Introduction to bibliographies

Why include a bibliography

Writing references

How to prepare a bibliography

How to compile a bibliography

Bibliography notes

What is plagiarism?

The Harvard System

Writing References, Easy Examples

Why include a bibliography?

There are ten good reasons for including a bibliography in your work:

  1. Acknowledging a source is a courtesy to the person whose idea you have used or referred to.
  2. By giving the source you make it clear to the reader that you are not trying to pretend that someone else's work is your own.
  3. The reference helps your readers to find the original information source for themselves if they wish to undertake further study of the subject.
  4. It may be a fundamental requirement of your course that a bibliography is included with each piece of written work and without it your work will lose marks.
  5. It shows the extent of your research and lets the examiner see that you have done sufficient work.
  6. It shows that you are aware of and have used a wide variety of information sources.
  7. It shows that you have taken care to use information which is up to date.
  8. It is a record of which books etc. you have read and makes it easier to find those sources again should you need them later.
  9. People will have more confidence in your work if they know where your information comes from; taking care with your references suggests that you have taken care to check your facts as well.
  10. It is professional and good practice to produce a bibliography especially if you intend to progress to higher education or University.

All of these things are important to examiners. They need to know how much work you have done and it is important that they know you have used up to date information with the latest theories and discoveries. It is equally important that if you have quoted something which is wrong the fault can be traced to an incorrect textbook instead of just deducting marks from your work.

Showing that you have used a variety of information sources also indicates that you are interested in your subject, have taken care with your work and are aware of the vast range of information sources which are available to you.

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