How to Write a Works Cited Page

How to Write a Works Cited Page/Bibliography

In order to avoid plagiarism, it is necessary to give credit to your sources. One way to do that is with a bibliography (sometimes this is called a works cited page or a source page). A bibliography is an organized list of all sources that were used or cited. Each source has its own entry, which consists of information such as the title, author, and copyright date.

For a website:

Author Last name, Author First name. “Title of article/page.” Title of webSITE. Date last updated/copyright. Date you accessed it. <url (web address)>.

**If something is missing from the page, you just SKIP it!**

Example:

Smith, Jennifer. “How to Choose a Resort.” Trip Advisor. 15 Apr. 2011. 17 May 2011. www.tripadvisor.com/howtochoose.

For a book:

Author Last name, Author First name. Title. City, State where published: Publishing Company, Copyright year.

Example:

Jones, Robert. The Hawaiian Islands. Chicago, IL: Bantam Books, 2009.

For an encyclopedia:

“Title of the Entry.” Title of Encyclopedia. Year ed.

Example:

“Italy.” World Book. 2001 ed.

For a personal interview:

Interviewee Last name, First name. Personal Interview. Date interviewed.

Example:

Clark, Marianne. Personal Interview. 13 May 2011.

Once you have all of your source information, you can write your bibliography! Here are some tips for formatting:

  Center the words Bibliography or Works Cited at the top of the document

  Sources are alphabetized by the first word of each entry

  The entire document is double spaced

  There is no EXTRA space between entries

  The first line of each entry is flush with the margin, but any line after that is indented (like a backwards paragraph!) *You can set this up easily in MS Word by setting the HANGING INDENT to the half-inch mark on the ruler!

  There are periods after each component of the entry

  Only hit “ENTER” when you are ready to start a NEW ENTRY

SAMPLE BIBLIOGRAPHY/WORKS CITED

Bibliography

Allinson, Gary D. "Fiji." World Book Online Reference Center. 2009. 6 May 2009. <http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar560280>.

Aniston, Jennifer. A Visitor’s Guide to Fiji. New York: Bantam

Publishing Co., 1999.

Baggins, Frodo. “Fijian Beaches: Fun in the Sun.” Fiji Visitor’s Bureau. 22

Mar. 2006. 4 Apr. 2006. <http://www.fijivb.gov>.

Carter, Nell. “A History of Fiji.” Fiji Department of Natural History. 30 Mar. 2006. 4 Apr. 2006. <http://www.fijidonh.gov>.

“Deep into the Fijian Seas.” National Geographic Online. 19 Dec. 2008. 25 Mar. 2009. <http://www.nationalgeographic.com/fijian_seas>.

“Fiji.” World Book. 2004 ed.

McClelland, Nicole. Personal Interview. 29 Apr. 2009.

“Touring Fiji.” Lonely Planet. 17 Feb. 2009. 6 May 2009. <http://www.lonelyplanet.com/japan/tokyo>.