When writing a research or book, it is important to include a bibliography, which is a list of all the books, articles, and other sources you have used to compile your work. Bibliographies are usually formatted in one of three styles: American Psychological Association (APA) for scientific texts, Modern Language Association (MLA) for humanities, and Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) for books and journals.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Write an APA-style Bibliography
Step 1. Create a list of references
Reserve a page at the end of the document for the bibliography. The title will be "References". After this heading make a list of articles, books, web publications, and other sources that you used to write your work.
Step 2. Cite the articles
Articles are cited with the name of the author, followed by the year, the title of the article, name of the publication, volume or issue in the case of a periodical, and reference pages. The format is this: Author, A. A., and Author, B. B. (Year). "Article title." "Publication title", volume or issue number, pages.
- Example: Jensen, O. E. (2012). "African Elephants." Savannah Quarterly, 2 (1), 88.
- If the article has been viewed online, include the words "Available on" followed by the web address.
- Include as much information as possible. If information is missing, do not put it.
Step 3. Mention the books
It begins with the author's name, followed by the year of publication, the title of the book, the city of the publishing house, and finally the name of the publishing house. The format is as follows: Author, A. A. (Year). Book's title. Place: Publishing House.
Example: Worden, B. L. (1999). Echoing Eden. New York, New York: One Two Press
Step 4. Cite websites
Include the author's name, the complete date, the title of the web page, and the words "Available on" with the web address. The format is as follows: Author, A. A. (Year, Month day). Title of the web page / document. Available at: http; // URL of the specific page.
- Example: Quarry, R. R. (May 23, 2010). Wild Skies. Available at from
- If there is no author available, start with the title. If there is no date, write "n.d.".
Step 5. Include citations in the text
The APA style requires the use of simple quotes in parentheses immediately after the line or concept in the text for which you have used a particular reference. In-text citations give limited information, and should be linked to the respective citations on the bibliography page at the end of the document.
- When paraphrasing a source, include the author's surname and the year of publication. Example: "Research has shown that the number of monarch butterflies has decreased over the past decade (Jensen, 2011."
- For direct citations, include the author's surname, year and page number. Example: "The monarch butterfly population is" rapidly decreasing due to global warming "(Jensen, 2011, p.380)."
- If you don't have the author's name, use the first few words of the publication's title. Example: "Up they see fewer butterflies on the California coast (Butterfly News, 2011)."
Method 2 of 3: Write an MLA-style Bibliography
Step 1. Create a page to list the cited works
Reserve a page at the end of the document for the bibliography, which in the MLA style is called "cited works". Write "Works Cited" at the top of the page, and make a list of books, articles and websites that you have used as sources for your work.
Step 2. Cite the articles
It begins with the surname and name of the author, followed by the title of the article, title of the publication, volume and issue number, date and pages. Make sure you use punctuation and italicize the right things. The format is as follows: Surname, name of the author. "Article title". "Title of the periodical" Volume number Date: pages.
- Example: Green, Marsha. "Life in Costa Rica." Science Magazine 1 4 Mar. 2013: 1-2.
- Include as much information as possible about each item.
Step 3. Mention the books
Include the surname and name of the author, title of the book, place of publication, publisher and date of publication. The format is as follows: Surname, name of the author. "Book's title". Additional information. Place of Publication: Publishing House, date of publication.
Example: Butler, Olivia. Parable of the Flower. Sacramento: Seed Press, 1996
Step 4. Cite websites
It begins with the surname and name of the author (if available), title of the article or project, title of the website, date of publication, name of the sponsoring institution, date of access and complete web address. The format is as follows: Cignome, name of the author. "Title of the work within a project or database." "Title of the site, project, or database". Publication information (date of publication or last update, name of a sponsoring institution or organization). Date of access e.
Example: Jong, June. "How to Write an Essay." Writing Portal. 2 Aug. 2012. University of California. 23 Feb. 2013. .
Method 3 of 3: Write a CMS-style Bibliography
Step 1. Create a page for the bibliography
Reserve a page for the bibliography at the end of your research or book. Write "Bibliography" at the top of the page and make a list of all the books, articles and websites that you have used as sources for your work.
Step 2. Cite the articles
Write the author's full name, article title, newspaper or magazine title, volume number, publication date and page number. If you are citing a newspaper, omit the volume number. The format is as follows: Name and surname of the author. "Article title". "Magazine title". Volume number (date): page number.
Example: Skylar Marsh. "Walking on Water." Earth Magazine 4 (2001): 23
Step 3. Mention the books
Write the full name of the author, title of the book, place of publication, publisher, year of publication and page number. The format is as follows: Walter White. Space and Time. New York: Lindon Press, 1982.
Step 4. Cite websites
Write the name of the company or organization, the name of the web page or article, the date of the last modification and the complete web address. The format is as follows: Company name. "Name of the web page". Last modification date. Website address.
