How to Make Bibliography Cards

Keeping track of your references is a crucial element of writing a research paper.

Bibliography cards are also called source cards. These cards are used to keep track of your research sources while you compile information for a research paper. Record publication information on 3-by-5 inch cards. You will use these cards to record the research that you use for your essay at the end of your paper in the "Works Cited" list. The information on the card includes publication information, location of the source and relevant page numbers.

Things You'll Need

• 3-by-5 inch index cards

Instructions

1. Write the author's or editor's complete name for a book source. This information should be placed in the middle of the card. Also write the title of the book, the name and location of the publisher, and the copyright date. The entry should look like this: "Hamilton, Karen. How to Make Bibliography Cards. New York: Double Roads Publishers, 2009." You should also underline the title (in this case, "How to Make Bibliography Cards")

2. Put the location of the source in the lower right-hand corner of the index card. This could be your school's name, your library or the Internet. It is important to include this information so that you will remember where the source is located if you need to find the source again at a later date.

3. Add the library call number at the bottom left-hand corner of the index card. Call numbers are the numbers on the spine of all library books that tell where the source is located in the library. If the source was not from the library, then omit this step.

4. Place the number of your source in the top right-hand corner of the index card. This is for ease of reference while doing your research and taking notes. Doing this allows you to jot down the source-card number in your notes, instead of rewriting the title and the author's name each time you use the source.

5. Make an encyclopedia bibliography card in the same way that you make a book entry. The only difference will be in the way you lay out the publication information. Again, write the name of the author of the source in the encyclopedia you are citing (example: "Jones, Bill"). Next, add the title of the entry in quotation marks (example: "Poland"). Then write the name of the encyclopedia (example: "The World Book Encyclopedia" underlined). Finally, write the copyright date of the encyclopedia and the edition you are citing from.

Tips & Warnings

• Magazine bibliography cards are much the same as an encyclopedia entry.

• You can also use computer-generated correct citations at The Citation Machine (see Resources below).

• Use the bibliography cards to keep notes of quotes or interesting facts. Just write this material on the back of the appropriate card.

Resources

• Landmarks: Citation Machine