Here are some guidelines to help you write your works
cited/bibliography
When doing research and writing a report, it is always necessary to name the source(s) of your
information. This list of sources is called a bibliography / works cited.
1. For each source listed, begin first line at margin and indent each line that follows.
2. Underline or use italics for titles of books, periodicals and software. Titles of articles are
enclosed in quotation marks.
3. Note punctuation and follow exactly.
4. Give the authors' names in the fullest possible form (Cross, Roberta Louise instead of
Cross, R. L.), if there are several places of publication, use the first city mentioned.
5. If required information, such as author or place of publication, is not available, ask for
assistance.
6. If a list of copyright dates are given, use the most recent one.
7. For the United States: a well-known city may be used alone (like New York City), but for
lesser-known cities, write the state as well (you may abbreviate the state -- Olympia,
Wash.). For other countries, write the city and the country (Nagoya, Japan).
8. Arrange all sources in one list, alphabetically by first word, which will generally be either
the author's last name or the first important word of the title.
Book with one author:
Author’s last name, first name. Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher, copyright year.
Anderson, Dale. A Soldier's Life in the Civil War. Milwaukee, WI: World Almanac
Library, 2004.
Fogle, Bruce. Training Your Dog. New York: DK Publishing, 2001.
If you only used part of a book:
Fogle, Bruce. Training Your Dog. New York: DK Publishing, 2001, pp. 50-55.
Book with more than one author:
First author name is written last name first; subsequent author names are written first name, last
name. If there are more than three authors, you may list only the first author followed by the
phrase et al. (the abbreviation for the Latin phrase "and others").
Ride, Sally and Neal Leary. The Mystery of Mars. New York: Crown, 1999.
Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the
Teaching of Composition. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 2004.
For an encyclopedia article that has an author:
Article author’s last name, first name. "Title of article." Name of encyclopedia. Copyright year.
Volume number, page(s).
Clark, William W. "Gothic Art." World Book Encyclopedia. 2002.
Volume 8, pp. 277-278.
Bibliography Guidelines – Page 2
For an encyclopedia article that doesn’t have an author:
"Title of article." Name of encyclopedia. Copyright year. Volume number, page(s).
"Golden Retriever." World Book Encyclopedia. 1999. Volume 8, p.255.
Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. "Jefferson, Thomas." The World Book
Encyclopedia. 2006.
"France." Compton's Encyclopedia. 2004.
For a periodical (Newspaper or magazine):
Article author’s last name, first name. "Title or headline of article." Name of magazine or
newspaper. Date of magazine or newspaper, page(s).
McGill, Kristy. "A Baltic Scramble." Faces. May, 2003, p. 27.
For an Internet address:
Author’s last name, first name. "Title of article or web site." Date of visit
<http://address/filename, date of document or download>. (Enclosed in angle brackets)
DiStefano, Vince. "Guidelines for Better Writing." October 5, 2002.
<http://www.usa.net/~vinced/home/better-writing.html>.
Chase, Philander D. "George Washington." March 17, 2007.
<http://www.worldbookonline.com>.
Smith, Martin. "World Domination for Dummies." Journal of Despotry Feb. 2000: 66-72.
Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale Group Databases. Purdue University Libraries, West
Lafayette, IN. September 27, 2007. <http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com>.
For audiovisual materials:
Title of material. Type of material. Place of publication: Publisher, copyright date.
Bizet’s Dream. Videotape. New York: Sony Wonder, 1998.
For a CD-ROM:
"Article title." CD-ROM title. CD-ROM. Copyright date.
"Titanic Disaster." Encarta 99 Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. 1999.
For an interview:
Name of person interviewed (last name first). Kind of interview. Date.
Pitt, Brad. Telephone interview. 26 January 2006.
Watson, Cosmo. Personal interview. July 29, 2003.
Your finished bibliography should be alphabetized by the first word of the entry, and will
look something like this (Note: Title is centered, capitalized, and NOT underlined):
BIBLIOGRAPHY/WORKS CITED
Bizet’s Dream. Videotape. New York: Sony Wonder, 1998.
Clark, William W. "Gothic Art." World Book Encyclopedia. 2002.
Volume 8, pp. 284-286.
DiStefano, Vince. "Guidelines for Better Writing."
http://www.usa.net/~vinced/home/better-writing.html, October 5, 2002.
Fogle, Bruce. Training Your Dog. New York: DK Publishing, 2001, pp. 50-55.
"Golden Retriever." World Book Encyclopedia. 1999. Volume 8, p.255.
McGill, Kristy. "A Baltic Scramble." Faces. May, 2003, p. 27.
"Titanic Disaster." Encarta 99 Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. 1999.
Watson, Cosmo. Personal interview. July 29, 2003.