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A bibliography lists all sources used for a particular work of research, including sources consulted, but not quoted. Such an extensive list of works, often sub-divided by types of sources, is found at the end of scholarly monographs, doctoral dissertations, and M.A. theses.

For your purposes, a more basic list of Works Cited will suffice, listing only those sources actually quoted.

Works Cited are listed on a page (or pages) separate from the paper itself. The words "Works Cited" are placed at the head of the first page of such a list. The list of works cited is organized alphabetically, by author's last name. In the event that no author's name is provided (as is sometimes the case for newspaper articles, websites, and other sources) the title of the source will be listed instead. In such a case, the first letter of the first word of the title will determine where the source fits into your alphabetical list.

Generally, each entry in a Works Cited list begins flush with the left margin, then indents its second line as well as any subsequent lines. It is permissible, but not required, to double-space in between entries; each individual entry is single-spaced.

Below, please find examples of how various types of sources are listed on a Works Cited page. If the MLA format differs from the Chicago format (for some types of sources they differ, for others they are the same), we provide both. Be sure to cross-check the proper annotation for each of the types of sources listed below, either in MLA (for in-text parenthetical references) or Chicago (for footnotes), depending on which of the two systems you are using.

A book written by a single author, in both MLA and Chicago

Note that the second (and any subsequent) line(s) of each entry on your Works Cited page is indented, as above. The correct formatting for a book reverses the name of an author, placing the last name first and separating the two by a comma. The first letter of the last name determines where the book is placed in your Works Cited list. The correct sequence of the information, and its punctuation, is as follows:

Note that a book's title can be italicized or underlined (either/or; not both) - once you commit to one of these options, stick to it consistently throughout your paper, in all references, and on the Works Cited page.

A book written by two (or three) authors, in both MLA and Chicago:

Note that, for a book written by two authors (above) only the first author's name is reversed, and that the two authors' names are linked by the word "and"; in a book written by three authors (below) the first author's name is reversed (again) and separated from the second author's name by a comma; the second and third authors' names are again separated by a comma and linked by the word "and":

A book written by more than three authors, in both MLA and Chicago

If a book is written by more than three authors, you need not necessary list all authors' names; instead, list just the first author's name (in reverse, as ever) followed by a comma, followed by the abbreviation "et al." (note period following "al.") from the Latin et alii ("and others"), as above. Thereafter, follow the basic format for all books.

If, however, you wish to list all authors' names, follow the rules for a book with three authors (above): reverse the first name only, separate all names by a comma, and insert "and" before the last author's name. Thereafter, follow the basic format for all books.

An edition other than the first

If a book is in an edition other than the first, you must identify its edition numerically. The above-listed textbook by James Roark, for example, is its first edition (which need not be identified) from 1998. Later editions (such as the third, from 2005) need to be identified, as shown below:

In MLA:

In Chicago:

Please note: the only difference between the two is that the MLA version places a period after the title, followed by the numerically-identified edition; the Chicago version places a comma after the title instead, followed by the numerically-identified edition. Otherwise, the two entries are identical.

More than one book written by the same author(s) in both MLA and Chicago

If your paper uses more than one book by the same author, list them consecutively on your Works Cited page. Whichever title begins with the earlier letter in the alphabet is first. Instead of listing the author's name repeatedly, your second (and any subsequent) listing(s) of the author's name on the Works Cited page will replace the name with three hyphens followed by a period: ---.

An essay, or article, in an edited anthology

In MLA:

Note, in MLA, that the editor is listed after the title of the collection, following his or her designation as "Ed." - editor. Thereafter, the usual bibliographical information follows, ending with the year of publication followed by a period. The entry concludes with the specific page numbers of the entire piece you are quoting from, followed by a period.

In Chicago:

In the Chicago style, following the title of the book, the editor is identified with the words "Edited by ..." Thereafter, the usual bibliographical information follows, ending with the year of publication, followed by a period. Chicago does not require that you list the specific page numbers of the piece from which you are quoting.

An edited volume in both MLA and Chicago

If you cite multiple essays from the same volume, you may also, in a separate entry, list that volume in its entirety, in which case the editor (or editors) are listed in place of an author, before the title, followed by a comma and the abbreviation "ed." (or, for multiple editors, "eds.").

For more than one editor, follow the guidelines for books written by two (or three) authors, above, and place the abbreviation "eds." after the comma following the last editor's name, followed by the title.

An article in a scholarly journal paginated by volume in both MLA and Chicago

Most, but not all academic journals paginate their page numbers consecutively from one issue to the next (the first issue of the year begins with page 1 and ends with p. 150; the second issue continues with page 151 and ends with p. 300; the third continues with 301 and ends with 450, etc.). This is the case for the Journal of Asian Studies, for example, cited below. For such journals, the Works Cited entry is identical in MLA and Chicago:

The information above represents the following, in the following order: Last name, First (followed by a period); title of article, ending with a period, in quotation marks; title of the Journal italicized (or underlined); volume number; year of publication in parentheses, followed by a colon; and the page numbers of the article, followed by a period. Volume number and year of publication are found on the cover or title page of the journal.

An article in a scholarly journal which paginates each issue separately

Some academic journals begin paginating each issue anew, beginning with page 1 each time. In this case, you must include the issue number in your Works Cited entry.

In MLA:

In the above case, the volume number is 44; the issue is number 3. MLA indicates this by placing the numbers 44.3 before the year of publication.

In Chicago:

Chicago designates volume number 44, issue number 3, by following the volume number with a comma and identifying issue number 3 as "no. 3" prior to the date of publication.

A newspaper article

In MLA:

In Chicago:

The key differences here are that MLA does not place a comma after the newspaper's title (Chicago does); that MLA abbreviates "edition" as "ed." (Chicago spells it out); that MLA follows the identification of the paper's edition (could be natl. ed., late ed., or as in this case, final ed.) with a colon followed by the letter designating the section ("A") and the page number, whereas Chicago precedes "final edition" with the abbreviation "sec. A" followed by a comma, omitting the page number.

Should a newspaper title not specify its city of publication, both MLA and Chicago recommend providing the city name in square brackets immediately following the title (Star-Ledger [Newark], for example); city names are not required for national publications, however, such as USA Today. Both styles further recommend omitting the article "The" from a newspaper's title, both in references (or footnotes) and on the Works Cited page (New York Times, not The New York Times; Wall Street Journal, not The Wall Street Journal, etc.).

In the event that you have cited multiple articles from one newspaper, Chicago allows you to simply list the name of the newspaper on your Works Cited page, followed by the range of dates of articles quoted: New York Times, 1 April - 15 April 2007. MLA does not allow this option.

Finally, MLA recommends that a newspaper article that first appears on one page, then continues on another, be identified on the Works Cited page by the page number on which the article began, followed by the "plus" symbol (+) to indicate that the article continues elsewhere. The in-text MLA reference to the article provides the precise page number quoted.

A popular magazine article

Neither MLA or Chicago require that you include the volume number of a popular magazine on your Works Cited page; just the author's name, name of qrticle, name of magazine, date of publication, and the page numbers of the article.

In MLA:

In Chicago:

The differences are that, in MLA, no comma follows the title of the magazine (in Chicago there does); also, in MLA a colon follows the date, preceding the page numbers (whereas in Chicago, it is a comma). Otherwise, the entries are identical.

A Website

A Works Cited page entry for a website lists the following information, in the following order.

In MLA:

• the author's full name, reversed, separated by a comma and followed by a period;
• the title of the specific document in the website that you have cited (if applicable and/or available) in quotation marks, followed by a period within the quotation marks;
• the date on which the site was posted or last updated (if available; if not, use the abbreviation "N.d." for "no date"), followed by a period;
• the full title of the website, underlined or italicized, followed by a period;
• the date on which you accessed the website (no period!);
• and the URL in angle brackets followed by a period, as below:

In Chicago:

• the author's full name, reversed, separated by a comma and followed by a period;
• the full title of the website, in quotation marks, followed by a comma within the quotation marks;
• the date on which the site was posted or last updated (if available; if not, use the abbreviation "n.d." for "no date"), followed by a comma;
• the URL in angle brackets (no comma!)
• the date on which you accessed the website, in parentheses, followed by a period, as below:

Please note the numerous differences between MLA and Chicago when it comes to listing websites on the Works Cited page, not only in their punctuation of the entry, but also in the information required (Chicago does not require you to list the specific title of the document, for example: just the name of the website), and the order in which that information is listed.

Note also that, if the URL is too long to fit onto one line, you should only break it (by hitting the space bar) immediately following a slash - do not place a hyphen after the break. You'll know you've done it correctly if the URL remains blue even if it exceeds one line in length, as is the case in the Chicago entry, immediately above.

Final note: if any of the information asked for above is unavailable, both MLA and Chicago suggest that you move on to the next required item on the list and begin the entry there.

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If there are types of sources you need to include on your Works Cited page not listed in the examples above (we tried, but could not possibly have included all: the variations are endless) consult the relevant style manuals, both available at your college library:

• The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th edition. New York: The Modern Language Association, 2003.
• The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition. Chicago: U. Chicago Press, 2003 - or try <http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html>.

... and be sure to cross-check for the proper form of annotation for any of the types of sources listed above, as explained in the MLA and Chicago sections of this website.

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