Building a works cited page
Works Cited, References and Bibliography are three different lists, not three names for one.
The list at the end of a paper has three different names depending on the style, and they are not interchangeable — they describe genuinely different lists.
Works Cited, References, or Bibliography?
| Name | Style | What goes on it |
|---|---|---|
| Works Cited | MLA | only sources cited in the text |
| References | APA | only sources cited in the text |
| Bibliography | Chicago | may include works consulted but not cited |
A Chicago bibliography can show the reading behind an argument. An MLA works cited page that lists a source never cited in the text is an error, and markers do treat it as one.
Formatting
All three agree on the mechanics:
- Start on a new page, with the heading centred and not in bold or quotation marks.
- Alphabetical by the author's surname.
- Double-spaced throughout, including within an entry.
- A hanging indent of half an inch: the first line of each entry is flush left, every subsequent line is indented.
The indent goes on the continuation lines rather than the first so that a reader scanning the left margin sees surnames and nothing else.
Alphabetising
No author
Alphabetise by title, ignoring a leading A, An or The. The Waste Land files under W.
Several works by the same author
MLA gives the name once and replaces it with three hyphens and a period in later entries, ordering them alphabetically by title. APA repeats the name every time and orders by year, earliest first — which follows from APA putting the year where it does.
Surnames that are not simple
File under the part the author uses as the surname, which is not always the last word. Dutch van and German von are usually filed under the following element in English-language practice but under the particle in their own countries; if the author has a stated preference, follow it.
Common mistakes
- Listing sources you did not cite, in MLA or APA. That is what a bibliography is for, and neither style uses one.
- Sorting by the order they appear in the text. That is a numbered reference style such as Vancouver or IEEE, not MLA, APA or Chicago.
- Manually indenting with spaces or tabs. Use the paragraph setting; a manual indent falls apart the moment the text reflows.
- Including the ISBN. Neither MLA nor APA asks for it. It is useful for finding the book, not for citing it.
Build the entries
Enter an ISBN on the home page for a formatted entry in all five supported styles. For what separates those styles, see how to cite a book.