as an exciting ongoing development for art and media production, citing its innovation and unpredictability.

The article is outdated in certain ways (it dates from 2009, before the launch of Instagram, to give just one example). Nevertheless, its critical engagement with the possibilities opened up for media production by the growth of social media is valuable in a general sense, and its conceptualization of these changes frequently applies just as well to more current social media platforms as it does to Myspace. Conceptually, I intend to draw on this article in my own analysis of the social dynamics of Twitter and Instagram.

Before you can write your annotations, you’ll need to find sources . If the annotated bibliography is part of the research process for a paper, your sources will be those you consult and cite as you prepare the paper. Otherwise, your assignment and your choice of topic will guide you in what kind of sources to look for.

Make sure that you’ve clearly defined your topic , and then consider what keywords are relevant to it, including variants of the terms. Use these keywords to search databases (e.g., Google Scholar ), using Boolean operators to refine your search.

Sources can include journal articles, books, and other source types , depending on the scope of the assignment. Read the abstracts or blurbs of the sources you find to see whether they’re relevant, and try exploring their bibliographies to discover more. If a particular source keeps showing up, it’s probably important.

Once you’ve selected an appropriate range of sources, read through them, taking notes that you can use to build up your annotations. You may even prefer to write your annotations as you go, while each source is fresh in your mind.

An annotated bibliography is an assignment where you collect sources on a specific topic and write an annotation for each source. An annotation is a short text that describes and sometimes evaluates the source.

Any credible sources on your topic can be included in an annotated bibliography . The exact sources you cover will vary depending on the assignment, but you should usually focus on collecting journal articles and scholarly books . When in doubt, utilize the CRAAP test !

Each annotation in an annotated bibliography is usually between 50 and 200 words long. Longer annotations may be divided into paragraphs .

The content of the annotation varies according to your assignment. An annotation can be descriptive, meaning it just describes the source objectively; evaluative, meaning it assesses its usefulness; or reflective, meaning it explains how the source will be used in your own research .

A source annotation in an annotated bibliography fulfills a similar purpose to an abstract : they’re both intended to summarize the approach and key points of a source.

However, an annotation may also evaluate the source , discussing the validity and effectiveness of its arguments. Even if your annotation is purely descriptive , you may have a different perspective on the source from the author and highlight different key points.

You should never just copy text from the abstract for your annotation, as doing so constitutes plagiarism .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, August 23). What Is an Annotated Bibliography? | Examples & Format. Scribbr. Retrieved June 24, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/annotated-bibliography/

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How to Write Bibliography for Assignment: Tips on Working with Your Sources

The most tedious and time-consuming part of any school or college written assignment is the bibliography. Sometimes, it can even be challenging! For example, if you’re confused by the variety of citation styles. That is why Custom-Writing experts prepared a brief guide about creating a perfect bibliography for a project. Some tips regarding the formatting are also included!

First of all, you shouldn’t be worried about how to write this dreadful part of your assignment. A bibliography is just a list of all the sources, such as books and articles, that you have used for creating your project. No matter how short your writing task is, you will most likely need to add a list of references.

📍 What Is a Bibliography?

• 👣 Writing Steps
• 📑 Referring to Different Sources

🔨 Reference Generators

🔗 references.

Every time you use a book, magazine, or a webpage for your essay , you need to mention it in a special list called a bibliography. Even if you are not quoting the source but just using it for the general understanding of the topic, you should still include it there. For citing the source in the text , you would only need to write the author’s name and the publication date. Then, the reference about it goes into your bibliography, and that’s where extra information is needed. However, it would depend on the type of source and the citation style. In case you’re not familiar with the variety of the citation styles and the requirements, have a look at our guide , which can save you some time!

Most of the time, your teacher would request to collect at least three printed sources, so try not to rely on the Internet solely.

👣 How to Write a Bibliography Step by Step

Now you know what a bibliography is. It is time to learn how to write it! We assure you: there is nothing complicated. Follow the steps below.

Select the Sources

The first thing you need to do is find the proper sources for your research assignment. When selecting the sources, you should consider the questions below.

Evaluate Each Source

The next step in writing a bibliography is a brief assessment of each source’s importance.

In case you need a bibliography as part of an assignment, you should identify the reason why and the way how you want to use the source. If you’re assigned to write an annotated bibliography as an independent project, examine the source’s contribution to the research area.

By the way, you may want to use the following questions for sources assessment.

Assess the Author’s Background and Credentials

When writing a bibliography for a project, you may need to examine the author’s credentials and experience. Here are some questions to help you.

Write a Summary for Each Source

Look through the following questions that will guide you. And don’t forget to search for the summarizing paragraphs. You may find them at the beginning or conclusion of each section. If there is none or you aren’t satisfied with its contents, you can take the role of a summary typer yourself and create your own custom summary.

Make a Proper Bibliography

Well, you’re almost there. You’ve evaluated your sources, took short notes, wrote an outline for each reference.

Use your notes and write your bibliography. How?

📑 How to Refer to Different Sources

You will have to use different writing patterns for different sources. Check these guidelines for bibliography writing:

• Book with one author: Author’s last name, first name. Title of the book. City: Publisher, Date of Publication.

Jones, Edward. The Toy. New York: Random House, 1987.

• Book with two authors: Author’s last name, first name, and second author’s full name. Title of the book. Place of publication: Publisher, date of publication.

Jones, Edward and Amelia Smith. Strangers. New York: Random House, 1987.

• Book without an author: Title of the book. City: Publisher, Date of Publication.

Old Lake. New York: Random House, 1987.

• Article in a book without an author: Name of the article. Title of the book. City: Publisher, Date of Publication.

Swans. Flora and Fauna. New York: Random House, 1987.

• Book with an editor: Editor’s last name, first name, ed. Title of the book. Place of publication: Publisher, date of publication.

Jones, Edward. 100 Recipes for You. New York: Random House, 1987.

• Short story or chapter of a book: Author’s last name, first name. “Title.” Title of the book that the source comes from. Editor (ed.) of the book’s full name. Place of publication: Publisher, date of publication. Pages of the source.

Jones, Edward. “Learning to communicate.” The Toy. Ed. Helen Stevenson. New York: Random House, 1987.

• Encyclopedia article with an author/a signed article: Author’s last name, first name. “Title”. Encyclopedia Title. Volume Number. Place of publication: Publisher, date of publication.

Jones, Edward. “The Wild Swans.” World Book Encyclopedia. Volume 13. New York: Random House, 1987.

• Encyclopedia article without an author/an unsigned article: “Title”. Encyclopedia Title. Volume number. Place of publication: Publisher, date of publication.

“The Wild Swans.” World Book Encyclopedia. Volume 13. New York: Random House, 1987.

• Journal article: Author’s last name, first name “Article Title.” Name volume number:issue number (year of publication): page numbers.

Jones, Edward, “The Wild Swans.” Flora and Fauna 15:1, (2007): 8-11.

• Magazine article: Author’s last name, first name. “Article title.” Magazine title date of publication: page numbers.

Jones, Edward. “Never been kissed” Us Sept 23, 2002: 221-2.

• Newspaper article: Author’s last name, first name. “Article title.” Newspaper title [city of publication, if not in title] date of publication, edition if necessary: section if necessary: page numbers.

Jones, Edward. “Handbags are Health Hazard.” Daily News [New York] Oct 31 2002: 26.

• Interview: Full name (last name first). Occupation. Date of interview.

Jones, Edward. Writer. February 10, 2006.

• Film: Title, Director, Distributor, Year.

Titanic, Dir. James Cameron, 20th Century Fox, 1998

• Email message: Author of message, (Date). Subject of message. Electronic conference or bulletin board (Online). Available email: LISTSERV@ email address.

Edward Jones, (May 23, 2006). New Winners. Teen Booklist (Online). Edward [email protected]

• Web page: URL (Uniform Resource Locator or WWW address). Author (or item’s name, if mentioned), date.

(Boston Globe’s www address) https://www.boston.com/. Today’s News, May 23, 2006.

Nobody wants to do routine work. So you may want to use a citation builder for your assignment. Try one of the source-generating apps or websites below!

By the way,

Have you checked our citation guidelines already?

✏️ Bibliography FAQ

A preliminary bibliography is basically the draft of all the sources you think might help your research. You create it when you are still not too familiar with the topic and scanning all the sources available. It’s not the final version of your bibliography since you might find some of the books not as useful as you thought and never use them.

A bibliography card is used to make the process of gathering and categorizing the sources easier. It’s a small piece of paper the size of a standard sticky note. You would take a new one every time you find a useful source. There you need to mention all the information for later referencing. On the back, you can write a brief summary.

Writing a bibliography for a science project is usually no different from creating one for other assignments. It’s a list of the sources the student uses for completing their task. Every source mentioned in the bibliography needs to have some specific publication information as well.

First of all, you need to make sure that your bibliography follows the citation style you are required to use. Otherwise, it will not be alphabetized correctly. Then, if you’re using the MS word program or a similar one, it’s easy to alphabetize your list by choosing the option “Sort.”

• Bibliography Definition by Cambridge English Dictionary
• American Psychological Association Style
• The Chicago Manual of Style Online
• Information on DOI (digital object identifier)
• Free DOI Lookup at Crossref
• Writing a Bibliography as a Part of Research Paper
• Evaluating Bibliographic Citations // Purdue Writing Lab
• The Annotated Bibliography – Cornell
• Bibliography – National Library of Medicine – NIH
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