what is a bibliography in writing

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Annotated Bibliographies

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This handout provides information about annotated bibliographies in MLA, APA, and CMS.

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.

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How to Write a Bibliography: Referencing Styles Explained

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

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

What is a bibliography?  

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

What are primary and secondary sources?  

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

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

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

What should you include in a bibliography?  

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

Information required for referencing printed sources:  

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

Information required for referencing web sources:  

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

Where to find this information  

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

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

What are the different bibliography styles?   

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

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

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

MRL reference order  

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

APA/Harvard reference order   

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

MHRA reference order   

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

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

How to write a bibliography  

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

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

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

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

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How to Write a Bibliography

Last Updated: September 14, 2023 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 15 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 633,489 times.

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

Sample Bibliographies

Writing an APA Bibliography

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

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

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

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

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

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

Writing a MLA Bibliography

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

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

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

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

Writing a CMS Bibliography

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

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

• Example: University of California. "History of University of California." Last modified April 3, 2013. http://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

Video . By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube.

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

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://libguides.reading.ac.uk/citing-references/compilingbibliography
• ↑ https://morningside.libguides.com/APA7/references
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/03/
• ↑ https://libraryguides.vu.edu.au/harvard/sample-reference-list
• ↑ Cite articles
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/08/
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/
• ↑ https://www.scribbr.com/mla/works-cited/
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_basic_format.html
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/06/
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/07/
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/02/
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/03/
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/05/

About This Article

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

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How to write a bibliography

How to write a bibiliography.

A bibliography is not just “works cited.” It is  all  the relevant material you drew upon to write the paper the reader holds.

Do I need a bibliography?

If you read any articles or books in preparing your paper, you need a bibliography or footnotes.

• If you cite the arguments of “critics” and “supporters,” even if you don’t name them or quote them directly, you are likely referring to information you read in books or articles as opposed to information you’ve gathered firsthand, like a news reporter, and so you need a bibliography.
• If you quote sources and put some of the reference information in the text, you still need a bibliography, so that readers can track down the source material for themselves.
• If you use footnotes to identify the source of your material or the authors of every quote, you DO NOT need a bibliography, UNLESS there are materials to which you do not refer directly (or if you refer to additional sections of the materials you already referenced) that also helped you reach your conclusions. In any event, your footnotes need to follow the formatting guidelines below.

These guidelines follow those of the  American Psychological Association and may be slightly different than what you’re used to, but we will stick with them for the sake of consistency.

Notice the use of punctuation. Publication titles may be either  italicized  or underlined, but not both.

Books are the bibliography format with which you’re probably most familiar. Books follow this pattern:

Author Last Name, Author First Name. (Publication Year)  Title . Publisher’s City: Publisher. Page numbers.

Alexander, Carol. (2001)  Market Models: A Guide to Financial Data Analysis.  New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 200-220.

Periodicals

Periodicals remove the publisher city and name and add the title of the article and the volume or issue number of the periodical. Notice article titles are put in quotation marks and only the publication title is italicized or underlined.

Author Last Name, Author First Name. (Publication Date—could be more than a year) “Article Title.” Publication   Title, Vol. # . (Issue #), Page numbers.

Salman, William A. (July-August 1997) “How to Write a Great Business Plan.”  Harvard Business Review  74. pp. 98-108.

Web versions of printed material

Because web sources are time-sensitive, meaning that web content can change day by day, it is important to include the day of retrieval and the URL from which you quoted the material. You include this in a retrieval statement.

The format for online versions of print publications should basically follow the same format as above, meaning if you’re referencing an online book, you should follow the book format with the addition of the retrieval statement. If you’re referencing an online periodical, you should follow the periodical format with the addition of the retrieval statement.

Note that you should not break the Internet address of the link, even if it requires its own line. Very long URLs, such as those that occur when using an online database, can be shortened by removing the retrieval code. (The retrieval code usually consists of a long string of unintelligible letters and numbers following the end point “htm” or “html.” Remove everything that occurs after that point to shorten.)

Author. (Date of Internet Publication—could be more than a year) “Document Title.”  Title of Publication . Retrieved on: Date from Full Web Address, starting with http://

Grant, Linda. (January 13, 1997) “Can Fisher Focus Kodak?”  Fortune . Retrieved on August 22, 2020 from (insert full web address here)

The above is just one example of citing online sources. There are more extensive bibliographic guidelines at www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.html .

How to cite sources in the text

In-text citations alert readers to cited material and tell them exactly where to go and look. These citations work in conjunction with a bibliography.

• Usually, an in-text citation is a combination of a name (usually the author’s) and a number (either a year, a page number, or both).
• For Internet sources, use the original publication date, not your retrieval date.
• Internet sources also do not have page numbers, so use your discretion in the format that will direct the reader closest to the relevant section. You can number the paragraphs (abbreviate “par.”) or chapters (abbreviate “chap.”) or sections (abbreviate “sec.”).
• If there is no author listed, the document’s title should be used in place of the author’s name. Use the entire title but not the subtitle. Subtitles are anything appearing after a colon (:).

Use a signal phrase

A signal phrase alerts the reader to the fact that you are citing another source for the information he or she is about to read.

Myers (1997) reported that “structured decision aids, as a factor in a more structured audit approach, are designed to focus the auditor on relevant information to improve effectiveness, and to improve audit efficiency, by eliminating the time needed to develop or organize individual approaches to the audit problems.” (sec. 1, “Introduction”)

Note that the date goes with the author, directions within the document go with the quote.

Later on, same source, different section:

According to one study (Myers, 1997), inexperienced auditors from a structured firm will demonstrate higher audit effectiveness in the typical audit situation than inexperienced auditors from an unstructured firm. (sec. 2, “Structure and Audit Effectiveness”)

Full parenthetical citation after the material cited

Another method is to end the quote with the full citation:

The primary controversies surrounding the issue of accounting for stock-based compensation include whether these instruments represent an expense that should be recognized in the income statement and, if so, when they should be recognized and how they should be measured. (Martin and Duchac, 1997, Sec. 3, “Theoretical Justification for Expense Recognition”)

For long quotes, use a previewing sentence and a parenthetical citation

Long quotes are 40 words or longer and should be single-spaced even in double-spaced papers. The previewing sentence tells the reader what to look for in the quotes (and helps the reader change gears from you to another author).

Martin and Duchac (1997) reiterate the problems with stock-based compensation and accounting issues:

While it is true these estimates generate uncertainties about value and the costs to be recognized, cost recognition should be the fundamental objective and information based on estimates can be useful just as it is with defined benefit pension plans. Given the similarities between stock based compensation and defined benefit pension costs, an expense should be recognized for employee stock options just as pension costs are recognized for defined benefit pension plans. The FASB agreed with this assessment in their exposure draft on stock based compensation, noting that nonrecognition of employee stock option costs produces financial statements that are neither credible nor representationally faithful. (sec. 2.1, “Recognition of Compensation Cost”)

Note the consistent indentation and the paragraph break inside the quote. Also note that the parenthetical citation falls outside the closing period.

Source-reflective statements

Sometimes, summarizing arguments from your sources can leave the reader in doubt as to whose opinion he or she is seeing. If the language is too close to the original source’s, you can leave yourself open to charges of low-level plagiarism or “word borrowing.” Using a source-reflective statement can clarify this problem, allowing you the freedom to assert your voice and opinion without causing confusion. For example:

Myers (1997) reported that “structured decision aids, as a factor in a more structured audit approach, are designed to focus the auditor on relevant information to improve effectiveness, and to improve audit efficiency, by eliminating the time needed to develop or organize individual approaches to the audit problems.” (sec. 1, “Introduction”) Thus, audit pricing by firms with a structured audit approach is lower, on average, than firms with an intermediate or unstructured audit approach.

Is the observation in the last sentence Myers’s or the author’s? We aren’t sure. So insert a source-reflective statement to avoid confusion.

Myers (1997) reported that “structured decision aids, as a factor in a more structured audit approach, are designed to focus the auditor on relevant information to improve effectiveness, and to improve audit efficiency, by eliminating the time needed to develop or organize individual approaches to the audit problems.” (sec. 1, “Introduction”)  Myers’s observation suggests that  audit pricing by firms with a structured audit approach is lower, on average, than firms with an intermediate or unstructured audit approach.

When and how to use footnotes

You may decide to substitute footnotes for in-text citations and a bibliography. Footnotes are thorough, like entries in the bibliography, and yet specific, like in-text citations. However, depending on the thoroughness of your use of footnotes, you may also need a bibliography.

If you decide to use footnotes, you should follow the format outlined above for the information to include in your entries and should number each footnote separately (1, 2, 3, etc.). You should NOT use the same number twice, even when referencing the same document. Check out guidelines such as those in the  Chicago Manual of Style  or the  MLA Handbook  for more information about how to number your footnote entries.

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• What Is an Annotated Bibliography? | Examples & Format

What Is an Annotated Bibliography? | Examples & Format

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

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

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

An example of an annotated source is shown below:

Table of contents

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chicago style

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

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

Scribbr Citation Checker New

The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:

• Missing commas and periods
• Incorrect usage of “et al.”
• Ampersands (&) in narrative citations
• Missing reference entries

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Notes-Bibliography

The notes-bibliography method employs footnotes or endnotes along with a bibliography organized in alphabetical order. Often your instructor or publisher will specify whether they prefer that you use footnotes or endnotes.

Citing Sources in the Text

Notes come at the bottom of each page, separated from the text with a typed line, 1 and 1/2 inches long. Some instructors will allow you to (or prefer that you) place notes, instead, as endnotes on a separate page (titled Notes) at the end of your paper, after any appendices. To acknowledge a source in your paper, place a superscript number (raised slightly above the line) immediately after the end punctuation of a sentence containing the quotation, paraphrase, or summary–as, for example, at the end of this sentence. 1 Do not put any punctuation after the number.

In the footnote or endnote itself, use the same number, but do not raise or superscript it; put a period and one space after the number. The first line of each note is indented five spaces from the left margin. Publishers often prefer notes to be double spaced.

If a single paragraph of your paper contains several references from the same author, it is permissible to use one number after the last quotation, paraphrase, or summary to indicate the source for all of the material used in that paragraph.

Generally, there is no need to use the abbreviations “p.” and “pp.” before page numbers; simply list the appropriate numbers as the last piece of information in the note.

What follows is a sample set of footnotes/endnotes. Please notice the order of the items in each note as well as the punctuation. The first time a work is cited, full information is given (author, title, volume, publication information, page, etc.).

Sample Notes (First References)

Book by a Single Author, First Edition

Steven Nadler, A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza’s Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2011), 8.

Author First name Last name, Book title (Publisher city: Publisher, year), page number.

Book by a Singe Author, Later Edition

Paul S. Boyer, Purity in Print: Book Censorship in America from the Gilded Age to the Computer Age , 2nd ed. (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2002), 24.

Author First name Middle initial. Last name, Book title , number ed. (Publisher city: Publisher, year), page number.

Book by a Single Author, Reprinted

Leonora Neville, Authority in Byzantine Provincial Society, 950-1100 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004; repr., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 101.

Author First name Last name, Book title (Original publisher city: Original publisher, original year; repr., Reprint publisher city, Reprint publisher, reprint year), page number. 

Book by Two Authors

Gerald Marwell and Pamela Oliver, The Critical Mass in Collective Action (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 104.

First author first name Last name and Second author first name Last name, Book title (Publisher city: Publisher, year), page number. 

Book by Three Authors

Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck, Mastering the Art of French Cooking (New York: Knopf, 1961), 23.

First author first name Last name, Second author first name Last name, and Third author first name Last name, Book title (Publisher city: Publisher, year), page number. 

Book by More Than Three Authors

Anne Ellen Geller et al., The Everyday Writing Center (Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2007), 52.

First author first name Last name et al., Book title (Publisher city, State initials: Publisher, year), page number. 

An Anthology with no Known Author

O: A Presidential Novel , (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2011), 3.

Anthology title , (Publisher city: Publisher, year) page number. 

[If the author of an anonymously published book has been revealed, you can put that name in brackets at the beginning of the note. If the author is unknown but a particular writer is strongly suspected, you can put a question mark after the bracketed name.]

Book with Organization as Author

Central Intelligence Agency, CIA World Factbook (Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2009), 64.

Organization name, Book title (Publisher city: Publisher, year), page number.

[Since the CIA is the organization that both authored and published this book, it is referenced twice in this citation.]

An Anthology with Editors in Place of Authors

Henry Louis Gates and Nellie Y. McKay, eds., The Norton Anthology of African American Literature (New York: Norton, 1997), 172.

First editor first name Middle name Last name and Second editor first name Middle initial. Last name, eds., Anthology title (Publisher city: Publisher, year), page number. 

Chapter in an Edited Collection

Colleen Dunlavy, “Why Did American Businesses Get So Big?” in Major Problems in American Business History , ed. Regina Blaszczyk and Philip Scranton (New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2006), 260.

Chapter Author First name Last name, “Chapter title” in Edited collection title , ed. First editor first name Last name and Second editor first name Last name (Publisher city: Publisher, year), page number. 

Article in a Journal

Raúl Sánchez, “Outside the Text: Retheorizing Empiricism and Identity,” College English 74 (2012): 243.

Author First name Last name, “Article title,” Journal title volume number (year): page number. 

[If a journal continues pagination across issues in a volume, you do NOT need to include the issue #.]

Book Review

Nancy Rose Marshall, review of Joseph Crawhill, 1861-1913: One of the Glasgow Boys , by Vivian Hamilton, Victorian Studies 42 (1999/2000): 359.

Reviewer first name Middle name Last name, review of Reviewed work , by Author of reviewed work first name Last name, Journal in which review appears volume number (year): page number.

Newspaper Article

Tyler Marshall, “200th Birthday of Grimms Celebrated,” Los Angeles Times , March 15, 1985, sec. 1A.

Article author first name Last name, “Article title,” Newspaper name , Month day, year, sec. number. 

[Since prominent newspapers may have several different daily or regional editions, you don’t need to include the page number in this note.]

Encyclopedia Entry

• John Morris-Jones, “Wales,” in Encyclopedia Britannica , 11th ed. (1911), 260.
• Author of entry first name Last name, “Title of entry,” in Encyclopedia title , number ed.  (year), page number. 
• Wikipedia , s.v. “Charles R. Van Hise,” last modified April 30, 2018, 15:21, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_R._Van_Hise.
• Encyclopedia name , s.v. “Title of entry,” last modified Month day, year, hour:minute, url. 

[“s.v.” is an abbreviation of “sub verbo” which is Latin for “under the word”]

Interview by Writer of Research Paper

Richard Davidson, interview by author, Madison, WI, April 20, 2012.

Interviewee first name Last name, interview by Interviewer name, City, State initials, Month day, year of interview. 

[Bibliographies only rarely include entries for personal interviews.]

Secondary Source

Coie et al., “The Science of Prevention: A Conceptual Framework and Some Directions for a National Research Program,” American Psychologist 48 (1993): 1022, quoted in Mark T. Greenberg, Celene Domitrovich, and Brian Bumbarger, “The Prevention of Mental Disorders in School-Age Children: Current State of the Field,” Prevention and Treatment 4 (2001): 5.

First author Last name et al., “Title of secondary source,” Journal containing secondary source volume number (year): page number, quoted in First author firt name Middle initial. Last name, Second author First name Last name, and Third author First name Last name, “Title of Primary source,” Journal containing primary source volume number (year): page number. 

[This indicates that you found the Coie et al. information in the Greenberg, Domitrovich, and Bumbarger article, not in the original article by Coie et al. In the bibliography, you would only cite the Greenberg, Domitrovich, and Bumbarger text.]

Performances

William Shakespeare, Othello , dir. Mark Clements, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Milwaukee, April 20, 2012.

Author of work performed, Title , dir. Director First name Last name, Performing company, City of performance, Month day, year of performance. 

[Live performances are not usually included in bibliographies. This is because, unless it has been recorded, a live performance cannot be located and reviewed by the reader.]

A Dissertation

Sara M. Lindberg, “Gender-Role Identity Development During Adolescence: Individual, Familial, and Social Contextual Predictors of Gender Intensification” (Ph.D. diss., University of Wisconsin- Madison, 2008), 24.

Dissertation author first name Middle initial. Last name, “Dissertation title” (Ph. D. diss, University, year), page number. 

Class Lecture

Morris Young, “What Is Asian American? What is Asian American Literature?” (lecture, Survey of Asian American Literature, University of Wisconsin-Madison, January 22, 2013).

Lecturer First name Last name, “Lecture title.” (lecture, Course title, University, Month day, year of lecture). 

Paper Presented at a Conference

Mary Louise Roberts, “The Public Practice of History in and for a Digital Age” (paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association, New Orleans, January 3, 2013).

Author first name Middle name Last name, “Paper title” (paper presented at the Conference, Conference city, Month day, year of presentation).

Government Documents

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 794 (2010).

Document title, Pub. L. No. numbers, volume number Stat. number (year).

Notes: Pub. L. is an abbreviation for “public law.” Stat. is an abbreviation for “statue.”

Steven Soderbergh, dir., Che: Part One , (2008; New York: IFC Films), DVD.

Director first name Last name, dir., DVD Title , (year of release; City of production: Producer), DVD. 

An Online Source That is Identical to a Print Source

Lee Palmer Wandel, “Setting the Lutheran Eucharist,” Journal of Early Modern History 17 (1998): 133-34, doi: 10.1163/157006598X00135.

Author First name Middle name Last name, “Article title,” Journal titler : volume number (year): page numbers, doi: number. 

[The Chicago Manual recommends including a DOI (digital object identifier) or a URL to indicate that you consulted this source online. If there’s a DOI, you should use that rather than a URL. If there is no DOI, use the URL, including “http://.” There’s no need to include an access date if the online source includes a publication or revision date.]

An Online Newspaper

Kirk Johnson, “Health Care Is Spread Thin on Alaskan Frontier,” New York Times , May 28, 2013, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/us/health-care-in-vast-alaska-frontier-is-spread-thin.html.\

Article author first name Last name, “Title of article,” Newspaper , Month day, year issued. 

“Human Rights,” The United Nations, accessed August 5, 2018, http://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/human-rights/.

“Title of webpage,” Website moderator, Month day, year of access, url. 

[If a website has a publication or revision date, use that instead of an accessed date.]

Sample Notes (Second or Subsequent References)

When a source is used a second time, its reference is given in a shorter form. The Chicago Manual and Turabian suggest two ways to shorten second references. Either plan is acceptable, but you must remain consistent throughout your paper.

Method A: Shortened Form

For the second and all subsequent references to a work, use an abbreviated form. If the work and the author remain the same and if you are using only one book or article by that author, simply give the author’s last name and page reference. The following example has been shortened from the full information provided in note #3 above:

• Neville, 92.

If, however, you are using two or more works by that author, you must indicate which of the works you are citing. Use the last name, a shortened title, and page reference. The following example is shortened from the full information provided in note #1 above:

• Nadler, A Book Forged in Hell, 121.

If you use two authors with the same last name, give the full name in the shortened reference.

Method B: Latin Abbreviations

When referring to the same work as in the citation immediately preceding, use the abbreviation “Ibid.” for the second reference. “Ibid.” is an abbreviation for the Latin word “ibidem” which means “in the same place.” The abbreviation “Ibid.” is followed by a page number if the page from which the second reference is taken is different from the first. If the pages are the same, no number is necessary. As an example, here is how you would cite the first reference to a work:

• Eliza G. Wilkins, The Delphic Maxims in Literature (Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Co., 1929), 12.

If you continue drawing from the same page of the same source, your next reference would look like this:

If you continue drawing from the same source but the information comes from a different page, then your note would look like this:

Citing Sources at the End of the Text

The bibliography (as it is called in the note-bibliography system) is placed at the end of your paper, is a double-spaced alphabetized list of books, articles, and other sources used in writing the paper. This list provides all of the information someone would need to locate the source you’re referencing. (NOTE: This list titled “Bibliography” in the note-bibliography system and “References” in the author-date system. Otherwise, both follow the same format.)

The bibliographic form differs from notes in these ways:

• Sources are alphabetized. The author’s last name appears first (Smith, Betty) in a bibliography.
• While notes use commas and parentheses to separate items, a bibliography uses periods.
• While notes use two spaces after a period, a bibliography uses only one space after a period.
• While notes usually indicate specific pages from which you took information; a bibliography lists entire books or a complete chapter to which you referred.
• The first line of a bibliographic entry begins at the left margin and all the other lines are indented 1/2”. This is called a “hanging indent.”

If the author’s name or the title (or other item) is missing, simply go on to the next item as it should appear. When alphabetizing, use the author’s last name for your entry; if it is not given, simply go on to the next item in order (the title of the book or article, for example) and use that to alphabetize the entry.

A sample bibliography follows. Notice the form and order of the entries as well as the punctuation and arrangement within the entries. The sourced referenced are the same as those used in the notes citations above.

Bibliography

Boyer, Paul S. Purity in Print: Book Censorship in America from the Gilded Age to the Computer Age . 2nd ed. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2002.

Author last name, First name Middle initial. Book title , number ed. Publisher city: Publisher, year.

Central Intelligence Agency. CIA World Factbook . Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2009.

Organization name, Book title .  Publisher city: Publisher, year.

Child, Julia, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck. Mastering the Art of French Cooking. New York: Knopf, 1961.

First author last name First name, Second author first name Last name, and Third author first name Last name. Book title . Publisher city: Publisher, year.

Dunlavy, Colleen. “Social Conceptions of the Corporation: Insights from the History of Shareholder Voting Rights.” Wash. And Lee L. Rev 63 (2006a): 1347-1388.

Author last name, First name. “Article title.” Journal title volume number (year published): page numbers.

—. “Why Did American Businesses Get So Big?” In Major Problems in American Business History , edited by Regina Blaszczyk and Philip Scranton, 257-63. New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2006b.

–. “Chapter title.” In Edited collection title , edited by First editor first name Last name and Second editor first name Last name, page numbers. Publisher city: Publisher, year.

Note: –. is used when the author is the same as the citation above.

Gates, Henry Louis, and Nellie Y. McKay, eds. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature . New York: Norton, 1997.

First editor last name, First name Middle name, and Second editor first name Middle initial. Last name, eds., Anthology title. Publisher city: Publisher, year.

Geller, Anne Ellen, Michele Eodice, Frankie Condon, Meg Carroll, and Elizabeth H. Boquet. The Everyday Writing Center . Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2007.

First author last name, First name Middle name, Second author First name Last name, Third author First name Last name, Fourth author First name Last name, and Fifth author First name Middle initial. Last name. Book title . Publisher city, State initials: Publisher, year. 

Greenberg, Mark T., Celene Domitrovich, and Brian Bumbarger. “The Prevention of Mental Disorders in School-Age Children: Current State of the Field.” Prevention and Treatment 4 (2001): 1-62.

First author last name, First name Middle initial., Second author first name Last name, and Third author first name, Last name. “Article title.” Journal title Volume number (year): page numbers. 

Johnson, Kirk. “Health Care Is Spread Thin on Alaskan Frontier.” New York Times , May 28, 2013. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/us/health-care-in-vast-alaska-frontier-is-spread-thin.html.

Article author last name, First name. “Title of article,” Newspaper , Month day, year issued. Url. 

Lindberg, Sara M. “Gender-Role Identity Development During Adolescence: Individual, Familial, and Social Contextual Predictors of Gender Intensification.” Ph.D. diss., University of Wisconsin- Madison, 2008.

Dissertation author last name, First name Middle initial. “Dissertation title.” Ph. D. diss, University, year.

Marshall, Nancy Rose. Review of Joseph Crawhill, 1861-1913, One of the Glasgow Boys , by Vivian Hamilton. Victorian Studies 42 (1999/2000): 358-60.

Reviewer last name, First name Middle name. Review of Reviewed work , by Author of reviewed work first name Last name, Journal in which review appears volume number (year): page number.

Marshall, Tyler. “200th Birthday of Grimms Celebrated.” Los Angeles Times , 15 March 1985, sec. 1A.

Article author Last name, First name. “Article title.” Newspaper name , day Month year, sec. number.

Marwell, Gerald, and Pamela Oliver. The Critical Mass in Collective Action . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

First author last name, First name, and Second author first name Last name. Book title . Publisher city: Publisher, year.

Morris-Jones, John. “Wales.” In Encyclopedia Britannica , 11th ed. 29 vols. New York: Encyclopedia Britannica Corporation, 1911. 258-70.

Author of entry Last name, First name, “Title of entry.” In Encyclopedia title , number ed. Number vols. City: Publisher, year. pages.

Nadler, Steven. A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza’s Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age . Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2011.

Author last name, First name. Book title. Publisher city: Publisher, year.

Neville, Leonora. Authority in Byzantine Provincial Society, 950-1100 . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Reprinted. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.

Author Last name, First name. Book title . Original publisher city: Original publisher, original year. Reprinted. Reprint publisher city: Reprint publisher, reprint year.

O: A Presidential Novel . New York: Simon and Schuster, 2011.

Anthology title . Publisher city: Publisher, year. 

Sánchez, Raúl. “Outside the Text: Retheorizing Empiricism and Identity.” College English 74 (2012): 234-46.

Author Last name, First name. “Article title,” Journal title volume number (year): page number.

Soderbergh, Steven, dir. Che: Part One . 2008; New York: IFC Films. DVD.

Director Last name, First name, dir. DVD Title , Year of release; City of production: Producer. DVD. 

United Nations. “Human Rights.” Accessed August 5, 2018. http://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/human-rights/.

Website moderator. “Title of webpage.” Accessed Month day, year of access. Url. 

Wandel, Lee Palmer. “Setting the Lutheran Eucharist.” Journal of Early Modern History 17 (1998): 124-55. doi: 10.1163/157006598X00135.

Author Last name, First name Middle name. “Article title.” Journal title volume number (year): page numbers. doi: number. 

Wikipedia . S.v. “Charles R. Van Hise.” Last modified April 30, 2018, 15:21, http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Charles_R._Van_Hise.

Encyclopedia name . S.v. “Title of entry.” Last modified Month day, year, hour:minute, url. 

Young, Morris. “What Is Asian American? What is Asian American Literature?” Lecture at University of Wisconsin-Madison, January 22, 2013.

Lecturer last name, First name. “Lecture title.” Lecture at University, Month day, year of lecture. 

Chicago/Turabian Documentation

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Chicago/Turabian Table of Contents

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• Grades 6-12
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How To Write a Bibliography (Three Styles, Plus Examples)

Give credit where credit is due.

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

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, 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

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 only to 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 . 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 this 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

Source: Simply Psychology

More APA example pages:

• Western Australia Library Services APA References Example Page
• Ancilla College APA References Page Example
• Scribbr APA References Page Example

MLA Style Bibliography Examples

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 this 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 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, 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. https://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

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

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 this 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

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

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

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How to Write a Bibliography (MLA, APA Examples)

Learn how to easily write a bibliography by following the format outlined in this article.

This resource will help your students properly cite different resources in the bibliography of a research paper, and how to format those citations, for books, encyclopedias, films, websites, and people.

What is a bibliography?

According to Infoplease.com, A bibliography is a list of the types of sources you used to get information for your report. It is included at the end of your report, on the last page (or last few pages).

What are the types of bibliography styles (MLA, APA, etc.)?

The 3 most common bibliography/citation styles are:

• MLA Style: The Modern Language Association works cited page style
• APA Style: The American Psychological Association style
• Chicago Style: The bibliography style defined by the Chicago Manual of Style

We’ll give examples of how to create bibliography entries in various styles further down in this article. 

What sources do you put in a bibliography?

An annotated bibliography should include a reference list of any sources you use in writing a research paper. Any printed sources from which you use a text citation, including books, websites, newspaper articles, journal articles, academic writing, online sources (such as PDFs), and magazines should be included in a reference list. In some cases, you may need or want to cite conversations or interviews, works of art, visual works such as movies, television shows, or documentaries - these (and many others) can also be included in a reference list.

How to get started writing your bibliography

You will find it easier to prepare your MLA, APA, or Chicago annotated bibliography if you keep track of each book, encyclopedia, journal article, webpage or online source you use as you are reading and taking notes. Start a preliminary, or draft, bibliography by listing on a separate sheet of paper all your sources. Note down the full title, author’s last name, place of publication, web address, publisher, and date of publication for each source.

Haven't started your paper yet and need an outline? These sample essay outlines include a research paper outline from an actual student paper.

How to write a bibliography step-by-step (with examples)

General Format: Author (last name first). Title of the book. Publisher, Date of publication.

MLA Style: Sibley, David Allen. What It’s Like to Be a Bird. From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing, What Birds Are Doing, and Why. Alfred A. Knopf, 2020.

APA Style: Sibley, D.A. (2020). What It’s Like to Be a Bird. From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing, What Birds Are Doing, and Why . Alfred A. Knopf.

Notes: Use periods, not commas, to separate the data in the entry. Use a hanging indent if the entry is longer than one line. For APA style, do not use the full author’s first name.

Websites or webpages:

  MLA Style: The SB Nation Family of Sites. Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs Blog, 2022, www.pensionplanpuppets.com. Accessed 15 Feb. 2022.

APA Style: American Heart Association. (2022, April 11). How to keep your dog’s heart healthy. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2022/04/11/how-to-keep-your-dogs-heart-healthy

Online news article from a newspaper site:

APA Style: Duehren, A. (2022, April 9). Janet Yellen faces challenge to keep pressure on Russia. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/janet-yellen-faces-challenge-to-keep-pressure-on-russia-while-addressing-global-consequences-11650366000

Print journal articles:

MLA Style: Booch, Grady. "Patterns in Object-Oriented Design." IEEE Software Engineering, vol. 6, no. 6, 2006, pp. 31-50.

APA Style: Booch, G. (2006). Patterns in object-oriented design. IEEE Software Engineering, 6(6), 31–50.

Note: It is suggested that you include a DOI and a webpage address when referencing either a printed journal article, and electronic journal article, or an journal article that appears in both formats. 

MLA Style: Gamma, Eric, and Peter A. Coad. “Exceptions to the Unified Modeling Language in Python Patterns.” IEEE Software Engineering, vol. 2, no. 6, 8 Mar. 2006, pp. 190-194. O’Reilly Software Engineering Library, https://doi.org/10.1006/se.20061. Accessed 26 May 2009.

APA Style: Masters, H., Barron, J., & Chanda, L. (2017). Motivational interviewing techniques for adolescent populations in substance abuse counseling. NAADAC Notes, 7(8), 7–13. https://www.naadac.com/notes/adolescent-techniques

ML:A Style: @Grady_Booch. “That’s a bold leap over plain old battery power cars.” Twitter, 13 Mar. 2013, 12:06 p.m., https://twitter.com/Grady_Booch/status/1516379006727188483.

APA Style: Westborough Library [@WestboroughLib]. (2022, April 12). Calling all 3rd through 5th grade kids! Join us for the Epic Writing Showdown! Winner receives a prize! Space is limited so register, today. loom.ly/ypaTG9Q [Tweet; thumbnail link to article]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/WestboroughLib/status/1516373550415896588.

Print magazine articles:

General format: Author (last name first), "Article Title." Name of magazine. Volume number, (Date): page numbers.

MLA Style: Stiteler, Sharon. "Tracking Red-Breasted Grosbeak Migration." Minnesota Bird Journal, 7 Sept. 2019, pp. 7-11.

APA Style: Jordan, Jennifer, "Filming at the Top of the World." Museum of Science Magazine. Volume 47, No. 1, (Winter 1998): p. 11.

Print newspaper articles:

General format: Author (last name first), "Article Title." Name of newspaper, city, state of publication. (date): edition if available, section, page number(s).

MLA Style: Adelman, Martin. "Augustus Announces Departure from City Manager Post." New York Times, late ed., 15 February 2020, p. A1

APA Style: Adelman, M. (2020, February 15). Augustus announced departure from city manager post. New York Times, A1.

Encyclopedias:

General Format: Encyclopedia Title, Edition Date. Volume Number, "Article Title," page numbers.

MLA Style: “Gorillas.” The Encyclopedia Brittanica. 15th ed. 2010.

APA Style: Encyclopedia Brittanica, Inc. (1997.) Gorillas. In The Encyclopedia Brittanica (15th ed., pp. 50-51). Encyclopedia Brittanica, Inc.

Personal interviews:

General format: Full name (last name first). Personal Interview. (Occupation.) Date of interview.

MLA Style: Smithfield, Joseph. Personal interview. 19 May 2014.

APA Style: APA does not require a formal citation for a personal interview. Published interviews from other sources should be cited accordingly.

Films and movies:

General format: Title, Director, Distributor, Year.

MLA Style: Fury. Directed by David Ayer, performances by Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Bernthal, Sony Pictures, 2014.

APA Style: Ayer, D. (Director). (2014). Fury [Film]. Sony Pictures.

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What Is a Bibliography?

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A bibliography is a list of books, scholarly  articles , speeches, private records, diaries, interviews, laws, letters, websites, and other sources you use when researching a topic and writing a paper. The bibliography appears at the end.

The main purpose of a bibliography entry is to give credit to authors whose work you've consulted in your research. It also makes it easy for a reader to find out more about your topic by delving into the research that you used to write your paper. In the academic world, papers aren't written in a vacuum; academic journals are the way new research on a topic circulates and previous work is built upon.

Bibliography entries must be written in a very specific format, but that format will depend on the particular style of writing you follow. Your teacher or publisher will tell you which style to use, and for most academic papers it will be either MLA , American Psychological Association (APA), Chicago (author-date citations or footnotes/endnotes format), or Turabian style .

The bibliography is sometimes also called the references, works cited, or works consulted page.

Components of a Bibliography Entry

Bibliography entries will compile:

• Authors and/or editors (and translator, if applicable)
• Title of your source (as well as edition, volume, and the book title if your source is a chapter or article in a multi-author book with an editor)
• Publication information (the city, state, name of the publisher, date published, page numbers consulted, and URL or DOI, if applicable)
• Access date, in the case of online sources (check with the style guide at the beginning of your research as to whether you need to track this information)

Order and Formatting

Your entries should be listed in alphabetical order by the last name of the first author. If you are using two publications that are written by the same author, the order and format will depend on the style guide.

In MLA, Chicago, and Turabian style, you should list the duplicate-author entries in alphabetical order according to the title of the work. The author's name is written as normal for his or her first entry, but for the second entry, you will replace the author's name with three long dashes. 

In APA style, you list the duplicate-author entries in chronological order of publication, placing the earliest first. The name of the author is used for all entries.

For works with more than one author, styles vary as to whether you invert the name of any authors after the first. Whether you use title casing or sentence-style casing on titles of sources, and whether you separate elements with commas or periods also varies among different style guides. Consult the guide's manual for more detailed information.

Bibliography entries are usually formatted using a hanging indent. This means that the first line of each citation is not indented, but subsequent lines of each citation are indented. Check with your instructor or publication to see if this format is required, and look up information in your word processor's help program if you do not know how to create a hanging indent with it.

Mastering the Art of Crafting a Comprehensive Bibliography (with 3 Examples)

Aug 5, 2023

Aug 5, 2023 | Blog

How to Write a Bibliography

Writing a bibliography at the end of a work is difficult for most high school and college students when they are first required to do it. This can happen when handling a master’s or undergraduate dissertation or formal essay. However, writing a bibliography is not as complicated as many people might think.

This guide can help you write one easily since it has essential pointers for you to remember when writing it. Read on to discover how to write your best dissertation bibliography yet. A sample of bibliographies has also been provided.

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What is Bibliography

Though the name does not sound like it, a bibliography is quite a simple thing. It is a list of sources you have used or referred to in writing an essay. It is written at the end of your master’s or undergraduate dissertation . The list of sources will include all the that you had quoted and referred to in the essay and further materials you read when researching the piece, even when you did not quite cite them.

What are primary and secondary sources?

Primary sources.

Primary sources are first-hand accounts. They are the documents or objects used by people at the time. They are the original materials or evidence to be analyzed, evaluated, contextualized, or synthesized in the research process. Primary sources may include diary entries, interviews, oral histories, photographs, newspaper articles, government documents, poems, novels, plays, and music.

For example, if you were studying what life was like for a Roman soldier, you would look for documents written by soldiers at the time, such as diaries, letters, or reports. An archaeologist may use items such as weapons, pots, and coins to learn more about how people lived in the past. This would also be classed as a primary source.

Secondary sources

Secondary sources are accounts of events written after they happened by someone who was not involved with them. This means they are written based on interviews, photographs, and videos of an event rather than first-hand experiences. They are interpretations and analyses based on primary sources. Secondary sources may have pictures, words, or graphics of primary sources in them. Secondary sources may include textbooks, articles from academic journals examining research reports (not research reports), and literature reviews that place the research in a historical context.

For example, if you were researching the Battle of Hastings, you might read a book about it that has been written by someone else based on their research into original documents and artifacts. A secondary source could also be a photograph taken during an event, which is later shown in a book.

What should you include in a bibliography?

• Include all the documents you consulted, even if you did not cite them – i.e., not just the ones that helped you make your argument, but also those that helped you find the sources that helped you make your argument. The reader will be able to tell what sources you consulted but will not tell which sources might have helped you shape your argument if only you had read them. If a source was especially helpful but did not make it into your final list of references, consider mentioning it in a footnote.
• If there are multiple authors, list them in order as they appear on the source. If there are more than three authors, list only the first author followed by the abbreviation “et al.”
• Include both author and title of the article, but may also include editor, publication date, publisher and city, volume number, and page number if it is a journal or magazine article.

Information required for referencing printed sources

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

Information required for referencing web sources/Internet Citations

• The full title of the webpage (the webpage can also be the online versions of print publications, a journal article, note card).
• The company that created the webpage.
• The URL of the piece.
• The name of the author or editor.
• The last date you visited the webpage.

Where to find this information

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

What are the different bibliography styles?

Multiple accepted bibliography writing styles affect which information is included and its order of presentation. These include Harvard, American Psychological Association (APA), Chicago, and Modern Language Association (MLA). However, make sure that you find the exact requirements on the type of citation and the bibliography format you are to use, given by the course provider or your university.

Remember that one useful thing you can do for your bibliography is to keep it consistent. For your chosen style, stick to it in the entire bibliography. The simpler author-date style bibliography, one of the writing styles in scientific papers, is significant. Check the sample of bibliographies below, applicable to an academic paper.

MLA reference order

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

Bibliography Example in MLA:

Tabish, S. A. “Lifestyle diseases: Consequences, characteristics, causes, and control.” Journal of Cardiology & Current Research, 9. 3 (2017): 1- 4.

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.

Bibliography Example in APA:

Meiner, S. E. (1999). Nursing documentation: Legal focus across practice settings. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

MHRA reference order

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

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

How to write a bibliography

• The bibliography should include all the sources used for reference. It does not matter how many sources you have used. You must include them all in the bibliography on the last page.
• You must cite your works in different formats such as APA, MLA, Harvard, or any other basic format required by your professor.
• Use a hanging indent of 0.5 inches for every new citation line.
• It would be best to note the authors’ names, the publication’s title, publisher, date of publication, and page numbers.
• The last names of the authors should alphabetize entries in the bibliography. If a book has more than one author, use the author’s first name listed in alphabetical order.
• When an author appears as a sole author and, in another citation, as the first author of a group, list the one-author entries first.
• Each source should begin on a new line.
• Bibliographies should be placed at the end of your assignment.
• Collect citation information as you go.

The sample of bibliographies

Apa reference example.

Chicago or Turabian Bibliography Example

Annotated Bibliography Example

How do you write a bibliography example?

To write a bibliography example, list all sources used in your work, following a specific citation style (e.g., APA, MLA). Include author names, publication titles, dates, and other relevant information.

What is a bibliography example?

A bibliography example is a list of sources cited or consulted in a research project, paper, or article. It provides readers with information to locate the referenced works.

How do you write a bibliography for a project?

To write a bibliography for a project, compile a list of all sources you used or referred to in your project. Organize them according to the chosen citation style and include essential details like authors, titles, publication dates, and page numbers.

What is the style of bibliography writing?

The bibliography writing style refers to the specific format, and rules followed when listing and formatting sources in a bibliography. Common styles include APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and more.

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• Harvard Style Bibliography | Format & Examples

Harvard Style Bibliography | Format & Examples

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

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

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

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

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

Harvard Reference Generator

Table of contents

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

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

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

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

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

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

Journal articles

• Print journal
• Online-only journal with DOI
• Online-only journal without DOI
• General web page
• Online article or blog
• Social media post

Newspapers and magazines

• Newspaper article
• Magazine article

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• (Smith, 2019a)
• (Smith, 2019b)

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

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

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

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Caulfield, J. (2022, November 07). Harvard Style Bibliography | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 9 November 2023, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-bibliography/

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ENG120: Writing for College--Messina: How to Write an Annotated Bibliography

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• How to Write an Annotated Bibliography

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography resembles a works cited page, reference list, or bibliography because it will list properly cited sources about a topic in alphabetical order by author last name or source title.  What makes it different than these is the inclusion of annotations written by you below each citation in the list.

There are two main types of Annotations:

• Summary Annotations in which the writer identities the main arguments, topics, and conclusions of the source and summarizes them in your own words without quoting the source.  No evaluation is done.
• Critical/Evaluative Annotations in which the writer starts with the same content as a summary annotation, but looks more critically at the biases, evidence, etc., of the source and the author.  Examination of the author's expertise can be done as part of this.  The writer then explains how the source will be useful in their own research project.

The type you use will depend upon your professor's assignment.  Check with them about what type of information they would like to see in the annotations.

Steps to Writing an Annotated Bibliography

• Consider how it relates to your topic, is it general summary or original research?
• How current is the information?
• Create citations for your sources, check to make sure they are correct, use the Citation Help link below to create or check your citations.
• Select the type of annotation you are going to write up, consult your professor to be sure of what is required.
• Read each source and identify arguments and conclusions.
• Identify what type of source you are using, ex: newspaper, photograph, infographic, journal article, etc., as part of your annotation. 
• Summarize the source and author's point of view.  If you are only doing summary annotations, this is the final step.
• Examine the source for credibility.  Research the author or authors for biases and expertise. Examine and evaluate their evidence and conclusions.  Are they valid? 
• Reflect on the source.  How does it relate to your research?  How can you use it?

Additional Resources

• Annotated Bibliographies from the Purdue OWL
• Citation Help Use the resources on this guide to make correct citations for your annotated bibliography

Click to See Guidelines for Specific Citation Styles

Chicago style.

Format Rules:

• APA (7th edition) recommend short descriptions of the source as guidelines for the annotation content.  It does allow for multiple paragraph annotations.
• Annotations should be a separate paragraph indented 0.5" much like a block quote
• APA examples do show comparisons of sources within annotations.
• Ultimately, you should follow your professor's guidelines for length and content.

Smith, J. (2010).  A brief history of clowns . New York: Circus Press.

This book examines the history of the clown throughout history.  The author touches briefly on clowns in ancient and early modern history. This offers much stronger coverage of clown history in medieval times and from the 19th century to the present.  The author contends that clowns have served as comic relief for centuries as well as serving as the earliest form of satire and political commentary.  It is only with changing technologies and political freedoms that they have lost this important role.

Information based upon the  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7th edition.

Format Rules

• If your annotations one sentence or less they should be put in brackets. 
• Most annotations are brief paragraphs and the entire annotation should be indented 0.5" like a block quote.
• Annotations can be summary or critical/evaluative.

Smith, John.  A Brief History of Clowns . New York: Circus Press, 2010.

Information based upon the Chicago Manual of Style , 17th edition and  A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations , 9th edition by Kate L. Turabian. 

• CSE Format annotations should be indented 0.5" as a block quote.
• It offers no recommendations on length or type of content.
• Ultimately, you should follow your professor's guidelines for length and content.

Example in name-year:

Smith J. 2010. A brief history of clowns. New York (NY): Circus Press.

Information based upon  Scientific Style and Format  by Council of Science Editors, 8th edition.

MLA Style recommends

• Title the list Annotated Bibliography or Annotated List of Works Cited.
• If annotations are only one sentence align them to the left margin.
• If longer than one sentence, put a space between the citation and the annotation and indent the first line as you would a paragraph, but align the annotation to the left margin.  Annotations should be no longer than a paragraph.
• Annotations do not need to be double spaced unless the paper is double spaced.
• Annotations should cover the main point, not details or specifics.

Smith, John.  A Brief History of Clowns . Circus Press, 2010.

      This book examines the history of the clown throughout history.  The author touches briefly on clowns in ancient and early modern history. This offers much stronger coverage of clown history in medieval times and from the 19th century to the present.  The author contends that clowns have served as comic relief for centuries as well as serving as the earliest form of satire and political commentary.  It is only with changing technologies and political freedoms that they have lost this important role.

Information based upon the  MLA Handbook , 8th edition

• The AMA Manual of Style does not offer guidance on the format for an annotated bibliography
• Content of annotations can be summary or critical/evaluative
• Annotations are left aligned under the left aligned citation
• Citations are not numbered and are in alphabetical order by author last name

Smith J. A Brief History of Clowns . Circus Press; 2010.

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Bibliography: How to Write, Types, Format Examples, Tips

The article explains the essential part played by bibliography in any research or academic work. It explains the significance and importance of a bibliography with the help of examples. Further, it explores different types of formats to write a bibliography along with format examples with tips. Guidelines and tricks are mentioned in the article to help the writer critically arrange his/her work and add value to it.

What is Bibliography?

Research, articles, and assignments require intensive resource gathering and data collection. There are two types of data, primary and secondary data . A primary dataset is directly collected from the subjects, meaning it is fresh and brand-new. A secondary data set is based on information that is already available. A bibliography is a collection of information sources that have been gathered and analysed. It can be defined as a meticulously crafted list of all the resources one has used while doing painstaking research. It is the credit given to the authors of books or scholarly articles along with newspaper editorials and columns. It also includes Government archives, private documents, videos, audio, speeches and letters. In short, any information that has been used during the process of gathering knowledge for your specific project is in hand.

It is pronounced as bi·blee·aw·gruh·fee and is one of the most important components written at the end of any academic writing. It is often confused with a reference list but there is a stark difference between the two. Generally, a reference list contains citations of articles or references cited within a given assignment or research paper. When an author’s work is quoted or alluded to in the thesis or dissertation, it comes under in-text citations. On the other hand, Bibliography is a comprehensive list of all the sources of information and materials one has gone through to understand concepts and formulate ideas. Both reference lists and bibliographies can be included in the same paper.

• A bibliography is a one-stop source for the readers to understand the sources the author must have consulted. In the future, if they decide to learn more about it, they will be able to track down that specific source.
• It gives credit and acknowledgement to others’ hard work. Writing down a bibliography is the proper way to do it when using someone else’s work and recognising them.
• It establishes the authenticity of the writing and the research that is done. It also indicates that content ( both studied and produced ) is authentic and reliable.
• In addition to strengthening the author’s idea and thought process, it helps to convey the message to the audience.
• In the bibliography, both primary and secondary data can be cited. Also, it assists the reader in understanding that the information taken into consideration is updated and factually accurate.
• An organised and detail-oriented bibliography also denotes that it is a well-researched piece of work and not done in a haphazard manner.
• It supports the notion of the author. The facts, numbers or statistics mentioned can be traced back to their source with the help of a bibliography thus helping readers verify them.
• An elaborate bibliography at the end of the research or an article is not just a mere formality. But it describes a well-written and well-researched piece of work. Besides judging the quality of the author’s work, it also helps to determine his or her competency.
• A bibliography enhances the value of articles and research.

Bibliography vs References

A reference list contains only sources you have cited in-text in your assignment. A bibliography is a list of all the sources you used to generate your ideas about the topic including those cited in your assignment as well as those you did not cite.

How to write a bibliography:

A detailed and well-written bibliography gives a finishing touch to the work of the author. The author has to keep track and list all the sources he/she is using to gather data and information so that it doesn’t turn out to be a tedious task in the end.

Before writing your bibliography make sure you have the following information with you-

• Author’s name and surname. The surname should always come first.
• The book or article’s name. It should be in single or double inverted quotes.
• Journal or newspaper title in Italics.
• The volume, edition or issue number.
• The year, and date of publication.
• The pages of the material.

There are various formats which are followed by authors, academics and students. The most common forms are MLA Style, APA Style, Harvard Style and Chicago Style.

• MLA Style format for writing bibliography-

The MLA guidelines are published by the Modern Language Association(MLA) and the recently updated version of 2021 states 9 rules that need to be followed while writing the sources in this format. It is widely used in humanities and liberal arts.

The core content of MLA style bibliography:

The pattern for MLA format is – Author. “Source Title.” Container Title, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.

A.Name – The surname or the last name of the Author should be mentioned first. If there are two authors then both of them need to be listed. If there are more than three authors of a single source then use “et al” after writing the first name.

•  Marx, Karl.
• Pratchett, Terry and Gaiman, Neil.
• Durkheim, Emile, et al .

B.Source Title – Mention the title of the book, newspaper, magazine or journal which is studied or examined.

•    Whenever the source is part of a larger work (e.g., a book chapter, a web page, a journal article), place quotation marks around it 
• An entire book or movie, for example, should be put in italics .

C. The container -The container is the larger work in which the source is included. Its name is always italicised.

• For book chapters, short stories, or poems, the container is a book.
• Journals, newspapers, and magazines serve as containers for articles.
• Websites are containers for web pages.

D. Other contributors – Here the contribution of other parties like the translator or editor needs to be mentioned.

• Translated by Priya Singh
• Edited by Ruth B                

E. Version – Every content out there is modified and updated from time to time and that needs to be mentioned as well

• 2nd version.
• Directors cut or directions vision (in case of videos or films)

F.  Number – If there are multiple parts of the content then one needs to mention the specific part used so that there is clarity.

•  Book 3, section 2.

 E. Publisher – the name of the publisher is very essential to mention

•   Penguin Publishers
•   Oxford Publishers .

G. Publication date – In the case of magazines, publications, books and newspapers the date need to be mentioned. In the case of online publications or uploaded videos, the timing can be added too.

H. Location – the geographical location or the URL of the sources also need to be mentioned so that it becomes easier to track.

    Example –  Hawking, Stephen. “The Theory Of Everything”, 2nd Ed. Jaico Publications,2002. The United States.

• APA Style format for writing bibliography-

The American Psychological Association or the APA format is widely used and common in all the fields pertinent to social sciences and is used by academics and researchers. It helps to formulate the sources succinctly. The content written in the APA format has little similarity with the MLA format.

The pattern for APA style format is Author’s Last Name, Initial(s). (Year of publication). Title of book (Edition ed.). Publisher. The format can vary as per the source. For instance, it will be different for websites or any multimedia. The publication and edited time will also be used.

A. Name – The last name of the author should be mentioned, and the first name should be reduced to initials.

• Tripathi, A.

B. Year – the year of the publication of the book needs to be mentioned after the author’s name. If the cited source is a magazine or newspaper or website then the year, the month and the date of the publication have to be added in parentheses.

• Tripathi, A. (2022)

 C.  Title- The title of the book, video, article or website should be italicised and written after the year and date.

• Tripathi, A. (2022). The War Of Lanka.        

D. Edition – The books or journals and publications are constantly updated so The version or edition number needs to be mentioned as well.

• Tripathi, A. (2022) The War Of Lanka. (1st ed.)

E. Publisher – The publisher’s name should be mentioned after the edition. If it is an online source, the website URL needs to be mentioned. It can be done in the case of newspaper articles or journals whose links are available online.

• Tripathi, A. (2022) The War Of Lanka. (1st ed.) HarperCollins India.                   

     Example – Hawgood, A. (2021, September 26). Six-Figure Artworks, By A  

Fifth Grader. NewYork Times. https://URL.

3.  Harvard Style format for writing bibliography –    

 Another popular referencing style using the author-date system is the Harvard referencing style .  The title of the work is mentioned along with the publications and location.

• I f it is in the case of the book then the format should be -The Author’s Surname, Initials of the first name. (Year) Book Title . City: Publisher .

Example – Alterman, L.  (2022), The Perfect Neighbourhood. New York City: Crooked Lane Books.

If a specific chapter or page is referred to then those details can be added as well.

• If the source is taken from newspaper articles then the format should be- The Author’s last name and the initials of the first name. (Year) “Article Title “, Newspaper Name, date, page number. Along with the URL if available.

Example – Khan, A. (2020), “The Pandemic Is Not Over Yet”, Global Times , August 25, Page 5.

            4. Chicago Style format for writing bibliography –

  The Chicago Style of writing bibliography is also called the Turabian format. A Chicago-style bibliography provides information about the sources cited in your text. An entry in the bibliography begins with the author’s name, the title of the source, and relevant publication information. The structure of the Chicago style is somewhat similar to the rest of the bibliography formats but it is the most used format in America and the Author’s first and last name is mentioned entirely in this format.

The format of Chicago Style – Author’s last name, first name. Title of the book: Subtitle. The edition. The publisher and the year of publication. URL/DOI.

• If the entire book is taken into consideration then you can just mention the book . Example- Clear, James. Atomic Habits. 1st ed. Penguin Random House, 2018.
• If a particular chapter of the book is taken into consideration to emphasise a point in the research or article then it needs to be highlighted as well.

Example -Clear, James.Chapter – “ The Surprising Power Of Tiny Habits”. In the book – Atomic Habits pages 1-30. 1st ed. Penguin Random House, 2018.

Types of Bibliography-

In a bibliography, sources are listed in a detailed manner. For instance, when the source is from a book, then the author’s name along with the publication date and other basic information must be included in the bibliography. There are various types of bibliography that one can come across while compiling a list of sources.

• Enumerated Bibliography
• Annotated Bibliography
• Analytical Bibliography

 As part of our discussion, we will examine a topic to better understand the use and purpose of different types of bibliographies. Consider the case of a student writing a dissertation on “Social Development in Childhood.” Before starting the dissertation , students will read and consume content that will help him/her understand the topic more broadly. Since all the sources have been used to postulate theories and generate ideas by the student, it is necessary to give credit to the owner, source or author of that information. This is where the student starts assembling his/her list of all the sources used.

• Enumerated Bibliography – 

In this type of bibliography, you have to mention the basic list of information of all the sources gathered and used. If the student has gone through the books related to social development for his dissertation, he/she has to include the books and author’s name, date and place of publication along with the number of pages.

Example- Midgley. J,(2013), “ Social Development: Theory and Practice”,(1st Edition ), USA, Sage Publications. Here all the details about the book are mentioned so that the reader understands that the source is credible and can use it for future reference or study.

• Annotated Bibliography –

The source description and information should be provided in brief along with the basic information available in this type of bibliography. There needs to be a clear indication of the author’s point of view. It helps the readers to understand things from the perspective of the author. For instance, if the source is taken from the book, then a paragraph should be added mentioning the thoughts of the author along with the main points, examples and arguments mentioned in the book. It should be a summary of the book.

Example- After mentioning the name and publication of the book, the writer can add an abstract about social development and the theories highlighted in the book.

  “Social Development: Theory and Practice by Midgley. J walks us through the key theoretical principles and practice strategies of social development. It deals with the history of social development in various aspects like social planning, employment, community engagements, interpersonal skills and so on.”

The format of the paragraph is however dependent on the writer, publications and professors in case of assignments and dissertations.

• Analytical Bibliography –

Booksellers’ and printers’ names are given in analytical bibliographies, as are descriptions of paper and binding, along with any insights revealed throughout the process of developing the content and converting it into a published work. It attributes to the physical information and knowledge about the source. It also includes descriptive bibliography where the given source is described in such a way that it is recognisable by the reader. It, the historical bibliography comes under this section. Here the evolution of the source is also tracked.

For example – if the researcher mentions, “Social Development: Theory and Practice” then along with it the different insights of the Author, the texture of the book cover or the description of the book cover can be mentioned for it to be easily recognised by the reader. If there are different volumes of the book, then the rectifications and corrections or additions made to the newer versions of the book can be mentioned.

Tips to write-

• Whenever you are writing an article , research paper, dissertation or assignment make sure to keep a track of all the sources you are using. So that at the last moment you don’t have to search haphazardly for them.
• Make sure your bibliography list is arranged in alphabetical order, by author’s last name.
• Always have more than 3 sources of written information on your topic.
• Make sure to include information to help readers identify what kind of source you have used. For example, a book, journal or video. Add a link if possible.
• Crosscheck whether you have attached the sources to support your work and have mentioned others’ work as well to avoid plagiarism.
• Consult your professor or mentor to select the format of your bibliography.
• All the sources must be arranged in the same way.
• When you cannot find the author’s name, alphabetize using the title of the book or article. 
• A book or article with more than one author should be alphabetized by the first author.
• It is recommended to start every new source on a new line.
• Ensure that your assignment includes a bibliography at the end of it.

A Bibliography is not just a formality but it completes the assignment and gives credibility to your work. It makes sure your work is not plagiarised as well as helps individuals in referring sources, cross-checking them and utilising them. A bibliography is the most essential part of your research to end it on a high note!

References-

https://oxbridgehomelearning.uk/blog/how-to-write-

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/

https://www.bachelorprint.eu/academic-writin/

https://www.aclang.com/blog/the-formal-requirement-or-essential-ingredient/.

https://www.scribbr.com/category/mla/

https://www.scribbr.com/category/chicago-style/

https://www.scribbr.com/category/apa-style/

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Bibliography

A bibliography gives credit to all the author’s hard work that was consulted in someone’s research. This list is usually found on the last portion or on the last page of books and/or magazines, most of which can be academic.

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Table of content, bibliography definition & meaning, what is a bibliography, 10 types of bibliography, bibliography uses, purpose, importance, what’s in a bibliography parts, how to design a bibliography, bibliography vs. references, what’s the difference between bibliography, literature, and biography, bibliography sizes, bibliography ideas & examples, sustainable development bibliography.

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