Definition of a References List A References list is an alphabetized listing of all the “recoverable data” you directly mentioned in your paper. If a source is not mentioned directly in your paper, leave it off the References list. “Recoverable data” is information that can be found in books, magazines, journals, newspapers, articles, on websites, and so on. However, personal communications (personal and telephone interviews, messages, and personal letters) do not appear on the References list because they can’t be recovered in some external form. Please note that you do need to document these personal communication sources in your paper A References list is like a treasure map which lets readers find the sources in your paper out in the “real world.” Source for image: starstore.com

Sample References List This handoutThis handout is also available on the Writing Lab portal page.

Formatting of a References List A References list follows these five guidelines. Each guideline will be discussed separately in the next five slides. Guideline One: Alphabetize all sources; do not number them. Guideline Two: Double-space within and between sources, and use a “hanging” indent. Guideline Three: Follow the year, month day pattern for dates (such as 2010, November 28, not November 28, 2010). Further, write out all month names. Guideline Four: Use proper formatting for document titles. Guideline Five: Use title and sentence capitalization for all sources.

Guideline One: Alphabetize all sources. Sources are alphabetized (not numbered) based on one of the following: The last name of the author. If several authors are listed, select the first author listed on the original text and list source by his/her last name. The name of the group (such as a government agency, educational institution, business, or association) if document is clearly written by a group. The first major word of the document’s title not counting the words “A,” “An,” and “The” if there is no clearly named author. The last name of the creator of the media source (such as a director, producer, artist, group). Source for Image: aboundlessworld.com

Guideline Two: Double-space and use a “hanging” indent. There should be one line of white space in between every line of your References list, both within and between entries. A hanging indentation means that the first line of each source extends all the way to the left-hand margin. Each additional line is indented ½ inch from the left margin. Here is an example: For a short video showing you how to set a hanging indentation and double-space a Microsoft Word document, please click here.click here. References First line of entry…………………………………….… ………………………………………………….……… …………………………………………… …. First line of next entry…………….……………….… ………………………………………………….……… …………………………………………………………. First line of next entry…………………………….… ………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………….

Guideline Three: Follow a year, month day pattern for all dates. Dates follow a year, month day pattern like this: 2010, January 18 (not January 18, 2010) 2009, June 11 (not June 11, 2009) All month names are written out. Numbers are not used in place of months (for example, 2010, January 18, not 2010, 1/18 or 2010, Jan. 18). Source for image: c-changetogether.org

Guideline Four: Use proper formatting for document titles. Do not underline, italicize, or use quotation marks around the titles of individual articles or chapters from websites, books, magazines, newspapers, reports, and journals, as well as individual titles of songs, podcasts, and single episodes of television programs. bookshelvesofdoom.blogs.com

Guideline Four: Use proper formatting for document titles. Italicize titles of websites, books, magazines, newspapers, journals, CDs, DVDs, entire television programs, and motion pictures. Source for image: funnypicturesofcats.info

Guideline Five: Use title and sentence capitalization for titles of all sources References lists use both title capitalization and sentence capitalization. Title capitalization means capitalizing all major words in the title other than articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so), and prepositions (on, off, with, during, if, etc.). Use title capitalization for names of magazines, newspapers, journals, and websites. Sentence capitalization means capitalizing words like you would in a sentence: the first word of the title, all proper nouns, and any word that follows a colon ( : ). Use sentence capitalization for all other titles (chapters, articles, books). Here is an example: McKay, D. L. (2004, January 12). Clothes make the man (or woman): A study of fashion and politics throughout American history. Primedia Connections Inc. Retrieved from Clothes make the man (or woman): A study of fashion and politics throughout American history. >>> written using sentence capitalization The website title is Primedia Connections Inc. >>> written using title capitalization Source for image: offthemark.com

What To Do if You Still Have Questions If you still have questions, please stop by the Writing Lab (D120). We are here to help. The librarians in the Parkland College Library are also here to provide assistance. Finally, please check out our list of writing workshops on the Writing Lab Portal Page. Thank you for your time today. Good luck with all of your writing projects.Writing Lab Portal Page