What Is a Bibliography?

A bibliography is a list of the sources that you used, consulted or recommend in connection with a piece of work, such as an essay, report or book. It appears at the end of the document and gives readers the information they need to find those sources. The word comes from Greek roots for book and writing.

Bibliography, reference list and works cited

The terms overlap, and style guides use them in different ways.

• Reference list: used in APA, Harvard and other author-date styles. It includes only the sources that you cite in the text.
• Works cited: used in MLA. It also lists only cited sources.
• Bibliography: used in Chicago notes style and some others. It may include sources you consulted as well as those cited in the notes.
• Selected bibliography or further reading: a list of helpful sources beyond those cited.

Always check what your assignment and style guide require.

What an entry includes

Entries usually contain the author, title, publication details and, for online sources, a DOI or URL. The exact order, punctuation and formatting depend on the citation style. For example, a journal article entry typically includes author, year, article title, journal title, volume, issue, pages and DOI.

Types of bibliography

• Standard bibliography: a simple list of sources.
• Annotated bibliography: each entry has a short note summarizing and evaluating the source and explaining its relevance.
• Selected bibliography: a limited list of the most important or relevant works.
• Working bibliography: a list that you build while researching, before finalizing.

How to compile one

1. Record details as you read, including page numbers.
2. Use a reference manager to store and format sources.
3. Choose the style your course requires.
4. Format each entry, following examples.
5. Sort the list alphabetically or by citation order, as the style requires.
6. Match with the text, ensuring that each in-text citation has an entry.
7. Proofread for consistency and errors.

Common mistakes

• Missing details such as dates, pages or DOIs.
• Inconsistent formatting.
• Citations in the text that do not appear in the list.
• Including sources you did not read.
• Wrong order.
• Copying citations from a generator without checking.

Why it matters

A good bibliography shows that your work is built on evidence, helps readers to follow up, and protects you against accusations of plagiarism. Markers often check it.

Related terms

See works cited, citation style, DOI, primary source and gray literature.