How to Write a Final Bibliography

A clear, concise bibliography is essential to a piece of quality academic writing. It allows those reading the work to find your sources easily so that they can verify your research.



The two most common formats for bibliographies are those laid out by the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the Chicago Manual of Style. Check with your editor or professor to determine which is preferred.

Instructions

  1. MLA style

    • 1

      Alphabetize all of your sources by the last name of the author. Do not include titles such as "Dr." or degrees such as "PhD." Works with no known author should be alphabetized by title.

    • 2

      Use the following format when referencing books, with the second line indented one half-inch from the left:

      Author's last name, First name. Title. Place of publication: Publisher, Year. Medium.

      Titles should be italicized. For printed books, the medium should read "Print."

    • 3

      To reference periodicals, italicize the title only and use this format:

      Authors' last name, First name. "Title of Article." Periodical title Day Month Year: pages. Medium.

    • 4

      Italicize the name of an online source and then use this format:

      Editor or author name. Site name. Version number. Name of institution or organization affiliated with the site, date of creation. Medium of publication. Date that you accessed the site.

      The medium of online sources should be listed as "Web." If no publisher or no date is apparent on the website, write "n.p." or "n.d"

      The MLA does not require the inclusion of a site's URL. If your professor demands the URL, place it in angle brackets (<>) at the end of the listing and break lines only after slashes.

    Chicago Style

    • 5

      Sources should be alphabetized by the last name of the author. Italicize the titles of books and then follow this format:

      Author's first name, Last name, Title of work. Location of publication: Publisher, Year.

    • 6

      Italicize the titles of periodicals, then follow this format:

      First name, Last name, "Title," Publication, Month Day, Year

    • 7

      Online sources should be references in this format:

      "Page Title," Site publisher, accessed month day, year. URL.

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