Bibliography Format
- A BIBLIOGRAPHY is a list describing the books you
used for your research. (“Biblio” refers to
books and “graphy” refers to description.) Since
students today generally use online sources as well as books, you may use
the heading WORKS CITED if you prefer.
- The purpose of a bibliography is to give credit to
the sources you used for your research. This is standard practice at every
level of education and in every profession.
- Remember that using another person’s ideas without
acknowledging that person’s work is plagiarism!
- Begin your bibliography on a new page. Center the
heading BIBLIOGRAPHY or WORKS CITED at the top of the page.
- Double space everything in your research paper,
including the bibliography.
- Entries are arranged alphabetically by the first word
of each entry (ignore “a”, “an”, “the” and start alphabetizing with the next
word).
- Entries in your bibliography or works cited list are
NOT NUMBERED.
- The
first line of each entry is at the left margin, and the rest of the entry
is indented 1/2 inch. This is called a “hanging indent.” Here are instructions for creating a
hanging indent in Microsoft Word™. All of the bibliographic citation
examples given here have a hanging indent format. For more information, see MLA Handbook for Writers
of Research Papers (REF
808.027 GIB in the Reference section of the library).
- THE
RESEARCH ROAD on the Fay School Library web page will help you with
every step of your research project. Check out the BIBLIOGRAPHY FAQs section if you have
questions about your bibliography.
Creating Citations
- Find an example here for the type of
source you have, and use it as a guide. If there is extra information in
these examples that your book doesn’t have (like an edition number), leave
it out. If the author’s name is not given, begin with the title.
- For a BOOK,
everything you need for your citation is on the title page and the back of
the title page.
- A BOOK title should be in italics or underlined (either
is acceptable). The title of an ARTICLE should be in “quotation marks.”
- If the
city of publication is very famous, you don’t need to include the name of
the state or country.
- If you
didn’t read the entire book, include the page numbers, but don’t write p.
or pg. The numbers alone are sufficient.
- Be sure
to use the correct punctuation! Fay School has a subscription to NoodleBib,
an online citation generator which will take care of the punctuation
for you. More information about NoodleBib.
BOOK – One Author or Editor
Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Book.
Edition. City of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Year of Publication. Page
Numbers.
Examples:
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: MLA, 2003.
Rainis, Kenneth G. Crime-Solving Science
Projects: Forensic Science Experiments. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2000. 84-93.
Egendorf, Laura K., ed. The Information Revolution:
Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2004.
BOOK – Two
or Three Authors or Editors
Author’s Last name, First Name,
Second Author’s Name, and Third Author’s Name. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Year of
Publication. Page Numbers.
Examples:
Hoobler, Dorothy, and Thomas
Hoobler. We
are Americans: Voices of the Immigrant Experience. New York: Scholastic, 2003.
Byatt, Andrew, Alastair Fothergill,
and Martha Holmes. The
Blue Planet: A Natural History of the Oceans. New York: DK, 2001. 212-259.
BOOK – More Than Three
Authors or Editors
Author’s last name, First name, et
al. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Year of
Publication. Page Numbers.
If your book has more than three authors, just name the first author;
“et al” means “and others”.
Example:
Garcia, Jesus, et al. Creating
America: A History of the United States. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2004.
BOOK – No
Author or Editor given
Title of Book. Edition. City of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Year of
Publication. Page Numbers.
Example:
The Merck Index. 15th ed. Whitehouse
Station, NJ: Merck, 2001. 1405.
ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLE
Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Article title.” Title of Encyclopedia. City of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Year of
Publication.
If the author’s name is not given for an
article, begin with the title. Sometimes the author is given at the END of the
encyclopedia article. If the information in the book is arranged alphabetically,
as in a dictionary or encyclopedia, you don’t need to include volume or page
numbers. If the source is very well known, you don’t need to include the city
or publisher.
Examples:
Crawford, Michael H. “Heart.” World Book Encyclopedia. 2005.
Meade, Melinda S. “Thailand.” Compton’s Encyclopedia & Fact Finder. 2007.
ARTICLE IN A REFERENCE BOOK
Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Article title.” Title of Book. Book Editor’s Name. Vol. #. City of
Publication: Publisher’s Name, Year of Publication. Page Numbers.
If the author’s name is not
given for an article, begin with the title. The first two examples are for
articles written by one person in a book edited by someone else.
Examples:
Coenen, Craig R. “The Election of 1960.” American Presidential Campaigns
and Elections. Ed.
William G. Shade and Ballard C. Campbell. Vol. 3. Armonk, NY: Sharpe
Reference, 2003. 849-866.
Hong, Terry. “Gish Jen.” Notable Asian Americans. Ed. Helen Zia and Susan B.
Gall. New York: Gale, 1995.
Nagel, Rob. “Kakapo.” Endangered Species. Vol. 2. Detroit: UXL, 1999. 282-284.
MAGAZINE OR NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
Author’s Last Name, First
Name. “Article title.” Magazine or Newspaper
Title Date of Publication: Page Numbers.
If the author’s name is given for
the article, include it. If not, begin with the title. The date format is
day-month-year, and the page number is last.
Examples:
Gnatek, Tim. “Search Engines Build a Better Mousetrap.” New York Times 10 March 2005: E4.
Schardt, David. “Get the Lead Out: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You.” Nutrition Action
Health Letter March 2005: 3-7.
Wolman, David. “Hydrates, Hydrates Everywhere.” Discover October 2004: 62-67.
INTERVIEW
White, Stephen C. Head of Fay
School.
Personal interview on Fay School core values. Southborough, Massachusetts. 6 February 2007.
MUSIC or VIDEO
If you need to
cite a musical recording, video, film, television or radio program, see pages
194-201 in MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, (REF 808.027 GIB in the Reference section
of the library) because each of these formats is cited a little differently.
The basic format is:
Performer or composer. Title. Manufacturer, Year.
Citing Online Sources
·
If you have used the subscription databases or UPPER SCHOOL LINKS on
the Fay School Library web site to locate information online, you can trust
that you have used good sources for your research.
·
If you have used Google (or another
search engine), be sure you have evaluated the web page you have found. Use the
Fay Library WEB SITE EVALUATION tool.
·
When you look at a web page, make sure the
person or sponsoring organization responsible for the information has the
credentials to be considered expert in the field. If you’re not sure, ask a
librarian or your teacher.
·
If you can’t determine the author or sponsoring
organization for a web site, don’t use it! Remember too, that another student’s
work is not an acceptable source for your research.
·
If the author’s name is not given, begin with
the title of the page. Sometimes the URL is very long, so you may find it
easier to copy and paste it from the address window on your browser. If you
have printed your information, the URL will appear on the bottom of each page.
·
Find an example here that is most like your
source, and use it as a guide. If you have questions, ask a librarian!
·
If you use NoodleBib, be sure to use the Check for Errors feature.
If you do this and your citation differs somewhat from the examples shown here,
don’t’ worry. There may be more than one correct way to cite a source!
WEB SITE
Author’s Last Name, First
name. “Specific Page or Article Title.” Title of
Entire Web Site. Copyright date or last update. Sponsoring Organization. Date You Viewed It. <URL>.
If there is no author given, begin with the title.
Examples:
“How Do Scientists Read Chromosomes?” Genetic Disorder
Corner. 2007. Genetic Science Learning Center,
U. of Utah. 5 August 2007 <http://gslc.genetics.utah.edu/units/disorders/karyotype/chrompictures.cfm>.
“First Inaugural Address of Franklin D.
Roosevelt.” The
Avalon Project. 1997. Yale Law School. 2 August 2007. <http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/roospap.htm>
Barbier, Chrystelle. “Jan Ullrich de retour,
Lance Armstrong menacé.” Le
Monde.fr 18 Juillet 2003. 18 July 2003. <http://www.lemonde.fr>.
IMAGE FROM A WEB SITE
“Title or Description of Image.” Title of
Entire Web Site. Copyright date or last update. Sponsoring Organization. Date You Viewed It. <URL>.
Examples:
“Mitosis.” MIT Biology Hypertextbook. 2002. MIT. 8 March 2005 <http://web.mit.edu/esgbio/www/cb/mitosis.gif>.
"Panda Cub Tai Shan." BBC NewsRound. 30 Nov. 2005. BBC. 4 Aug. 2007 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41073000/jpg/_41073134_panda7_ap.jpg>.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
& DATABASES
- You have access to these subscription databases on the Fay
School Library web site: American History Online, Ancient &
Medieval History Online, Modern World History Online, Issues &
Controversies, Oxford English Dictionary and Science Online.
- You have access to these online encyclopedias: Britannica
Online, Grolier Online.
- You have access to these online magazine subscriptions: CQ
Researcher, Scientific American.
- You have access to these online periodical databases: Gale Databases (InfoTrac),
Massachusetts Newsstand.
- NoodleBib’s Subscription Database Wizard feature makes
it easier to cite subscription databases!
BRITANNICA ONLINE
Author’s last name, First
name. “Article Title.” Encyclopedia
Britannica. Copyright date or last update. Name
of Database. Date
You Viewed It. <URL of search page>.
Britannica Online provides the
citation at the end of each article, which you may copy and past into your
bibliography. Choose MLA Style.
Example:
"Civil Rights Movement." Encyclopedia
Britannica. 2007. Britannica Online School
Edition. 2 August
2007. <http://www.search.eb.com/>.
GROLIER ONLINE
Author’s Last Name, First
Name. “Article Title.” Title of
Specific Reference Source. Copyright
date or last update. Name of Database. Date You Viewed It. <URL of search page>.
Grolier Online has seven different reference sources.
Give the title of the specific source you used.
Example:
Rhines, Karin. “Using Genetics for Food Production.” The New Book of
Popular Science Online. 2007. Grolier
Online. 8 May 2007. <http://nbps.grolier.com/>.
CQ RESEARCHER
Author’s Last Name, First
Name. “Article Title.” CQ Researcher Online. Date of Publication. Date You Viewed It <URL>.
CQ Researcher provides the citation for you. Click “Cite
Now” and choose MLA Style. Then copy and paste the citation into your
bibliography.
Example:
Jost, Kenneth. “Supreme Court’s Future.” CQ Researcher Online. 28
January 2005. 2
August 2007 <http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher>.
Gale Databases (InfoTrac)
Author’s Last Name, First
Name. “Article
Title.” Magazine
or Newspaper Title Date of Publication. Name of Database. Gale. Fay School Lib., Southborough, MA. Date You Viewed It. <URL>.
Give
the title of the specific InfoTrac database you used.
Gale is the name of the subscription service. Fay School Lib. is
mentioned as the provider of the service. It is sufficient to give the URL of
the InfoTrac search page.
Example:
Perkins, Sid. “Volcanic Hot Spots: Molten Messengers from Deep within
the Earth.” Science
News 9 July 2005: InfoTrac General Reference Center. Gale.
Fay School Lib., Southborough, MA. 28 Aug. 2006. <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/>.
ISSUES
& CONTROVERSIES and TODAY’S SCIENCE
Click on the
white icon at the top of the article marked “PRINT/CITATION” to get the
citation, which you may copy and paste into your bibliography. This is the best
and easiest way!
But I still can’t figure it out!
Okay, it’s not
easy. Check out BIBLIOGRAPHY FAQs on
the Fay Library web page. Ask a teacher, ask a librarian, or use the MLA
Handbook for Writers of Research Paper. Try using NoodleBib!
Remember that earnest effort is one of Fay’s core values! Just do
your best. See a sample bibliography.
What
is NoodleBib?
NoodleBib is an online bibliography generator that
takes care of punctuation and helps you produces a polished source list that’s correctly
formatted and ready to print. Fay School
has a subscription to this very useful tool, and you’ll find a NoodleBib link on the Fay School Library web page.
By providing prompts and asking questions, NoodleBib makes it easier to correctly cite the
sources you use for your research.
How to use NoodleBib
Step-by-Step
Citing
Sources Within the Text of Your Paper
ISN’T MY BIBLIOGRAPHY ENOUGH?
Your bibliography shows the sources you used for your
research, but you also need to indicate the specific facts or ideas you
used and exactly where you found them. Some fields of study use footnotes or
endnotes to accomplish this. If your teacher requires footnotes or endnotes,
see the Footnotes and Endnotes for detailed instructions and
examples. The MLA format uses PARENTHETICAL REFERENCES,
which NoodleBib provides for you.
HOW DO I KNOW WHAT TO
CITE?
You must cite any important facts or opinions taken from the
work of others, whether you quote directly or paraphrase. You don’t need to
cite commonly known, generally accepted facts. For middle and high school
students, this means things that most people in your grade would know. You do
need to cite:
- new words, new ideas, or new
information you learn in your research;
- any
statistics, charts, or images that are someone else’s work.
Examples:
- That
George Washington was the first president of the U.S. is a commonly known
fact which does not require a citation. The fact that he was an
accomplished dancer does require a citation.
- That H2O
is the chemical symbol for water is a commonly known fact which does not
require a citation. The fact that the tetrahedral crystalline structure
breaks down when ice melts to form liquid water requires a citation.
CITATION MYTH
“I don’t need to cite it because it’s not a
quotation.” This is not true. You must use a footnote for someone else’s
idea—even if you paraphrase it.
(Parenthetical References)
- The MLA style uses
parenthetical references for citing sources within the text of your paper.
Every source you cite in your paper must be listed in your bibliography.
- Within the text
of your paper, when you need to cite a source, simply put in parentheses
the first word of the bibliographic entry for that item followed by the
page number. Here is an example using a parenthetical reference for the
page in MLA Handbook for Writers of
Research Papers where you will find complete instructions for
using parenthetical references (Gibaldi 238).
- Don’t use any
punctuation within the parentheses, and if there is no author, just use
the first important word or two of the title (not “a”, “an”, “the”).
- For a web site,
use the author’s last name if given, or the first word of the bibliographic
entry (no page number needed).
- If you use NoodleBib, click Parenthetical Reference for
a suggestion for citing that source within the text of your paper. NoodleBib rules!
Footnotes and Endnotes
A footnote/endnote is like a bibliographic
citation, EXCEPT:
·
The
author’s name is in first name/last name order and is followed by a
comma (not a period).
·
There
is no punctuation after a book title. Use a comma (not a period) after the
title of an article.
·
Enclose
the city, publisher, and date in parentheses.
·
If
the information is from a specific page, give the page number, and end all
footnotes or endnotes with a period.
·
Bibliographic
entries use a hanging indent format. Footnotes or endnotes are numbered
sequentially and the first line of each is indented.
- A footnote or endnote for a print source requires a page number.
SECOND FOOTNOTE FROM ONE SOURCE
Repeat the format
even when two references in sequence refer to the same work. If you use two
books by the same author, for example, Bound for the North Star and My Family Shall be Free by Dennis B. Fradin, include a shortened form of the title after the author’s last name:
The abbreviations ibid. and op. cit. are
not used any more.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC
CITATION FORMAT COMPARED WITH NOTE FORMAT
BOOK – One Author or Editor
BibliographY * Book with one author * Book with 2 or 3 authors * Book with
more than 3 authors * Book with no author * Encyclopedia Article * Reference
Book Article * Magazine or Newspaper Article * Interview * Music or Video * Web Site * Image from a Web Site * Britannica Online * Grolier Online
* CQ Researcher * Gale Databases (InfoTrac)
* Sample Bibliography * Bibliography FAQs
* I still can’t figure
it out!