Learn and Generate Bibliographies, Citations, and Works Cited
Writing the perfect bibliography takes work. You need to have your sources ready and evaluate each source to ensure that you are citing it perfectly.
Before you can begin creating your bibliography perfectly, you need to know what format you are working in. The way that you create your bibliography will depend on the specific style that you are using. There are several different styles available.
MLA:
This style is designed for creating liberal arts or humanities essays.
APA:
Use this style for creating in the education or science fields.
Chicago:
You might use this for creating a business essay for professionals.
Turabian:
Similar to the Chicago style but designed for students.
Harvard:
This is used to for referencing informational texts by students.
Each style comes with its own way to cite the works that you used. Additionally, within each style, you must cite different works differently. For example, a blog will be cited differently than a website. Among books, there are different formats for online books, print books and even books with multiple authors.
Sometimes a regular old bibliography just isn’t cutting it. Adding an annotated bibliography can proved validity and necessity to your citations. In an annotated bibliography, you add a purpose, summary and even information about the author.
When you are creating a work in a specific style, a lot of different elements are going to come into play. These will include footnotes and in-text citations. It is important to know the difference between a footnote and a bibliography and why each are important.
One way teachers help students learn to write research papers is by teaching them to create an outline of the essay before they start writing it. Some teachers require an outline submitted prior to approving the topic. It helps both the students and teachers find out if they’re on the right track before going further in the research process. Although your teacher will tell you what editorial...
Students often ask if they should write letters following MLA, APA or Chicago style. However, these editorial styles are used for research and school essay papers rather than for formal or informal business writing purposes. Difference Between Scholarly and Business Writing Different writing and editorial styles serve different purposes. Formal writing, like business writing, follows a certain...
As you select your topic and plan your research, you’ll need to think about your point of focus. Your instructor may ask you to write a thesis statement or a purpose statement. Sometimes you will have both in the same paper. No matter what type of style you use – MLA, APA or Chicago, – you’ll need to include thesis or purpose statements. How to Use Thesis or Purpose Statements...
Although we see abbreviated Latin words in articles, they can still be confusing. Sometimes, the way people use them is incorrect. Many Latin abbreviations have fallen out of common use, but are still used in scholarly writing – ibid., et al., and i.e. are frequently used in text and reference citations. Definition of et al. Et al. means “and others” in Latin. Actually, it’s an abbreviation...
Citing your sources for a science fair project is done the same way as any other research paper. Your teacher will provide rubrics for the assignment and let you know what citation style you should use to format your entries. Usually, in middle and high school, students are asked to use MLA citation style, even for science projects. MLA style is easy to use with the new revised guidelines of...
The Chicago notes-biblio style uses endnotes and footnotes. An endnote and a footnote serve the same purpose. The difference is placement: a footnote is at the bottom of the page, whereas an endnote belongs at the end of a paper, book or chapter. These notes are short additions, clarifications or copyright information. By placing them outside of the text, you can provide the reader with a better...
Sometimes students are assigned to write annotated bibliographies as standalone assignments. This is a good exercise to learn how to research and evaluate sources. Some students may wonder if abstracts are the same as annotated bibliographies. Others may wonder if they need to include an abstract with the annotated bibliography. Although the two appear similar on the surface, each serves a...
No matter what editorial style you use for your school essay — APA, Chicago, or MLA — you will need to understand the difference between primary and secondary sources. Indeed, most papers include a combination of both. It’s important to learn how to evaluate sources, so you can be sure you’re only using material and data prepared by authoritative sources. Examples of...
As you start researching and writing your school paper, you’ll notice discussion about in-text and parenthetical citations. You may wonder if these are two different things and get confused about how to use them. These citations are also sometimes called “internal” citations; however, the commonly used terms are “in-text” or “parenthetical.” Difference Between...
When you write an APA research paper, you will follow the introduction with a brief recap of the previous literature on your topic. This literature review helps guide your reader through your research process and backs up your research strategy and thesis. Literature Review Section A literature review can be a research paper on its own. The author will critically evaluate published material on a...
Copyright law allows for fair use by students of copyrighted permissions, but only under certain conditions. It’s important to understand how copyright law affects you as it’s a serious business. Publishers and companies spend a lot of money and legal time to protect their copyrights, trademarks and patents. With so much information available online, it’s easy to think it’s all open for your use...
One of the most important parts of researching your school paper topic is making sure you are using credible sources for your research. There is so much information available online that it can be overwhelming at first. However, if you follow these tips, you will learn to recognize authoritative sources quickly. What Is a Source? Let’s start at the beginning. First, you’ll need to understand...
Are you interested in copyright law? Or are you writing a college essay or research paper on copyright law? If so, then explore these links to gain a better understanding on the history of copyright in the United States. Each entry tells you whether it is a primary or secondary source. Copyright Websites The United States Copyright Office supplies you with the complete version of the U.S...
As you start your research for your humanities or social studies project, you will need sources for primary documents. These may include original letters, interviews, images, and art. Understanding copyright law terms will help you avoid plagiarism. Even though most items are copyrighted by their owners, there are several places you can find archived items. Many institutions, such as libraries...
Copyright law is extensive and complicated. This article gives a brief overview of copyright law and how it affects students. But, for specific questions, you should ask your teacher. A general rule in writing school essays or developing research projects is to always credit your sources to avoid plagiarism. Fair use guidelines allow basic use of works for students and teachers. Some Basic...
Are you looking for primary sources for your humanities or social studies school projects? Primary sources are original materials or research. By comparison, secondary sources are those materials that talk about primary sources. For example, an autobiography is a primary source and a biography is a secondary source. Public domain sources be very useful as primary sources. For example, websites...
Social studies classes are required in high school and college. In fact, you’ve probably taken several social studies courses throughout your school years. As you graduate into higher level courses, you will be required to prepare research papers about various subjects. Most instructors require either MLA style or Chicago style for your social studies essay. What Does Social Studies Mean...
If you are writing your college paper using the notes-biblio style or if your teacher asks you to include notes in your paper, you need to know the difference between footnotes and endnotes. Typically, notes are included in Chicago notes-biblio style, but you may include them in an MLA or APA citation style school project if your instructor requires them. Where Do You Place the Notes? The...
As we have learned in other articles on this site, there is a difference between the way you cite references in your school paper, including using a reference list or a works cited list. It all depends on what citation style your teacher asks you to use while you’re preparing your school project bibliography. Differences of Style Many people use the terms “works cited,”...
You’re gathering your resources together when suddenly you notice that several of your online journal articles aren’t linked to a web address (URL). What is that mysterious notation at the end of the citation? You’re used to seeing a link to an online article in this way: Then all of the sudden, this DOI® number shows up: DOI: 130.065.109.155. What does this mean? The Difference...
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References and citations are the apples and oranges of the writing world. While it might seem like these two words are interchangeable. They are distinctly different within a scholarly writing piece. Learn what they are and how to use each one. Citations or References No matter what writing style that you use, you’ll come across the reference or citation dilemma, especially if you’re a...
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The time has come. You need to write footnotes as part of your paper. The sweat is beading. You’re starting to wonder if there is a way around it. Formatting footnotes isn’t the end of the world, if you know what you’re doing. When to Use Footnotes in APA Before you dive head first into the world of footnotes, it is important to realize that APA format doesn’t generally recommend that you...
The Bible is a formidable opponent when it comes to writing. How are you supposed to cite the different elements in the Bible? How does it vary with each citation style? The list of questions goes on and on. However, don’t sweat it. Breaking down how to cite Bible verse is as easy as A, B, C. First In-Text Citation or Parenthetical Reference There are different places that you might choose to...
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