Bibliographies and Citation

Why use a Bibliography ?

Universities insist on correct form for submitting essays and research papers. This includes the listing of all resources in the form of a Bibliography.

• A bibliography is a list of individual resources you have used in preparing a piece of work.
• When writing up a piece of work you will need to cite [quote] the bibliographical references [author, book title and details of publication] of all resources you have used.
• Bibliographical references need to be cited in two different places:
1. Where a document is referred to in the text.
2. In a list at the end of the work which is arranged alphabetically by author then bydate. This author/date system of description is referred to as the “Harvard System,” which was first used by Harvard University Professors in the United States of America.

Everything that you use in your work should be acknowledged in a complete Bibliography. Universities have failed work from students who do not follow their strict rules for Bibliographies and reference citations.

For each type of resource you use within your work, whether it is in book form, video, CD-ROM or from the Internet, there is a special way of recording the details.

The following formats can be used as a guide. They are  based on the Harvard University system, APA (American Psychological Association)  and MLA (Modern Language Association) formats and are accepted as a standard in many institutions.

American Psychological Assocation

Website
Motion Picture
Article from an Online Database
Book by Two Authors
Book by One Author
Magazine Article
Encylopaedia Article

Modern Language Association

Book by one author
Book by two or more authors
Image, Photo or Online Picture
Citing a book
Magazine Article
Citing a website
Encylopaedia Article