Citation Styles: Formatting & Style Guides

Modern Language Association Style

Chicago Manual of Style

Other Common Citation Styles

Guides, Tools, and Templates

@ Clemson Libraries

Are you talking about Works Cited? 

Yes! The bibliography comes at the end of your work, like a paper or research project. It is, essentially, a list sources both consulted during your work and referenced in the final product. 

Different Styles

Bibliographies vary widely depending on the citation style you are using. In MLA, it's a "Works Cited" page. In APA, it might be "References." Refer back to the "Formatting & Style Guides" page in this guide to make sure you know which style to use for a particular paper, project, or discipline. 

What's the difference?

To quote the handy plagiarism.org resource, the "Works Cited or References list is only comprised of references to those items actually cited in the paper."

Keeping Track of your Citations

This resource from UIOWA says it best:

"A bibliography is not just 'works cited.' It is all the relevant material you drew upon to write the paper the reader holds."

The Technique 

1. What are you writing about, analyzing, or arguing? 
2. Find resources like books, articles, interviews, and media that might contain useful information or insight on your topic. 
3. Cite the resource according to the appropriate style. 
4. Include all citations in your bibliography in alphabetical order. 

But WHY??

Creating a bibliography seems like a lot of work... and it is! 

But creating a list of all the resources you cite throughout the course of a paper or project will save you time and energy at the end when you need to point your audience to the support you received along the way. 

What makes it Annotated?

An annotated bibliography, according to the UNR Writing & Speaking Center, "is simply a list of sources and a description of each source." So, once you've gathered your sources and you're ready to turn your works cited or reference page into an annotated bibliography, think about "what is pertinent to your paper (or what you think will be pertinent to it)."

But why bother?

Your instructor has asked your to write an Annotated Bibliography: but what's in it for you?

• By thinking about and contextualizing the importance of each citation, you will have a better idea of how the source fits into your project as a whole.
• You'll be able to quickly refer to the Annotated Bibliography during your drafts to ensure that you're getting everything your originally noticed out of the resource. 
• If you've referenced more than five or ten different sources, your own notes on why this particular work is important will save you from having to go back and read through your sources, saving you time in searching.