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How To Write a Bibliography (3 Styles, Plus Examples)

Give credit where credit is due.

Text that says Bibliography Writing Guide with WeAreTeachers logo on dark gray background as a tool to help students understand how to write a bibliography

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.

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

APA style example of a References bibliography page

Source: Verywell Mind

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, or 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 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 | War stories [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

An APA-style Reference List bibliography example page

Source: Simply Psychology

More APA example pages:

  • Western Australia Library Services APA References Example Page
  • APA Style Journal Style References
  • Scribbr APA References Page Example

MLA Style Bibliography Examples

Diagram of MLA style bibliography entries

Source: Pressbooks

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

A bibliography example page with notes, written in MLA style

Source: The Visual Communication Guy

More MLA example pages:

  • Writing Commons Sample Works Cited Page
  • Scribbr MLA Works Cited Sample Page
  • Montana State University MLA Works Cited Page

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

A diagram of a book bibliography entry for the Chicago Manual of Style

Source: South Texas College

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 Day Month 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

A page showing an example of a bibliography using the Chicago Manual of Style

Source: Chicago Manual of Style

More Chicago example pages:

  • Scribbr Chicago Style Bibliography Example
  • Purdue Online Writing Lab CMOS Bibliography Page
  • Bibcitation Sample Chicago Bibliography

Now that you know how to write a bibliography, take a look at the Best Websites for Teaching & Learning Writing .

Plus, get all the latest teaching tips and ideas when you sign up for our free newsletters .

Learn how to write a bibliography using MLA, ALA, and Chicago Manual of Style, plus see examples for each style and more.

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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."

how to write a bibliography for an assignment

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.

how to write a bibliography for an assignment

  • 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."

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How to Write a Bibliography

Last Updated: March 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 14 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 664,297 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

how to write a bibliography for an assignment

Writing an APA Bibliography

Step 1 Create a reference list.

  • 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.

Step 3 Use ellipses if there are more than seven authors.

  • 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."

Step 4 List sources by the same author is chronological order.

  • 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."

Step 6 Indent each line after the first line of each source.

  • 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.

Step 8 Cite books.

  • 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.

Step 9 [8]...

  • 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."

Step 10 Check a reliable source for other citation rules.

Writing a MLA Bibliography

Step 1 Create a works cited page.

  • 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.

Step 6 Cite books.

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

Step 7 Cite articles.

  • 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.

Step 8 Cite websites.

  • 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.

Step 9 Use reliable sources to look for the citations rules for other types of sources.

Writing a CMS Bibliography

Step 1 Create a bibliography page.

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

Step 6 Cite books.

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

Step 7 Cite websites.

  • 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

Diane Stubbs

  • 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

how to write a bibliography for an assignment

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Write an APA Style References Page

  • ↑ https://libguides.reading.ac.uk/citing-references/compilingbibliography
  • ↑ https://morningside.libguides.com/APA7/references
  • ↑ 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

Diane Stubbs

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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A publication of the harvard college writing program.

Harvard Guide to Using Sources 

  • The Honor Code
  • 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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How to Write a Bibliography for a Research Paper

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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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  • Referencing

A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing | Citation Examples

Published on 14 February 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 15 September 2023.

Referencing is an important part of academic writing. It tells your readers what sources you’ve used and how to find them.

Harvard is the most common referencing style used in UK universities. In Harvard style, the author and year are cited in-text, and full details of the source are given in a reference list .

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Table of contents

Harvard in-text citation, creating a harvard reference list, harvard referencing examples, referencing sources with no author or date, frequently asked questions about harvard referencing.

A Harvard in-text citation appears in brackets beside any quotation or paraphrase of a source. It gives the last name of the author(s) and the year of publication, as well as a page number or range locating the passage referenced, if applicable:

Note that ‘p.’ is used for a single page, ‘pp.’ for multiple pages (e.g. ‘pp. 1–5’).

An in-text citation usually appears immediately after the quotation or paraphrase in question. It may also appear at the end of the relevant sentence, as long as it’s clear what it refers to.

When your sentence already mentions the name of the author, it should not be repeated in the citation:

Sources with multiple authors

When you cite a source with up to three authors, cite all authors’ names. For four or more authors, list only the first name, followed by ‘ et al. ’:

Sources with no page numbers

Some sources, such as websites , often don’t have page numbers. If the source is a short text, you can simply leave out the page number. With longer sources, you can use an alternate locator such as a subheading or paragraph number if you need to specify where to find the quote:

Multiple citations at the same point

When you need multiple citations to appear at the same point in your text – for example, when you refer to several sources with one phrase – you can present them in the same set of brackets, separated by semicolons. List them in order of publication date:

Multiple sources with the same author and date

If you cite multiple sources by the same author which were published in the same year, it’s important to distinguish between them in your citations. To do this, insert an ‘a’ after the year in the first one you reference, a ‘b’ in the second, and so on:

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A bibliography or reference list appears at the end of your text. It lists all your sources in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, giving complete information so that the reader can look them up if necessary.

The reference entry starts with the author’s last name followed by initial(s). Only the first word of the title is capitalised (as well as any proper nouns).

Harvard reference list example

Sources with multiple authors in the reference list

As with in-text citations, up to three authors should be listed; when there are four or more, list only the first author followed by ‘ et al. ’:

Reference list entries vary according to source type, since different information is relevant for different sources. Formats and examples for the most commonly used 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 with no DOI
  • General web page
  • Online article or blog
  • Social media post

Sometimes you won’t have all the information you need for a reference. This section covers what to do when a source lacks a publication date or named author.

No publication date

When a source doesn’t have a clear publication date – for example, a constantly updated reference source like Wikipedia or an obscure historical document which can’t be accurately dated – you can replace it with the words ‘no date’:

Note that when you do this with an online source, you should still include an access date, as in the example.

When a source lacks a clearly identified author, there’s often an appropriate corporate source – the organisation responsible for the source – whom you can credit as author instead, as in the Google and Wikipedia examples above.

When that’s not the case, you can just replace it with the title of the source in both the in-text citation and the reference list:

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Harvard referencing uses an author–date system. Sources are cited by the author’s last name and the publication year in brackets. Each Harvard in-text citation corresponds to an entry in the alphabetised reference list at the end of the paper.

Vancouver referencing uses a numerical system. Sources are cited by a number in parentheses or superscript. Each number corresponds to a full reference at the end of the paper.

A Harvard in-text citation should appear in brackets every time you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source.

The citation can appear immediately after the quotation or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence. If you’re quoting, place the citation outside of the quotation marks but before any other punctuation like a comma or full stop.

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. ’

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.

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. (2023, September 15). A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing | Citation Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 31 May 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-style/

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how to write a bibliography for an assignment

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.   

writing a bibliography

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.  

writing a bibliography

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.  

writing a bibliography

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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How to Write a Bibliography for Assignments

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Team Desklib

Published: 2022-09-24

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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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how to write a bibliography for an assignment

What Is A Bibliography?

how to write a bibliography for an assignment

Bibliography Definition: Overview

A bibliography is a list of sources used in researching and writing a work, such as a book, article, or academic paper. It includes detailed information about each source, like the author's name, title, and publication date. Bibliographies serve to credit authors, avoid plagiarism, provide references for readers, and demonstrate the research scope. They can be annotated, which includes summaries or evaluations, or simply list the sources. Proper formatting depends on the required citation style, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago.

Simply put, a bibliography lists all the sources you’ve used while working on a paper. It’s a window where your readers can check and verify the validity of your claims, and to know the origins of your research. Academic papers aren’t the only works that have bibliographies. Websites, interviews, and articles can also have them. 

The definition of bibliography encompasses many of these resource lists. Adding an extensive and authentic bibliography to your work credits the original authors and enhances credibility and trustworthiness.

Purpose of A Bibliography

The purpose of a bibliography is to help you keep track of your research, assist readers in finding more information on the topic, prove that your information comes from trustworthy sources, and give credit to the original sources and authors.

A bibliography has many purposes. That’s why your academic paper must have one. It serves to help in many different things:

  • Improves your work’s credibility : It backs up your information and makes it credible and trustworthy.
  • Counters plagiarism : It helps give credit to your sources and their authors which helps uphold integrity and counters plagiarism.
  • Serves as guidance : By demonstrating your sources, your bibliography helps your readers the ability to explore your topic further and gain a deeper understanding of it.

Struggling with your Annotated Bibliography?

Our experts are here to help! Get professional assistance in creating an annotated bibliography for any academic assignment and save your precious time.

Types of Bibliographies

Now we’ve gone over the basics of what’s a bibliography, let’s explore the different types. There are several types of them, each having a different purpose:

  • Descriptive bibliographies : These provide very detailed information about the sources. They provide information on physical attributes, printing history, format, and edition.
  • Enumerative bibliographies : These are not as detailed. They are organized either chronologically, alphabetically, or chronologically.
  • Analytical bibliographies : These types examine the sources’ history, context, and production. They offer a deeper analytical view of the sources.

Annotated Bibliographies

A hard entry is the annotated bibliography. Here’s a more extensive guide on how to write an annotated bibliography for your convenience. These go beyond just listing sources. You typically include summaries and evaluations of your source entries with this type.

By doing so, you help your readers grasp the importance of each source and how it contributes to your work. When you properly create an annotated bibliography, you showcase your critical thinking capabilities. This, in turn, can enhance your paper’s overall credibility, and it also helps your readers in their further research.

We’ve explored the many aspects of what is a bibliography and answered the main questions. So, in the spirit of better understanding, let’s also learn about footnotes. 

Footnotes give additional information or citations at the bottom of a page. Footnotes are used to give credit or to highlight your sources without disrupting the flow of your main work. They can also be used to provide additional details that support your writing.

Footnotes can provide context and explanations and can highlight references. This, in turn, guides your readers and helps them fully understand your message. 

Common Mistakes When Creating Your Bibliography

There are many avoidable pitfalls you can counter just by reading our guides, but if you’re tired and need an extra hand, you can always send in a request for help with your bibliography or even a request to ‘ Write my book report .’ We’ll be on that task ASAP. If you’re feeling fit to learn more, here are some crucial pointers to remember:

  • Incomplete citations : Be sure to finish your citations by providing all the necessary information like author, title, publication date, and publisher. 
  • Bad formatting : Be consistent and stick to one citation style for your bibliography.
  • Missing sources : Make sure all the sources you reference in your work are in your bibliography.
  • Wrong order : Make sure you’ve organized your entries accordingly.

Formatting and Style

We’ve tackled all the definitions and the bibliography meaning. Now, let’s take a look at the crucial elements of formatting and style. Here’s what to remember:

  • APA (American Psychological Association) : This style is commonly used in the social sciences. It highlights the author and publication year in in-text citations.
  • MLA (Modern Language Association) : Very widely used in literature and language studies. It highlights the author and page number for in-text citations.
  • Chicago/Turabian : This style is used in many different disciplines since it’s considered versatile. This style has two systems. One is the notes and bibliography style, used widely in the humanities. The other one is the author-date system, which is used in the sciences. Turabian is a simplified version of Chicago and is used by students.
  • Harvard : This one uses author-date in-text citations and uses a reference list. It’s used in many different fields and is quite popular in Australia and the UK.

Key Takeaways

“What is a bibliography?” Now we know. Let’s remember some of the key points we’ve encountered in this guide for future reference:

  • Different types : descriptive, enumerative, analytical.
  • Avoiding common pitfalls : complete citations, be consistent, organize and include all sources.
  • Choose one style : Choose MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian or Harvard and stick to one style for your whole bibliography.

We hope you’ll retain all the information we’ve given you. You can always come back to our article if you need more time to memorize. We wish you luck in all your academic ventures.

Did you like our Bibliography Guide?

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What is a bibliography page?

It’s a section at the end of your paper or your book. Here, you list all the sources that you used. You include details about the books, articles, websites, and every other material you used when researching.

What is bibliographic information?

This refers to the details about a source in your bibliography. This refers to the author’s name, the work’s title, the publication date, the publisher, and so on. This information helps your readers verify and find your sources.

What is a bibliography in an essay?

It’s the list of your sources that can be found at the end of your essay. It gives credit to your sources and backs up your claims.

What is the purpose of a bibliography?

Its purpose is to provide you and your readers with a clear, authentic, and organized list of sources. Sources you’ve used to back up your research and writing. It improves your work’s credibility, trustworthiness, and professionalism.

A good annotated bibliography is essentially a brief description of works cited. An important difference between your own ideas and scientific writing is how credible the sources are. The works cited in your annotated bibliography offer a brief description of your research process.

What is an annotated bibliography?

It’s like a standard bibliography but has an additional summary and evaluation of each source. It can be difficult to make, that's why an annotated bibliography writing service can be helpful when you’re having trouble. 

A high-quality bibliography writing service knows every detail of the citation process - from the author date style and page numbers to multi source volumes and style guides. Give it a try and feel the difference!

What is a bibliographic reference?

This simply refers to a source you’ve used in your research. They serve to acknowledge the authors and works you’ve sourced to avoid plagiarism, give credit, and guide your readers. 

When working on an annotated bibliography, the works cited from doing your own research, have to be on the references page. A good annotated bibliography entry has a references list in a style guide proposed by the university in APA format, MLA works cited format or any format for bibliographic information.

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Annotated Bibliographies

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Definitions

A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, Web sites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for researching a topic. Bibliographies are sometimes called "References" or "Works Cited" depending on the style format you are using. A bibliography usually just includes the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.).

An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the following.

For more help, see our handout on paraphrasing sources.

For more help, see our handouts on evaluating resources .

  • Reflect : Once you've summarized and assessed a source, you need to ask how it fits into your research. Was this source helpful to you? How does it help you shape your argument? How can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you think about your topic?

Your annotated bibliography may include some of these, all of these, or even others. If you're doing this for a class, you should get specific guidelines from your instructor.

Why should I write an annotated bibliography?

To learn about your topic : Writing an annotated bibliography is excellent preparation for a research project. Just collecting sources for a bibliography is useful, but when you have to write annotations for each source, you're forced to read each source more carefully. You begin to read more critically instead of just collecting information. At the professional level, annotated bibliographies allow you to see what has been done in the literature and where your own research or scholarship can fit. To help you formulate a thesis: Every good research paper is an argument. The purpose of research is to state and support a thesis. So, a very important part of research is developing a thesis that is debatable, interesting, and current. Writing an annotated bibliography can help you gain a good perspective on what is being said about your topic. By reading and responding to a variety of sources on a topic, you'll start to see what the issues are, what people are arguing about, and you'll then be able to develop your own point of view.

To help other researchers : Extensive and scholarly annotated bibliographies are sometimes published. They provide a comprehensive overview of everything important that has been and is being said about that topic. You may not ever get your annotated bibliography published, but as a researcher, you might want to look for one that has been published about your topic.

The format of an annotated bibliography can vary, so if you're doing one for a class, it's important to ask for specific guidelines.

The bibliographic information : Generally, though, the bibliographic information of the source (the title, author, publisher, date, etc.) is written in either MLA or APA format. For more help with formatting, see our MLA handout . For APA, go here: APA handout .

The annotations: The annotations for each source are written in paragraph form. The lengths of the annotations can vary significantly from a couple of sentences to a couple of pages. The length will depend on the purpose. If you're just writing summaries of your sources, the annotations may not be very long. However, if you are writing an extensive analysis of each source, you'll need more space.

You can focus your annotations for your own needs. A few sentences of general summary followed by several sentences of how you can fit the work into your larger paper or project can serve you well when you go to draft.

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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Table of Contents

Ai, ethics & human agency, collaboration, information literacy, writing process, reflecting on the architecture of deep fakes: safeguarding truth in ai’s wake.

This exercise aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills to critically analyze and ethically engage with digital content, fostering a deeper understanding of the impact of AI on information integrity. This assignment structure emphasizes the urgency and importance of understanding and combating misinformation, fostering both creative and critical thinking skills while promoting ethical digital citizenship.

Students will

  • explore the intersection of AI tools and misinformation by researching popular hoaxes
  • analyze ways bad actors can leverage AI tools to spread misinformation to disrupt institutions, society, and communications
  • create a deep fake using AI tools
  • reflect on learnings

Introduction

In 2024, misinformation and fake news have become pervasive, often spreading faster than the truth. With the advent of advanced AI technologies, creating believable fake content—such as deepfakes—has become easier and more accessible. Deepfakes, which use AI to create hyper-realistic but entirely fake audio, video, and images, pose a significant threat to societal trust and stability. They have been used to spread false information, manipulate public opinion, and even incite unrest.

Understanding the mechanisms behind misinformation and the ethical implications of using AI tools to create it is crucial for developing media literacy and responsible digital citizenship.

Part 1: Research

  • Review Politifact for recent misinformation cases.
  • Explore the List of Hoaxes on Wikipedia .
  • Investigate the List of Hoaxes on Wikipedia Less Than One Year .
  • Wikipedia’s List of Fake News Sites
  • Empire News
  • The Daily Currant

Part 2 – Annotated Bibliography

  • Use Google Scholar or USF’s Databases to develop an annotated bibliography of at least three sources that focus on techniques for identifying and debunking misinformation. Example sources may include fact-checking websites, scholarly articles on media literacy, and guides on identifying fake news.
  • Next, use a GAI tool to generate a second annotated bibliography. (Recommended: Perplexity .)  Check all sources provided by the AI tool. Also, be sure to read those sources to ensure they weren’t misrepresented by AI. (TBH, even humans often misrepresent sources.)
  • Compare the three annotated bibliographies you created to the ones created by the GAI tool. Select the three best annotations. Revise/edit as necessary.
  • At the bottom of the annotated bibliography, write a 200-word reflection that compares your annotated bibliography to the annotations written by the GAI tools. Did the GAI tool do well? Did it make up sources? Did it accurately reflect what the article was about? Did you learn something about writing annotated bibliographies from doing this exercise.

Part 3 – Create a Deep Fake or Work of Satire on a Hoax/Conspiracy 

  • Do not use any form of hate speech.
  • Choice of genre and medium is open. For instance, 
  • Purpose: What is the intent of your hoax or satire?
  • Audience: Who is the intended audience, and how will they react?
  • Medium: What format will you use (e.g.,)?
  • Note: You cannot use many GAI tools to create a hoax because it’s against user agreements. Adobe Express works because it allows you to manually adjust the images

Part 4 – Reflection and Analysis

  • How did the AI tools at Adobe Express or Adobe Firefly help you generate misinformation?
  • What did you learn about how AI tools can be used to exploit/spread misinformation?
  • How can such narratives undermine human communication and spread discontent?
  • Design Messages for Maximum Impact . 
  • Employ a Professional Writing Style . 
  • Use APA 7 when you annotate sources.

Deliverables

  • Upload to Canvas a .pdf version of your annotated bibliography and 200-word summary reflecting on your process.  If you used a GAI tool to author your reflection, keep the chat log archived in case I need to review it. 
  • Upload a link to your deep fake/work or work of satire to Canvas
  • Upload to Canvas .pdf version of your reflection and analysis.  If you used a GAI tool to author your reflection, keep the chat log archived in case I need to review it. 

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COMMENTS

  1. How To Write a Bibliography, Plus Examples

    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.

  2. How to Write an APA Bibliography

    Follow these steps to write the perfect APA bibliography. Step One: Gather your sources together in a preliminary bibliography. Step Two: Format each citation entry by following these rules: List authors by last name, first name initial, and middle name initial (e.g., Doe, J. J.). Do not spell out first or middle name (s).

  3. Harvard Style Bibliography

    Formatting a Harvard style bibliography. 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: Harvard bibliography example.

  4. How to Write an APA Format Bibliography

    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.

  5. 4 Ways to Write a Bibliography

    6. Cite books. Include the author's last name and first name, separated by a comma and ending with a period. Then the book title comes in italics with a period at the end of the title. The place of publication and the name of the publishing company are separated by a colon, and then a comma and the publication date.

  6. How to Write a Bibliography in APA and MLA styles With Examples

    When it is time to turn in your Bibliography, type all of your sources into a list. Use the examples in MLA Format Examples or APA Format Examples as a template to insure that each source is formatted correctly. List the sources in alphabetical order using the author's last name.

  7. Bibliography

    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.

  8. How to Write a Bibliography for a Research Paper

    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.

  9. Bibliography Examples for Students

    Bibliography Examples In MLA, APA and Chicago. When it comes to examples of bibliographies, it can get confusing. This is because the word "bibliography" can have a double meaning when it comes to writing styles. "Bibliography" can be a catch-all word to mean all source lists in all writing styles. It is also the title of the Chicago ...

  10. A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing

    When you cite a source with up to three authors, cite all authors' names. For four or more authors, list only the first name, followed by ' et al. ': Number of authors. In-text citation example. 1 author. (Davis, 2019) 2 authors. (Davis and Barrett, 2019) 3 authors.

  11. APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition)

    APA Stylistics: Basics. APA Stylistics: Avoiding Bias. Footnotes & Appendices. Numbers & Statistics. Additional Resources. APA Headings and Seriation. APA PowerPoint Slide Presentation. APA Sample Paper. Tables and Figures.

  12. APA Formatting and Citation (7th Ed.)

    The student version includes the course number and name, instructor name, and due date of the assignment. The professional version includes an author note and running head . For more information on writing a striking title, crediting multiple authors (with different affiliations), and writing the author note, check out our in-depth article on ...

  13. How to Write a Bibliography: Referencing Styles Explained

    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. The name of the book publisher.

  14. How to Write a Bibliography for Assignments

    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).

  15. MLA Style Annotated Bibliography

    You might be assigned an annotated bibliography as part of the research process for a paper, or as an individual assignment. MLA provides guidelines for writing and formatting your annotated bibliography. An example of a typical annotation is shown below. Kenny, Anthony. A New History of Western Philosophy: In Four Parts.

  16. How to Write Bibliography for Assignment: Best Tips for Students

    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'.

  17. MLA Format

    Works Cited page. The Works Cited list is included on a separate page at the end of your paper. You list all the sources you referenced in your paper in alphabetical order. Don't include sources that weren't cited in the paper, except potentially in an MLA annotated bibliography assignment.. Place the title "Works Cited" in the center at the top of the page.

  18. How to Cite Sources

    To quote a source, copy a short piece of text word for word and put it inside quotation marks. To paraphrase a source, put the text into your own words. It's important that the paraphrase is not too close to the original wording. You can use the paraphrasing tool if you don't want to do this manually.

  19. What Is A Bibliography

    A bibliography is a list of sources used in researching and writing a work, such as a book, article, or academic paper. It includes detailed information about each source, like the author's name, title, and publication date. Bibliographies serve to credit authors, avoid plagiarism, provide references for readers, and demonstrate the research scope.

  20. Annotated Bibliographies

    A bibliography usually just includes the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.). An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the ...

  21. How to Cite a Website

    Citing a website in MLA Style. An MLA Works Cited entry for a webpage lists the author's name, the title of the page (in quotation marks), the name of the site (in italics), the date of publication, and the URL. The in-text citation usually just lists the author's name. For a long page, you may specify a (shortened) section heading to ...

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

    Author name (if mentioned) Title (if mentioned) Name of the company that created the webpage. Web address (just copy the URL) The date when you used the page last 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.

  23. Reflecting on the Architecture of Deep Fakes ...

    Employ a Professional Writing Style. Use APA 7 when you annotate sources. Deliverables. Upload to Canvas a .pdf version of your annotated bibliography and 200-word summary reflecting on your process. If you used a GAI tool to author your reflection, keep the chat log archived in case I need to review it.

  24. How to Cite a Book

    A Chicago bibliography entry for a book includes the author's name, the book title and subtitle, the edition (if stated), the location and name of the publisher, and the year of publication. For an e-book, add the e-book format (e.g. "Kindle") at the end. Author last name, First name. Book Title: Subtitle.