Bibliography Basics

A bibliography provides complete information of sources that a reader can access to understand more about the topics discussed in the paper. The American Psychological Association (APA) and the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) call this bibliography “References List,” and the Modern Language Association of America (MLA) calls it “Works Cited.”

Note that each entry in the reference list (APA or CMS) or works-cited list (MLA) has one or more corresponding in-text citations in the text, which is a shortened version of the source cited in the list. Here, we will see the bibliography of MLA to understand the topic better.

As bibliographies help a reader locate the source and explore the topic further, it is important to include a bibliography in your paper.

Bibliography entries

Bibliography entries—also know as references or full citations—usually contain the following information about a source:

1. Name of the author or creator
2. Date work was published
3. Title of the work
4. Where the source is from (e.g., publisher name, URL, DOI, etc.).

Depending on the source type, you will also need additional details like volume number, publication title, contributors, medium, etc.

Examples of works-cited-list entries

In order to understand what a bibliography looks like, examples of MLA works-cited-list entries are provided. Below are a few different types of works-cited list entries along with their templates.

For MLA style, titles of works are in title case. Also note that works within a container have the smaller work in quotation marks, and the larger work italicized. For example, a journal article is contained within a journal. If there is no container, like for a book, the title is just italicized.

Book

Template:

Surname, First name. M. Title of the Book. Publisher, Publication Date.

Example:

Bogart, Anne. A Director Prepares: Seven Essays on Art and Theatre. Routledge, 2007.

Journal article

For journal articles, you’ll need to add additional information. Include “vol.” before the volume number and “no.” before the issue number. Use “pp.’’ before the page range (or “p.” if it’s a single page).

Template:

Surname, F. “Title of the Article.” Journal Title, Volume, Issue, Publication Date, Page range.

Example:

Brisini, T. “Precarity Afoot: Material Performatives as Evolutionary Relations Across Deep Time.” Text and Performance Quarterly, vol. 38, 2018, pp. 119–35.

Webpage of a website

The webpage title is in plain text, while the website name is set in italics. Follow the format given in the template and example for setting the date, month, year, and URL.

Template:

Author or Organization Name. “Title of the webpage.” Website Name. Publication Date, URL.

Example:

Goodman, Elyssa. “A Drag King’s Journey from Cabaret Legend to Iconic Activist.” Them. 29 Mar. 2018, www.them.us/story/drag-king-cabaret-legend-activist-storme-delarverie.

YouTube video

The video title is set in title case and inside quotation marks. This is followed by the word “YouTube.” Then the uploader’s name is given in the first name-surname format, followed by the uploaded date. Finally, the URL is given.

Template:

“Title of the Video.” YouTube, uploaded by Uploader’s Name, Day Month Year, URL.

Example:

“Life is Stormy.” YouTube, uploaded by Matthew Kelly, 17 June 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csSRr60wwVA.

Annotated bibliography

In MLA, an annotated bibliography is a works-cited-list entry with a description of the source. The annotation can describe a source or evaluate it. The following guidelines show how to create an annotated bibliography.

Guidelines to creating an annotated bibliography

• The title is “Annotated Bibliography” or “List of Works Cited.”
• An annotation follows the works cited entry, but on a new line.
• No line space is given between the works-cited entry and the annotation.
• Annotation is indented by an inch from the start of the works-cited entry.
• An annotation can comprise many phrases or complete sentences.
• Generally, it is set in one paragraph. If it runs for multiple paragraphs (in rare cases), each paragraph is indented by an inch.
• No line space is given between multiple paragraphs.
• Works-cited entries are arranged alphabetically.

Example of an annotated bibliography

McRae, C., and Aubrey Huber. Creating Performances for Teaching and Learning: A Practice Session for Pedagogy. Palgrave McMillian, 2017.

The authors explain several innovative methods to teaching children. The methods explained will help children acquire new knowledge, enhance their existing skills, and improve their skills of enhancement.

Key takeaways

• A bibliography is a list of reference entries that help a reader locate a source for further reference.
• In APA and CMS styles, it is called a “Reference List,” and in MLA style, it is called “Works Cited.”
• An annotated bibliography evaluates or describes a source.
• It gives some idea about the source to readers.