What are Bibliography Pages: A Comprehensive Student Guide to Citations and References

A guide to referencing for university assignments

Referencing your information sources is very important as it is an essential part of academic work. Not only will it help you obtain a high grade, without it plagiarism can result in an F grade.

What is a Bibliography?

A bibliography is a list of all the sources you cited in your assignment, arranged in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. Each citation should include:

    • the author’s name,
    • publication date,
    • title of the work, and
    • publication information (such as the publisher or journal title).

The citation style will determine the specific formatting of each element.

Example: a bibliography using numbers

[1] Discover Ireland (2023a) 12 unmissable things to do in Kerry. Available at https://www.discoverireland.ie/kerry/things-to-do-kerry (Accessed: 11 April 2023).

[2] Killarney National Park (2023) Killarney National Park. Available at https://www.nationalparks.ie/killarney/ (Accessed: 11 April 2023).

[3] Wikipedia (2023) Carrauntoohil. Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrauntoohil (Accessed: 11 April 2023).

[4] Oceanworld (2023) Dingle Oceanworld Aquaruim. Available at https://www.dingle-oceanworld.ie/ (Accessed: 11 April 2023).

[5]  Dingle Sea Safari (2023) Dingle Sea Safari. Available at https://dingleseasafari.com/  (Accessed: 11 April 2023).

[6] Discover Ireland (2023b) The best 10 spots in Kerry for surfing. Available at https://www.discoverireland.ie/kerry/surfing-spots-kerry (Accessed: 11 April 2023).

[7] Discover Ireland (2023c) Ballybunion South. Available at https://www.discoverireland.ie/kerry/ballybunion-south (Accessed: 11 April 2023).

Example: a bibliography page using numbers
reference section
Example: a bibliography page using authors
reference section from an academic paper

Referencing

Referencing and Citation Style

We suggest using the author(s) and year when you cite in the report text of your assignment, and use a heading (not numbered) called References at the end where you list correct, complete references that you cite in the text.

Find out if your assignment requires you to use a different format – this is important!

Referencing terms
  • To reference is to use of a source of information
  • To cite is to include this information in a text.
  • A reference list is a list of sources that you have consulted during your preparation AND have actually been cited in your text.
  • A bibliography is a list of sources that you have consulted during your preparation but have not cited in your text.
  • Plagiarism is when you try to take someone else’s work and present it as if it is yours
  • Harvard style –arranged by the author’s last name.
  • Vancouver style – arranged by numbers in the text.
When Taking Notes
  • Note the date – what is the date when you see the source?
  • Note the source name
    • e.g. book name, website url
  • Note where you can get the source back if you need to
    • e.g. web page address
  • Don’t write every detail – you may not need those notes

Citations

What is a Citation?
  • A citation is a way of linking the source of information or ideas used in your writing.
  • It helps your reader locate the original source and verify the information you have presented.
Why Cite?
  • Plagiarism is wrong and punished at university. without citing the source of information it look like you are saying it is your work, which it is not.
  • ‘Proof’ of information. This is important. whe you state a fact, is it true? If not you can lose marks. If you use a reference then it is the source, not you, that is wrong. So using references can help you gain marks and protect you from losing marks.
  • Credit – give the credit of the work to the actual person that deserves the credit – the source
  • Help reader – the reader may wish to read more about this information, so help them find it.
  • Help researchers – people are looking for information, so if you find a good source then help them by pointing them to the sources that you chose to use.
When should you use a citation?
  • Have you quoted something directly? Have you paraphrased another person’s idea?
  • You should use a citation whenever you use someone else’s ideas, words, or data in your assignment.
  • This includes direct quotes, paraphrased information, and ideas that are not common knowledge.
  • When you cite something, enter the reference in the References section
  • To cite and use a reference

this is the end of the sentence (Lyons 2020).
Lyons, S., 2020. A review of Thai–English machine translation. Machine Translation, 34(2), pp.197-230.

How should you use a citation?

There are different citation styles, such as APA, MLA, and Chicago, each with specific rules for formatting in-text citations. Generally, you should include

  • the author’s last name and
  • the year of publication

in parentheses when citing sources in your text.  For example:  (Lyons, 2020)

Citing Tip

When you make your notes, note the source (e.g. web address, date). Choose a citation style (e.g.  APA, MLA, Chicago, Havard) and be consistent with this style. To help you can use free resources and tools e.g. Google scholar.

Referencing Exercise

Complete a bibliography page

  • create a list of notes
  • create a citation with each note
  • create references
  • order and format the references into a bibliography page

return to the 9 stages of completing an assignment

return to the home page for the Pre-Sessional English Course

Additional Notes for How to Cite and Reference

There are many ways to cite and reference, see below for additional notes for a reference when you need it.

One author

Citations:

  • Neville (2010) argues that…
  • … avoiding plagiarism (Neville 2010).
  • “Quotation” (Neville 2010)

Reference

  • Neville, C. (2010) The Complete Guide to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism. 2nd Ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press

Two authors

Citations:

  • Bradbury and Morse (2002)…
  • As noted by Bradbury and Morse (2002)
  •  “Quotation” (Bradbury and Morse 2002)

Reference:

  • Bradbury, I. and Morse, A. (2002) Scientific Principles for Physical Geographers. Harlow: Prentice Hall.

Many authors

Citations:

  •  (Campbell et al., 2008)….
  •  “Quotation” (Campbell et al., p.76)

Reference:

  • Campbell, N. A. et al. (2008) Biology. 8th Ed. London: Pearson.

Journals and conferences prefer you to name all the authors – this is the safest option!

Example: Harvard Referencing

Web pages

  • The date you accessed the page
  • The title
  • The author
  • The date the source was written
  • The web address (url)

Young, C. (2001) English Heritage position statement on the Valletta Convention, [Online], Available: http://www.archaeol.freeuk.com/EHPostionStatement.htm [Accessed 24 Aug 2001].

World Wide Web– PowerPoint

World Wide Web– video (e.g. YouTube)

Books

  • The author’s or editor’s name (or names)
  • The year the book was published
  • The title of the book
  • If it is an edition other than the first
  • The city the book was published in
  • The name of the publisher

Book with one author

  • Adair, J. (1988) Effective time management: How to save time and spend it wisely, London: Pan Books.

Book with two authors

  • McCarthy, P. and Hatcher, C. (1996) Speaking persuasively: Making the most of your presentations, Sydney: Allen and Unwin.

Book with three or more authors

  • Fisher, R., Ury, W. and Patton, B. (1991) Getting to yes: Negotiating an agreement without giving in, 2nd edition, London: Century Business.

Journal articles

  • The author’s name or names
  • The year in which the journal was published
  • The title of the article
  • The title of the journal
  • The page number/s of the article in the journal
  • Any other information as you can find about the journal, for example the volume and issue numbers

Hart, G., Albrecht, M., Bull, R. and Marshall, L. (1992) ‘Peer consultation: A professional development opportunity for nurses employed in rural settings’, Infront Outback – Conference Proceedings, Australian Rural Health Conference, Toowoomba, pp. 143 – 148.

Muller, V. (1994) ‘Trapped in the body: Transsexualism, the law, sexual identity’, The Australian Feminist Law Journal, vol. 3, no. 2, August, pp. 103-107.

Electronic resources 

  • The date you accessed the source
  • The electronic address or email
  • The type of electronic resource (email, discussion forum, WWW page, etc)

Newspaper articles

  • Cumming, F. (1999) ‘Tax-free savings push’, Sunday Mail, 4 April, p. 1.

Journal article

  • Muller, V. (1994) ‘Trapped in the body: Transsexualism, the law, sexual identity’, The Australian Feminist Law Journal, vol. 3, August, pp. 103-107.

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