CREATING YOUR BIBLIOGRAPHY

Make sure you know if your teacher is requiring a certain format (MLA, APA, or something else).

• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers; Joseph Gibaldi  (REF 808 GIB)
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (REF 808 PUB)
• Cite It Right : The SourceAid Guide to Citation, Research, and Avoiding Plagiarism; by Tom Fox, Julia Johns, and Sarah Keller  (808.027 FOX)

Before you begin your research, take some time to find out what pieces of information you will need in order to create a proper citation for a book, article, web page, or other type of source.  It will save you time and aggravation if you compile your Works Cited page as you do your research – and to do that, you need to know the elements of each type of citation.

If you are using a subscription database, check to see if it has a feature that will create your citation for you.

If you have questions about how to cite a source, see your teacher, or go to the Writing Lab, or come and see us in the Library.

Here are two web resources to help you properly compile your bibliography: 

Purdue University’s OWL—Online Writing Lab

This is an excellent resource on writing and research.  The guides below give examples of the basic types of citations. 

APA Formatting and Style Guide

(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01) 

MLA Formatting and Style Guide

(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01)

Oregon School Library Information System
(http://secondary.oslis.org)
This site has extensive information on the entire research process. The Citation Maker links for either MLA or APA formats are on the right side of the page.  If you want a helpful printout of examples of various types of citations, click on the link for the format you’re following (MLA or APA), then scroll down to the bottom of the yellow right-side menu to the Citation Examples link under the Citation Resources heading and choose the PDF option.