bibliography

Definition:

A list of works on a particular subject or by a particular author. Adjective: bibliographic.

Also known as the list of works cited, the bibliography may appear at the end of a book, report, or research paper.

An annotated bibliography includes a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph (the annotation) for each item in the list.

See also:

• Choosing a Style Manual and Documentation Guide
• Citation
• Documentation
• Endnote
• Footnote
• Grammatical & Rhetorical Terms: Bibliography
• Literature Review
• Primary Source
• Research
• Research Paper
• Secondary Source

Etymology:

From the Greek, "writing about books"

Examples and Observations:

• "Basic bibliographic information includes title, author or editor, publisher, and the year the current edition was published or copyrighted. Home librarians often like to keep track of when and where they acquired a book, the price, and a personal annotation, which would include their opinions of the book or of the person who gave it to them"
  (Patricia Jean Wagner, The Bloomsbury Review Booklover's Guide. Owaissa Communications, 1996)



• "It is standard practice in scholarly writing to include at the end of books or chapters and at the end of articles a list of the sources that the writer consulted or cited. Those lists, or bibliographies, often include sources that you will also want to consult. . . .
  
  "Established conventions for documenting sources vary from one academic discipline to another. The Modern Language Association (MLA) style of documentation is preferred in literature and languages. For papers in the social sciences the American Psychological Association (APA) style is preferred, whereas papers in history, philosophy, economics, political science, and business disciplines are formatted in the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) system. The Council of Biology Editors (CBE) recommends varying documentation styles for different natural sciences."
  (Robert DiYanni and Pat C. Hoy II, The Scribner Handbook for Writers, 3rd ed. Allyn and Bacon, 2001)



• "In an entry for a book in an APA-style works-cited list, the date (in parentheses) immediately follows the name of the author (whose first name is written only as an initial), just the first word of the title is capitalized, and the publisher's full name is generally provided.

  APA
  Anderson, I. (2007). This is our music: Free jazz, the sixties, and American culture. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

  By contrast, in an MLA-style entry, the author's name appears as given in the work (normally in full), every important word of the title is capitalized, some words in the publisher's name are abbreviated, the publication date follows the publisher's name, and the medium of publication is recorded. . . . In both styles, the first line of the entry is flush with the left margin, and the second and subsequent lines are indented.

  MLA
  Anderson, Iain. This Is Our Music: Free Jazz, the Sixties, and American Culture. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 2007. Print. The Arts and Intellectual Life in Mod. Amer.

  (MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed. The Modern Language Association of America, 2009)

Pronunciation: bib-lee-OG-rah-fee

Also Known As: works cited