Head-Royce School
Research and Writing Web Site
Last updated July 10, 2007
 
Writing Main Page | Research Main Page
 
 
Creating a Works Cited Section  
(Final Bibliography)
 
 
The Mantra: FORMATTING A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS AN ART OF PRECISION. Whether you use a comma or a period when punctuating a bibliographical entry actually makes a difference. Study the examples in The Essential Handbook for Writers and on this site carefully, so that you follow the correct research protocol (the rules of research). The meticulously-minded do well on this aspect of a research paper, and the sloppy-at-heart tend to lose points.
 

First and foremost, use The Essential Handbook for Writers! This nifty handbook has a full section on (1) using parenthetical citations (pages 142-146 ) and (2) formatting your works cited section (pages 146-157).

Secondly, remember to create a Bib(liographic) Card for each one of your sources as you conduct your research. These cards - which you will later type up and alphabetize based on last names - become the basis of your works cited section. (see page 126 for what should go on a bib card or the equivalent)
 
 
The Format: EVERY DIFFERENT TYPE OF SOURCE HAS ITS OWN FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS (such as books with one author, books with an editor, reference books, magazines, newspaper articles, videos, interviews, Web sites, articles from an electronic database, yadda, yadda). There are also different formatting requirements for different disciplines (English, History, the Sciences, Mathematics, the Social Sciences--see pp. 140-141 in The Essential Handbook For Writers for an explanation). The possibilities are enough to make you dizzy. However, to simplify matters a little bit, you may use the MLA (Modern Language Association) style for both your English and your History papers. Please ask your Science and Math teachers which documentation format they require.
 
 
Here are the MLA formatting requirements for the most basic types of sources:

Basic Entry for a Book with One or Two Authors (page 148)

General Format
Author's last name, author's first name. Title of Book (underlined or
      italicized). City of publication: Name of publisher, year of publication.

Example of a Book with One Author:
Feidelman, Nancy. Why Freshmen Rule the Roost. Berkeley, CA:
     University of California Press, 2003.

Example of a Book with Two Authors:
Slangen, Guybe and Henry Smyth. Mountaineering Men and How
     They Conquered the Heights. Berkeley, CA: University California
      Press, 2003.

Example of a Book with An Editor:
Bradley, Karen, ed. How To Make Choices Since the Day Is Only 24
     Hours Long. London: Oxford University Press, 2003.

 

Reference Works (page 151)

 General Reference Works (World Book, Encyclopedia Britannica):
"Ballet." World Book. 13th ed. 1996.
"Stalin, Josef." Encyclopedia Americana. 10th ed. 1985.

Specialized Reference Works (which often have a general editor):
Slangen, Guybe (ed.). "Ultimate Frisbee." Encyclopedia of Great
      Sports. New York: Swank Press, 1999.

 

Magazine Article (page 151)

General Format
Author's last name, author's first name. "Title of the Article in Quotation
      Marks." Name of Magazine underlined or in italics date of
      publication: page numbers.

Examples of a Magazine Article Found in Print:
Woogie, Alfred Boogie. "How to Shake Your Thang." Dance
      Magazine 21 Apr. 1966: 11-13.

   Be sure you understand the difference between a
newspaper or magazine that publishes online and a database that you access online! Then choose the correct option below:


Examples of Magazine and Newspaper Articles from On-Line Databases:
If the article is accessed from an on-line database (such as Infotrac, SIRS Researcher, Electric Library, Great Events Microfiche), you should cite the article as if it were from a print journal but add the name of the database at the end of the entry along with the date which you accessed it. Don't include the URL with an on-line database since it is an impermanent address. For example:

Woogie, Alfred Boogie. "How to Shake Your Thang." Dance
      Magazine 21 Apr. 1966: 11-13. SIRS Researcher. Accessed 27
      Nov. 2000.

Sitton, Claude, "3 In Rights Drive Reported Missing." New York Times (1857-Current file); 23 June 1964. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Accessed 2 Feb. 2004.

Example of an Article from an On-Line Newspaper:
If the article is accessed from an on-line newspaper or magazine, you should cite the article as if it were from a print journal but add the date accessed (9 January. 2003) and the URL between angle brackets <>.

Woogie, Alfred Boogie. "How I Shook My Thang." New York Times
      on the Web 17 Oct. 1992: C2. 9 January. 2003.
      <http://www.nytimes.com/specials/downsize/03down1.html>

   

Web site (page 154)

General Format
Author's name (last name first) or institution authoring site (if known).
      Title of site's specific page in quotation marks. Name of full site in
      italics or underlined. Date of document's last revision (if available).
      Date you accessed the site. The URL between angle brackets <>.

Examples:
National Archives and Record Administration (NARA). "Online
      Exhibition Hall's Featured Document: The Emancipation
      Proclamation." National Archives and  Record Administration
      Website. 22 Dec. 1999. 9 Jan. 2003.
    <http://www.nara.gov/exhall/featureddocument/eman/emanproc.html >
Yee, Margeret. "Margaret Yee's Homepage!" Head-Royce School Web
      Site. 31 Aug. 2002. 9 Jan. 2003. <http://ns.headroyce.org/~myee/>


Here are some hints on how to get the information for a web site:
     Cut and paste the address from the location box on the website into your Works Cited.
     Sometimes you need to scroll down to the end of the document for date of last revision.
     Make sure to add the date on which you access the site after the date of last revision.
     Use the form below for marking down the important info on web sites.

 

A Worksheet on Work Cited Entries for Web Sites
Feel free to print out this form for multiple usage.
You can even cut out each entry and paste it on a Bib Card.