How to Write a Works Cited Page
Collect all data of the cited materials., Review appropriate styles., Format your Works Cited page., Review the course syllabus, if your works cited page is for an academic course.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Collect all data of the cited materials.
Every published work that you cite in your paper needs to appear in your Works Cited list.
When pulling material during your research, take note of all of the important data so that you can accurately fill out your Works Cited page:
Author(s) Title Published date Publisher Publisher location Medium (Print, web, film, DVD, etc.) Page numbers/Act, or section and line numbers -
Step 2: Review appropriate styles.
There are three major styles that you may be asked to use when creating your Works Cited page.
The most common is MLA (Modern Languages Association), which is used in liberal arts and humanities.
Also used are Chicago (for publishing) and APA (for sciences).
Chicago Manual of Style refers to the Works Cited page as a Reference page using the author-date system.
There is a difference between a bibliography and a Works Cited page.
A bibliography includes any sources that you used while researching and preparing your paper, even if you don’t reference them in your writing.
A Works Cited page only includes sources that are directly referenced., According to MLA guidelines, a Works Cited page should be formatted with the following rules:
One-inch margins all around.
Label the page “Works Cited”, and center it on the top line.
All citations should be double-spaced, with no extra lines between entries.
Indent all lines after the first of an entry by
0.5 inches (1.3 cm). , Most academic instructors include a paper syllabus at the beginning of a course.
The syllabus lists most of the assignments and may provide helpful information about how to comply with specific rules from a program or professor.
Not all instructors in the arts follow MLA guidelines for formatting, so make sure that you know how your instructor would like the Works Cited page formatted. -
Step 3: Format your Works Cited page.
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Step 4: Review the course syllabus
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Step 5: if your works cited page is for an academic course.
Detailed Guide
Every published work that you cite in your paper needs to appear in your Works Cited list.
When pulling material during your research, take note of all of the important data so that you can accurately fill out your Works Cited page:
Author(s) Title Published date Publisher Publisher location Medium (Print, web, film, DVD, etc.) Page numbers/Act, or section and line numbers
There are three major styles that you may be asked to use when creating your Works Cited page.
The most common is MLA (Modern Languages Association), which is used in liberal arts and humanities.
Also used are Chicago (for publishing) and APA (for sciences).
Chicago Manual of Style refers to the Works Cited page as a Reference page using the author-date system.
There is a difference between a bibliography and a Works Cited page.
A bibliography includes any sources that you used while researching and preparing your paper, even if you don’t reference them in your writing.
A Works Cited page only includes sources that are directly referenced., According to MLA guidelines, a Works Cited page should be formatted with the following rules:
One-inch margins all around.
Label the page “Works Cited”, and center it on the top line.
All citations should be double-spaced, with no extra lines between entries.
Indent all lines after the first of an entry by
0.5 inches (1.3 cm). , Most academic instructors include a paper syllabus at the beginning of a course.
The syllabus lists most of the assignments and may provide helpful information about how to comply with specific rules from a program or professor.
Not all instructors in the arts follow MLA guidelines for formatting, so make sure that you know how your instructor would like the Works Cited page formatted.
About the Author
Deborah Gutierrez
Experienced content creator specializing in practical skills guides and tutorials.
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