A bibliography, sometimes referred to as references or works cited, is a list of all the sources that were used (whether referenced in the text or not) when researching material for a paper. It allows the reader to locate and retrieve the material cited and gives credit to authors whose works were consulted during the research. Every research paper written should contain a bibliography at the end of the paper. The format of a bibliography varies depending on the citation style, but most styles require similar basic information such as the author’s name, publication date, title, facts of publication, and other notes. Here are some common types of sources that may appear in a bibliography along with examples formatted using the MLA style:
Books
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date.
Smith, John. How To Write A Research Paper. Academic Press, 2018.
Williams, Susan. Intro to Sociology. Pearson, 2020.
Book Chapters or Sections
Last Name, First Name. “Chapter or Section Title.” In Book Title, edited by Editor’s Name, page range. Publisher, Publication Date.
Jones, Michael. “Methodology.” In Academic Writing Skills, edited by Lisa Johnson, 45-67. Routledge, 2019.
Journal Articles
Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Journal Title Volume, no. Issue (Publication Date): page range.
Brown, Sarah. “Developing A Thesis.” The Journal of Writing 5, no. 3 (2022): 12-23.
Website Pages
“Name of Page.” Name of Website. Publication or Revision Date. URL. Date Accessed.
“Welcome.” Academic Writing Hub. January 15, 2023. https://www.writinghub.com. January 25, 2023.
Newspaper Articles
Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Newspaper Name, Publication Date.
Thompson, Mark. “New Research on Memory.” New York Times, January 10, 2023.
Interviews
Last Name, First Name. “Interview Title.” Interview by Your Name, Date of Interview.
Jackson, Emily. “Reflecting on Academic Integrity.” Interview by Susan Lee, December 15, 2022.
It’s important that each entry in the bibliography is formatted consistently and contains sufficient information for the reader to identify and retrieve each source. The key elements to include for most sources are:
Author’s name (last name first for MLA style)
Date of publication
Title of source (in italics for books/manuals, quotation marks for articles/chapters)
Facts of publication such as publisher name, volume/issue designation, publisher location
Medium of source (print, online, etc)
Date accessed for websites (Day Month Year)
URL or DOI for websites and electronic sources
Other guidance for creating a quality bibliography:
Sources should be organized alphabetically by author’s last name or by title if no author is provided
All citations in the text must appear in the bibliography and vice versa
Publication dates should be written out fully (December 2020 not Dec. 2020) for MLA style
Font should match the rest of the paper
Entries should be formatted consistently with hanging indent for proper alignment
No blank lines between entries unless using category headers
Here is a sample bibliography containing several of these source types:
Works Cited
Brown, Sarah. “Developing A Thesis.” The Journal of Writing, vol. 5, no. 3, 2022, pp. 12-23.
“Chicago Style Citation Quick Guide.” Library, 15 Jan. 2023, https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/cite/guides/chicago/notesbib. Accessed 25 Jan. 2023.
Jackson, Emily. “Reflecting on Academic Integrity.” Interview by Susan Lee, 15 Dec. 2022.
Lee, Benjamin P. Intro to Research Methods. Academic Press, 2021.
Shaw, Philip. A Guide to Writing Research Papers. Routledge, 2022.
“Sources.” MLA Style Guide, 8th ed., Modern Language Association, 2016. https://style.mla.org/ citing-sources/. Accessed 15 Jan. 2023.
Thompson, Mark. “New Research on Memory.” New York Times, 10 Jan. 2023.
Creating a properly formatted bibliography takes some care but is an important part of any research paper. It allows the reader to review the full details of sources cited and easily locate them. With practice, generating bibliographies becomes quicker and the formatting more intuitive. Using samples like the one provided can help students understand the key elements needed for different source types. A complete and consistently styled bibliography is essential for any research-based academic paper.