How to Write a Bibliography

A bibliography is used to reference the sources you use in a research paper or essay. Using reputable sources lends credibility to your argument or stand and also shows that you put in the research time while forming your opinion. A source can be a book, magazine article, lecture, website, interview and more. It can support your stance or it may provide a stance other than your own. Your job is to use the information to make your point stronger.

Collect the information for your bibliography as you do your research. At the top of a blank sheet of paper write the following:

1. name of the author (or authors, in alphabetical order)
2. the title or subtitle of the book or article
3. the place of publication
4. the publisher
5. the date of publication
6. the page numbers

Write the information in that order; you’ll see why later on. As you research write your quotes or perhaps pages of interest and their summarized message. Once you’ve gone through all of your sources and written the information, you really won’t need the books. Just use your notes.

Now all you have to do is put it together. The order listed above is the order you want to list the information in your bibliography. Here is an example of a bibliography for Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York: Scholastic, 1999.

• There is a period placed between the author's name and the title and the title and the publishing information.
• The publisher’s location is separated from its name by a semi colon and the name is separated from the date of publication by a comma.
• If the information needed is not provided by the book, you do not have to add it.

Writing a bibliography for other sources is just a matter of getting the right information and listing it in the right order.

To write bibliography for a website you need

• the author
• the title of Article in quotation marks
• the title of magazine, journal, newspaper, newsletter, book, encyclopedia, website, or project, italicized
• the editor
• the type of material: interview, map, advertisement, etc.
• the date the article or site was published
• the group responsible for the page for Internet sources
• for web pages, the date you accessed the information and the complete URL.
• An example of a website citation would be:
  • "A Research Guide For Students." How to Write a Bibliography. Informational site. 10.19.2009 <http://www.aresearchguide.com/12biblio.html>
• Use periods to separate information and make sure to place the URL inside . Often websites will not list all the information asked for above so just make sure to list what you can.