The bibliography can be defined as a reading list, an outline for further study, or a list of works consulted by an author; alternatively, it could refer to studying books as physical objects.
Bibliographies are lists that detail sources used in research of any particular subject or topic. A bibliography can either appear at the end of a research paper or stand on its own as its own document; sources listed can range from books and journal articles, websites, and interviews, among others utilized during the study.
Bibliographies serve two functions: first, to give credit to authors who contributed sources used during research, and second, to allow readers of papers more insight into the sources used during the investigation of those papers. Readers can understand all sources used during that research effort when looking through a bibliography.
There are various formats in which bibliographies may be written, with MLA (Modern Language Association) style guide being the go-to for writing humanities papers. Other commonly used bibliography formats are APA and Chicago.
Format of Bibliographies Will Differ Based on Format Used* [MLA Format is one example] Each entry starts with an author’s last name followed by the sources that they used; similarly, in APA and Chicago formats, the sources are alphabetized alphabetically by author’s first name while MLA uses alphabetic order as its default for alphabetizing sources in MLA; Chicago formats differ by using an unnumbered list to list your sources alphabetically by year used in-text citation.
Bibliographies are an integral component of writing research papers. They give credit to authors of sources used while at the same time enabling readers to gain more information from those same sources. Bibliographies typically follow either MLA, APA, or Chicago guidelines when composed.