It is not surprising that the correct structure and accuracy of the Bibliography page often becomes an issue for those students looking for professional assignment help. Be it APA, MLA, or some other writing format, the use of proper quotations is never easy. It helps when you have several templates at hand, yet it is vital to understand the general purpose of your bibliography. Speaking of another vital reason, one should mention the risks related to plagiarism, which can only become possible when a statement that is not yours has not been mentioned and supported with evidence. Essentially, it is a reason why it is important to not only list the sources you have used but ensure that each statement has a reliable background to support what has been said. Take your time to learn how to do a proper bibliography, explore various definitions, and see our samples to learn the common basics that you can follow in your writing.
What is The Purpose of Bibliography in an Assignment?
When asked about what is a bibliography, an average college student in Australia will tell that it is a list of references that relate to books, scientific journals, or various online sources. While this definition is mostly right, some important aspects must be noted right away. Bibliography writing, unlike the typical References page, also contains various resources that a student consults when writing an essay or composing a research paper. The purpose here is to let your readers know what kind of educational materials and additional resources you have used to make your statements and come up with a certain list of sources.
Still, not many students in Australia know how to make a bibliography right because they ignore the organisational aspect of things, which is the most important element of reaching success with anything that requires sorting and a pattern to follow. It is enough to mention an annotated bibliography that may be requested for your research paper to see why it is important to keep your provided information accurate. The basic guidelines for such kind of writing require the usual listing in alphabetical order with the explanation as to why a particular source poses importance for your paper.
The General Rules of Bibliography List Structure
Regardless of your Bibliography type, it is crucial to follow these simple format rules for your sources:
- Choose your references accurately by making sure that they are included in your text and/or that they are related to your main subject and make sense in the listing.
- Analyse the value of the various data included.
- Check the background information and the full credentials of the author (if available).
- Compose a short summary for each source that you include. Even if you only make a References (Works Cited) page, this approach helps to ensure that your source(s) fits.
Speaking of the technical side, remember that:
- Some academic writing formats have separate Bibliography lists for print and electronic sources. Make sure to approach your college professor when you need more clarity with assignment assistance.
- Your sources must be listed in alphabetical order unless specified otherwise by the style format or an assignment type.
- You must include all materials that you mention in your text with the page numbers if and when available.
- The sources that do not have an author are also sorted alphabetically and go before those references that mention the authors.
As a rule, most sources like a typical book with an author will include:
– Author’s Last Name / First Name.
– Book’s Title.
– Publisher.
– Date of Publication.
– ISBN / Database Information.
For example:
Jenkins, A. Mechanical Engineering Explained. Oxford Press Publishing, 2004.
The Types & Categorisation of Bibliography
The type of your writing will always depend on the academic course, subject, length, and the various instructions. In most cases, students in Australia will encounter:
- Enumerative Bibliography. It is one of the most common types, which means that if you learn the peculiarities of this approach, you will already know how to write a bibliography. The “enumerative” part stands for a particular order that will follow the original template of the style. It is usually the author’s name, the content of your source, and the date. Speaking of a thematic background, the references must be united for the same purpose. The full listing of your resources is not necessary here unless you are asked to write it.
- Analytical Type. There are at least three distinct bibliographic categories: textual, historical, and the one that provides a description. The textual category stands for a brief comparison of a student’s paper with the one provided by the source’s author. If one chooses to work with a historical approach, it usually stands for a short explanation of the reasons why the reference has been used and what importance it poses for the assignment. The last, descriptive type, stands for the various peculiarities related to the book or a journal in question. It may be the difference in a new edition or inclusion of some maps, graphs, or statistical data crucial for your paper.
- Annotated Bibliography. You might have heard the term before. It stands for a bibliography that serves the role of providing the audience or an academic advisor with the list of sources that have comments and a longer description of the author’s credentials, validity of each entry used, and the description of the value that a certain reference has. The annotated bibliography is similar to annotations met in the books that provide the readers with clear information about what to expect.
The Different Types of Bibliography Samples
Without a doubt, it is much easier to learn how to write bibliography for assignment when you have an example to follow. As the reference, we shall take a book source and a scientific journal, representing them in the most popular MLA, APA, and Chicago formatting.
MLA 8th edition (book):
Zwicker, Eberhard, and Hugo Fastl. Psychoacoustics. Springer, 2007.
APA 7:
Zwicker, E., & Fastl, H. (2007). Psychoacoustics. Springer.
Chicago:
Zwicker, Eberhard, and Hugo Fastl. 2007. Psychoacoustics. Berlin: Springer.
Now let us proceed with the journal’s Bibliography referencing patterns:
MLA 8:
Van Leeuwen, Neil, and Michiel van Elk. “Seeking The Supernatural: The Interactive
Religious Experience Model”. Religion, Brain & Behavior, vol 9, no. 3, 2018, pp.
221-251. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1080/2153599x.2018.1453529. Accessed 14
Nov 2020.
APA 7:
Van Leeuwen, N., & van Elk, M. (2018). Seeking the supernatural: the Interactive
Religious Experience Model. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 9(3), 221-251.
https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599x.2018.1453529
Chicago:
Van Leeuwen, Neil, and Michiel van Elk. 2018. “Seeking The Supernatural: The Interactive Religious Experience Model”. Religion, Brain & Behavior 9 (3): 221-251. doi:10.1080/2153599x.2018.1453529.
Stay Safe!
Now that you know how to do a bibliography correctly, you can proceed with the analytical part, which means that you should focus on choosing only those references and bibliography sources that are valid and help to support your thesis and the main arguments. Do not forget about plagiarism risks and always support each statement that is not yours! It will not only keep you safe but will prove your paper to be reliable and confident!