What is a Bibliography?
A bibliography is a list of sources that you have used or consulted when conducting research or creating written work. Creating a bibliography can seem daunting but it’s an essential skill for academic and research writing.
You won’t typically use footnotes or endnotes for Bibliographies, but rather you include a shortened reference in the text of the manuscript itself, and then you include the full reference at the end of the book, in the Bibliography page.
Different academic disciplines and publications may require specific citation styles (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago). We strongly encourage you to do your own research to make sure you’re using the appropriate style for your publication, but here are the basic rules for each:
Citation Styles:
MLA (Modern Language Association) Style
MLA is commonly used in humanities. The in-text citations are parenthetical and include the author’s last name and the page number where the information was found. The citation is placed at the end of the sentence, before the period. If you mention the author’s name in the sentence, you can just include the page number in the parentheses.
“The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” (Smith 45).
According to Smith, “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” (45).
The MLA-style bibliography page references are typically formatted:
Last name, First name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date.
Smith, John. The Art of Writing. Penguin Books, 2010.
APA (American Psychological Association) Style
APA is often used in social sciences. The in-text citation includes the author’s last name, the year of publication, and the page number, separated by commas. The citation is placed at the end of the sentence, before the period. If you mention the author’s name in the sentence, you can include just the year and page number in the parentheses.
“The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” (Smith, 2010, p. 45).
According to Smith (2010), “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” (p. 45).
The APA-style bibliography page references are typically formatted:
Last name, First initial. (Year). Title of book. Publisher.
Smith, J. (2010). The Art of Writing. Penguin Books.
Chicago Style
Chicago style is widely used and offers two styles: Notes-Bibliography and Author-Date. Here, we’ll focus on Notes-Bibliography, which is commonly used in history and some other fields.
In the Chicago Notes-Bibliography style, footnotes or endnotes are used for citations. When you cite a source, you place a superscript number at the end of the sentence. The full citation is then provided in a footnote at the bottom of the page or in an endnote at the end of the paper.
Example in Text: “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”1
The Chicago-style bibliography page references are typically formatted:
Last name, First name. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, Year.
Smith, John. The Art of Writing. New York: Penguin Books, 2010.
Remember, each of these citation styles has specific rules for different types of sources, so it’s important to consult the relevant style guide for more detailed information.
Once you’ve gathered all your references, formatting your bibliography in Atticus is a breeze! Simply follow these steps:
Add a new chapter at the end of your book
Title it Bibliography, or whatever title suits your needs
Upload or create your list in Atticus, ensuring that you’ve applied the correct text formatting and punctuation as per the relevant style guide.
Some style guides require all your entries to be organized alphabetically, but others will match the order of appearance in your book. Be sure you’ve organized according to the requirements of your publication.
To add a Hanging Indent, highlight the entire text in Atticus and locate the Hanging Indent button in the toolbar.
