To write a bibliography, follow these general steps and formatting guidelines:
Steps to Write a Bibliography
- Collect Source Information : For each source you use (books, articles, websites), gather key details such as the author’s name, title of the work, publication date, publisher, and for online sources, the URL and access date if required
- Keep Track of All Sources : Maintain a list of every source consulted during your research, even if not directly cited in your paper. This list will form your bibliography
- Choose a Citation Style : Determine which style guide you need to follow (commonly MLA, APA, Chicago, or Harvard). Each style has specific rules for formatting entries
Formatting Guidelines by Common Styles
Style| Title of Bibliography Page| Entry Format Highlights| Spacing & Order
---|---|---|---
MLA| Works Cited| Author last name, first name. Title. Publisher,
Year.| Double-spaced, alphabetical order
APA| References| Author last name, initials. (Year). Title. Publisher.|
Double-spaced, alphabetical order
Chicago| Bibliography| Last name, First name. Title. Place: Publisher,
Year.| Single-spaced within entries, space between; hanging indent;
alphabetical order
Harvard| Bibliography or Reference List| Author last name, initials,
Year, Title, Publisher or URL| Alphabetical order
- Alphabetize entries by the author's last name. If no author, alphabetize by the first significant word of the title, ignoring articles like "the" or "a"
- Use a hanging indent for entries that extend beyond one line, where the first line is flush left and subsequent lines are indented
- For multiple authors, list all authors (up to a certain number depending on style), with the first author’s name inverted (last name first)
- For online sources, include the original publication date, not the retrieval date, and use paragraph or section numbers if no page numbers exist
Example of a Book Citation in Chicago Style
- Smith, John. The Art of Writing. New York: Penguin Books, 2020.
Summary
Writing a bibliography involves compiling all sources used in your research with complete details, formatted according to a specific citation style. This allows readers to locate your sources easily and verifies the credibility of your work
. Always consult your instructor or style guide for exact requirements.
