How to Write a Bibliography
One of the most important parts of any school paper is the bibliography. A bibliography is usually referred to as a list of the sources one uses when researching a paper. It is a standardized format for listing your sources and is usually the final section of any paper or report.
It should be noted that it is important to consider the bibliography of your paper before and during writing it. Since you will need to list sources of any materials you used in the paper it is an extremely good idea to keep track of each source (book, article, encyclopedia, web site, etc.) as you research and write your paper.
There are two separate styles for listing sources in your bibliography; they are MLA style (Modern Language Association) and APA style (American Psychological Association). It should be noted that the APA style is mostly used for writing research papers, mainly in the social sciences. While APA style is a commonly used bibliography style requested by many professors across many different disciplines, for the most part MLA style is the format of choice for bibliographies and the one that is shown below.
Assembling a Final Bibliography
Remember, you should always prepare your bibliography in advance. Make sure you keep track of each source (book, article, web site, encyclopedia, etc) that you use. The information that you should keep track of includes the author or authors, full title of the source, publisher, place in which the source was published, date of publication, volume number, page numbers and any other pertinent information that can help others locate your source quickly and easily. Obviously, most information for bibliographies can be found located on the source. For instance, the title page usually includes the author's full name, the publisher and the city it in which it was published. Other information regarding the source is usually found on the verso page. The verso page is usually the page exactly opposite the title page located on the left hand side of the book.
When you have completed your paper and are ready to assemble your bibliography keep the following things in mind. A bibliography is in alphabetical order using the author's last name. If a source does not have an author cited, such as in an encyclopedia article or a movie, then cite the source alphabetically by title. If you still are having trouble finding information to use for your bibliography, consult with a library catalog.
Sample Bibliography
Below is a list of sample sources cited in the MLA bibliography format:
Sample Bibliography for Book Citations
When creating a bibliography for a book citation, make sure you list the author with his or her last name first followed by the first name. The title of the book is always underlined and you can capitalize the first letter of each word. After the title, there should be a colon followed by the name of the publisher. Finally, add the year the book was published, ending with a period.
Book with only one author:
Kraft, James. A Windy Day. Detroit: Barry Hill, 2002.
Book with two authors:
Kindler, Beth and Weinstein, Rita. Fighting the Winds of Change. New York: Gemini Books, 2001.
A book that includes an editor:
Prince, Sonja, ed. The Musket Battle. Atlanta: Price Publications, 2006.
A book without an author:
Randall’s Middle Europe. Hoboken: Crystal Publication, 2007.
Citing Encyclopedias and Other Books of Reference:
While some encyclopedias do state the author of each article, many encyclopedias may not contain the author of a specific article. When searching for the author in an encyclopedia article, check at the bottom or end of the article. It should be noted that when citing encyclopedias, the name of the encyclopedia is placed after the name of the article. The name of the articles is always put in quotation marks.
Encyclopedia with signed articles:
Gross, James. “Tigers.” World Class Encyclopedia. Volume 11. Los Angeles: World Class Inc., 2006.
Encyclopedias with unsigned articles:
“Crash Test Dummies.” Madison's Encyclopedia. Volume 19. San Diego, Madison Encyclopedia, 2003.
Citing the World Wide Web/Internet:
Some of the things to keep in mind when citing the internet is to always list the author if he or she can be found. You should also underline the title, place the actual web site address between brackets and since web sites are regularly updated, you should include the date that you accessed the web page.
The Myth of Global Warming. Online. 5 June 2007.
<http://www.globalwarming.org/new55455.html.>
Graff, Peter. “SEO Highlights.” Online. 31 October 2003
<http://www.seoplus.com/highlights.htm>
Citing Magazines and Newspapers:
Signed magazine articles:
When citing magazine articles make sure the author‘s name appears first. The name of the article should come next. After the name of the article, list the name of the magazine and underline it and add a period at the end. Then list the date of publication followed by a semi colon and the page number(s).
Herbert, Mike. “Greats of the Game.” Sports World. February 2007: 19-23. Ames, Joe. “This Week in Tech.” Electro. June 2002. Vol. 16: 3-4.