A bibliography is a list of all sources used in a paper. It is important to include a bibliography to avoid plagiarism by acknowledging where information came from. A bibliography should include books, articles, websites, interviews, and other materials used for research. It does not include common knowledge. Students should keep track of source details like author, title, publisher, and date as they conduct research. Online resources like Purdue OWL and Citation Machine can help students properly format their bibliography in styles like MLA or APA.

1. Writing Your Bibliography

2. What is a Bibliography? A bibliography literally means “list of books.” A bibliography is a list of all the materials that you used to help you write a paper This may include books, articles, Websites, communication, television or radio programs, film or video recordings, etc.

3. Why Should You Write a Bibliography? Anytime you use the words, ideas, data or research of others, you must acknowledge where you got that information from. If you do not acknowledge where you got the information from, you may be accused of plagiarism.

4. What Should You Include? Articles, Websites, books or other research materials that you used to help you write a paper. Names of people that you interviewed or gave you help with your paper. Any other materials that you used to help you with your paper including movies, radio shows, TV shows, etc.

5. What Should You NOT Include? You don’t have to include common knowledge. Common knowledge is information that is well-known by many people; for example, “Buffalo is famous for snow.” Common knowledge also includes facts which are in many books; for example, “George Washington was the first President of the United States.”

6. How Do You Write a Bibliography? Be sure to keep track of all the research materials you use, including any books, articles, Websites, etc. You must know the name of the publication, author, date of publication, Website address, etc.

7. How Can You Learn How to Write a Bibliography? There are many good reference books and Websites that you can use to help you write a bibliography, including: Purdue’s Online Writing Lab ( http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ ) There are also some online programs that will help you write your bibliography, including: Citation Machine ( http://citationmachine.net/ )

8. Which Style Should You Use? This depends on your area of study. There are a lot of different styles, including: MLA, APA, CM, CBE, COS and Chicago Style. In this class we will be using MLA. This style is commonly used in many arts and humanities classes, including English classes.

9. Let’s Get Started! Now that you know how and why you should write a bibliography, let’s get started! Go back to the class blog and find out the instructions for the next activity.