How to Cite a Bibliography in a Term Paper

The first step to citing a bibliography in a term paper is knowing what method of citation your professor requires. The three most common are MLA in-text parenthetical citations, APA in-text parenthetical citations, and footnote citations. Each has specific rules for how to cite sources in the text. An excellent start is to gather a list of all your sources that you need to cite before beginning. This way you don't have to keep searching for the information while citing the sources in your paper.

Things You'll Need

  • Term paper
  • List of sources
  • Computer
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Instructions

  1. MLA

    • 1

      Create your bibliography that will go at the end of your paper to start. This will make it easier for you to correctly cite each reference within the paper by having all of your information easily accessible. You may want to make a temporary note next to each source of the pages used so you can reference them quickly in the paper. Don't forget to delete the pages from the full bibliography list once you are finished with the paper.

    • 2

      When using MLA in-text citations, cite the author or authors last name(s) and page number.

      Ex: Mr Darcy is a character made famous by the book "Pride & Prejudice". (Austen 23)

    • 3

      If the author is mentioned in the text, just name the page number within the parentheses.

      Ex: Mr Darcy is a character made famous by Jane Austen's book, "Pride & Prejudice". (23)

    • 4

      When citing a work by multiple authors, list the authors by last name and the page number. Ex: (Pella and Phillips 245).

      For an organization, list the name of the organization and the page number. Ex: (Department of Agriculture 12).

      If there is no author, list the title of the work in quotations followed by the page number. Ex: (Table Etiquette 23).

      For websites list the title of the website. Ex: (Portrait Magazine).

    APA

    • 5

      Create your bibliography that will go at the end of your paper to start. This will make it easier for you to correctly cite each reference within the paper by having all of your information easily accessible.

    • 6

      When using APA in-text citations, cite author's last name, year of publication and page number.

    • 7

      Here are other correct APA in-text citations.

      For multiple authors list all the authors by last name in the order they appear on the book followed by the year of publication for the first in-text citation. For future citations, list the first author's last name and the year of publication and last the page number(s). Ex: Pella, Phillips (1996) p 18-23.

      For six or more authors, put the first author's last name followed by et al, the year of publication and page number. Ex: Pella et al (1993) p 18.

      Groups should be spelled out the first time but can be abbreviated later. Ex: Department of Agriculture (2002). Later Ex: DOA (2002)

      If there is no author, put the title in quotations, followed by year of publication and page. Ex: "Table Etiquette" 1976, p 128.

      For a website list the title of the website, the publication year and the paragraph number. Ex: Portrait Magazine, 2003, para 3.

    Footnotes

    • 8

      Create your bibliography that will go at the end of your paper to start. This will make it easier for you to correctly cite each reference within the paper by having all of your information easily accessible.

    • 9

      Insert a "1" in superscript for the first footnote at the first punctuation mark after the work needing to be cited.

      Ex: Mr Darcy is a character made famous by the book "Pride & Prejudice".1

    • 10

      Cite footnote at the bottom of the page. Footnotes are cited in either MLA or APA format according to your term paper guidelines.

      APA Ex: 1: Austen, J. (2003) Print. Pride & Prejudice. New York, NY: Barnes and Noble.

      (Remember to italicize the title of the work.)

    • 11

      Repeat with a "2" in superscript for the next footnote and so on.

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