Common Reference Formats

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Sample Reference Formats

The sections that follow deal with a number of specific approaches and details that you may encounter in your research and writing. Find the information you need and follow the information and examples carefully to create a product which meets your particular assignment.

Books / Magazines / Encyclopedia / Electronic Sources / Others / Special Circumstances

Standard Reference Formats

• With all the books, magazines and technological resources out there, it's difficult to anticipate all the individual sources you'll need to document in your writing. However, the list below includes formats for the most commonly used sources and, consequently, most of the formats you'll need to include in your list of references.
• The examples shown here identify the type of source then give a sample reference listing for that type of source. (Special notes are in italics within parentheses).
• Once you've identified the type of source you're using, you can use the sample listing as a guide to writing your own. If you have trouble deciding which type of source you're using, ask your teacher or librarian.

The basic format for sources with their own titles which are not part of a series is:

Author's Name, reversed order. Title of Book, italicized (or underlined if using a typewriter), all words capitalized except conjunctions, articles, and prepositions. Publication Information:(City of Publication: Publisher, Year.)

(In most books the title page gives you all you'll need for your reference listing except the date of publication, and you'll find that in the form of the copyright date on the next page)

Examples for works by....

Single author

Smith, John. The Life of Mark Twain. New York: Viking, 1967.

Two or three authors

Smith, John, Theresa Johnson, and William Jones. The Life of Mark Twain. New York: Viking, 1967.

More than three authors

Smith, John, et al.. The Life of Mark Twain. New York: Viking, 1967.

Later editions

Smith, John. The Life of Mark Twain, 4th ed. New York: Viking, 1997.

 

Corporate author (no individual person credited for the work)

Greater Pittsburgh Writers Society. The Life of Mark Twain. New York: Viking, 1967.

 

Editor

Smith, John, ed. The Life of Mark Twain. New York: Viking, 1967.

 

More than one editor

Smith, John, Theresa Johnson, and William Jones, eds.. The Life of Mark Twain. New York: Viking, 1967.

 

Book by an author with an editor

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Ed. John Smith. New York: Viking, 1967.

 

Second book by the same author

---. The Prince and the Pauper. New York: Viking, 1967.

The basic format for sources which are part of a series or collection is:

Author's Name, reversed order. "Title of Article, Essay, or Story." in quotation marks. Title of Larger Work, italicized (or underlined if using a typewriter), all words capitalized except conjunctions, articles, and prepositions. Publication Information: (Date of publication: page numbers of article.)

Examples for works from...

Magazine article, for magazine published weekly

Davidson, Joanne. "The Fight for the Fish." Time 12 Sept. 1994, 41-44.

Magazine article, for magazine published monthly

Borroff, Marie. "The Malthusian Connection." Smithsonian Oct. 1988: 35-41.

Newspaper article

Hellmich, Nanci. "College Studies Are Often a Full-time Job." USA Today 11 Sept. 1990: 1D.

Article with no author (magazine, newspaper, etc.)

*Use appropriate format with article's title as your starting point:

"Fertilizing Trees and Shrubs." Southern Living Feb. 1980: 170-71.

Anthologies, collections, etc.

Donaldson, Marie. "All the Truth I Ever Wanted." Donaldson Alive and Well. Boston: Little, Brown, 1990: 47-58.

Encyclopedia article

Bolle, Kees W. "Myth and Mythology: The Nature, Functions, and Types of Myth." The New Encyclopedia Britannica: Macropaedia. 15th ed. 1986. 24: 710-720.

Note: The format shown here is for general encyclopedias, such as Encyclopedia Britannica, World Book, Colliers, etc. For specialized encyclopedias such as The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages, or The Encyclopedia of Scientific Discoveries, use the appropriate format for a book resource.

The Internet has recently become a major source of all kinds of information. Formats are still changing, but the descriptions in parentheses and corresponding examples below should help.

E-mail

(Format:: Author's name or alias (if known), subject line from the posting in quotation marks, date of the message if different from the date accessed, address of the listserv or newslist, along with the date of access in parentheses.

Example: McGlothlin, Tim. "Opening days" 29 Aug. 1998. tmacnet@chs.edu (30 Aug. 1998).

 World Wide Web sites

(Format:: Author (if known) . Full title of the page, in quotation marks. Full title of site (if different) in italics. Date of publication or last revision. Full http address (URL). Date of visit or download.

Example: Walker, Janice R. "Walker/ACW Style Sheet". The Columbia Guide to Online Style. Nov. 1997. http://www.cas.usf. edu/english/walker/mla.html. Sept. 1, 1998.

The basic format for other sources follows the same general pattern as that for books, magazines, and encyclopedias (Author, then title, then publication information), but because these sources have special qualities about them, there may be more or less to the actual citation. Use the samples wisely.

CD-ROM

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet: Shakespeare on CD-ROM. Parsippany, NJ: CMC Research, 1989.

GROLIERS on CD-ROM

Carlyle, Henry G. "North Atlantic Treaty Organization, (NATO)." The New Grolier's Electronic Encyclopedia: Grolier's, 1991.

SIRS

Jacobson, Jodi L. "Holding Back the Sea." Futurist Sept-Oct 1990: 20-27. SIRS Researcher CD-ROM. © 1994. Earth Science 1991 file, Art. 25.

Data base sources

"Alexander Hamilton." Academic American Encyclopedia. 1981 ed. CompuServe, 1983, record no. 1816.

Television programs

Shakespeare, William. As You Like It. Nashville: Nashville Theatre Academy, WDCN-TV, 11 March 1975.

Videotapes

Wings of Desire. Wim Wenders, Director. Orion Pictures Corp., 1988.

Record, audiotape, or compact disc

Brahms, Johannes. Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-3. Itzhak Perlman, violin, and Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano. EMI/Angel, CDC 7 47403 2. Compact disc.

Interviews

Norfleet, Joe Eddie. Clark County historian. Personal interview. Long Beach, Washington, July 6, 1990.

Personal Correspondence

Wilfong, Richard. Letter to the author. 14 March 1990.

Pamphlets

Shigley, Walter J. Drugs, Aids, and You. Center for Disease Control, 1992.

Advertisements

"Mexico World Environment Day." Advertising page. Smithsonian, July 1990: 143.

The Bible

I Corinthians. The Bible. Revised Standard Version. (For The Bible, instead of the year of publication, simply note which Version is being used. If no Version is listed, the King James is assumed.)

Dictionary

Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam Co., 1984.

In rare cases, sources you use may not provide all the information necessary. Despite your best (and repeated) efforts, you may not be alble to locate each of the elements necessary for a full citation or reference listing. To show that you haven't forgotten to include these elements, use the following notations to indicate the information normally required is not available.

• n.p. before the colon, means no place of publication given

• n.p. after the colon, means no publisher given

• n.d. means no date of publication given

• n. pag. means no pagination given (no page numbers available)

Cases where these notations need to be used are rare, so make doubly sure the information you need is really missing, and isn't just a little hard to find.

Formatting your list of Works Cited

Follow the guidelines below when you are ready to write the final copy of your list of references.

• For a title, center the title WORKS CITED in all capital letters on a fresh sheet of paper. (Note: some teachers will ask that you title your page "References" or "Works Consulted" instead. Check with your teachers for their preferred formats.)

• Alphabetize your entries using with the first word of each entry which is usually the author's last name. If there is no author known, and the title begins with The, A, or An, alphabetize by the next word, and include the article at the end of the title after a comma. (Example. "Hazards of War, The")

• Use a hanging indent alignment for each entry (the first line of each entry aligned flush left and all other lines indented 5 spaces)

• Double space each entry, and double space between entries

• Do not number entries

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