About Writing a Bibliography

The word bibliography comes from the Greek word "bibliographia" which translates to "book writing." In modern-day context, the bibliography is a list of books, periodicals, and other documented publications. These bibliographies are added at the end of a body of work. The bibliography is a detailed list that itemizes the reference material used in a body of work. Bibliographies range in size, structure, and formatting depending on the writing style a body of work is formatted in. For example, a bibliography in MLA style may be formatted differently from APA style.

Function

Bibliographies increase credibility of a piece by offering a list of reputable sources the writer used to base his findings on. Bibliographies also add increased readability because they allow the reader to follow a piece of work without being interrupted by citations. The reader can instead reference the bibliography to find information sources without having this information interfering with the flow of text.

Features

The bibliography can vary in style, but it usually contains the same general information. The bibliography is made up of a list of reference materials. Each item on this list usually includes information like the author of a work, the title, the publisher, and the date the work was published. It can also include where the information is found within the body of work (page numbers, etc.), or the edition of the work printing. The list can be organized in different ways depending on style, including alphabetically by author, topic or title.

Benefits

Bibliographies allow a writer's sources to receive proper credit for providing information. This bibliography is a list of sources that substantiates what the writer has written and enhances credibility. This list also reestablishes the veracity of a source because the writer obviously valued the reputation of the source enough to reference his provided information to be used in a new text. A bibliography allows a writer to use statistics, quotes, ideas and information from another source in a legal way.

Warning

Not using a bibliography or any other kind of citations can have serious consequences. If the writer does not note her sources, the work loses all credibility, preventing the work from getting the respect it might deserve otherwise. More dangerous still, using the information of a source without offering citations is considered plagiarism. Plagiarism can have serious legal and ethical ramifications, leading to exile in academic and professional settings.

Misconceptions

Some believe bibliographies are always created the same way and can be transferred to different settings without changes. In truth, there is no one way to format a bibliography for every circumstance. The format used in an individual bibliography is largely dependent on the writing style being used in a body of work. Another misconception is that a bibliography is similar to an index. An index is not a bibliography because the index is self-referential of a body of work, whereas a bibliography references outside works.