By the time you reach the last line of your paper, you're probably glad it's all over...well, sort of. There's still one last bit to tack onto the end, and that's the bibliography, sometimes called a reference list or works cited list.
Bibliographies are important because they give credit to the authors of the works we have paraphrased or copied from. In a sense, giving a citation or listing a source in a bibliography is a way of saying "thank you" to someone who's an expert in the field (or at least a helpful source of knowledge!).
Bibliographies are also useful to readers who can look up the references for their own research purposes, or who want to judge the validity of your research by examining the authors used or dates of publication.
Many students find bibliographies tedious, though, because the information has to be organised in a particular way, commas and colons included. As well, different instructors may require different styles of bibliographies, and it can be hard to remember one from the other. It can make a great impression, however, if you get all the picky details correct.
A properly laid out bibliography looks professional and serious, and can make your paper stand out among all the others in the class. The word "biblio-graphy" suggests that "books" are the only thing you have used. Nowadays, more and more research is being done using online or other electronic sources, and only recently have style sheets been standardised for such information sources.
If you don't know which style to choose, it's best to ask your instructor. If it doesn't matter, then choose the one you feel comfortable with, and stick with it.
Keep the same style throughout your document. It's helpful to choose the style before you start to write so that you can remember to note down the necessary details while you're doing your research. There's nothing more frustrating than getting home from the library and realising that you forgot to jot down the author's first name or part of the URL when your bibliography would be incomplete without it.
Bibliographies are important because they give credit to the authors of the works we have paraphrased or copied from. In a sense, giving a citation or listing a source in a bibliography is a way of saying "thank you" to someone who's an expert in the field (or at least a helpful source of knowledge!).
Bibliographies are also useful to readers who can look up the references for their own research purposes, or who want to judge the validity of your research by examining the authors used or dates of publication.
Many students find bibliographies tedious, though, because the information has to be organised in a particular way, commas and colons included. As well, different instructors may require different styles of bibliographies, and it can be hard to remember one from the other. It can make a great impression, however, if you get all the picky details correct.
A properly laid out bibliography looks professional and serious, and can make your paper stand out among all the others in the class. The word "biblio-graphy" suggests that "books" are the only thing you have used. Nowadays, more and more research is being done using online or other electronic sources, and only recently have style sheets been standardised for such information sources.
If you don't know which style to choose, it's best to ask your instructor. If it doesn't matter, then choose the one you feel comfortable with, and stick with it.
Keep the same style throughout your document. It's helpful to choose the style before you start to write so that you can remember to note down the necessary details while you're doing your research. There's nothing more frustrating than getting home from the library and realising that you forgot to jot down the author's first name or part of the URL when your bibliography would be incomplete without it.
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