St. Leo School Library
Citing Sources  (Grades 3 to 5):
Bibliographies

 

Why do you need to cite sources?

  • it puts the finishing touch on your work
  • it shows how hard you worked
  • it's a way to be honest and fair - to give credit to those whose work you've used
  • your teacher requires it (let's face it -- that's the real reason!)

How do you cite a source?

   It's pretty easy, actually.  You just follow the format guide that Mrs. Hurley gave you in class.  That guide shows how to cite a variety of types of common sources:  books, encyclopedias, magazines, and internet sources.  But if you've misplaced it, here it is again.

Bibliography Format
Based on the M.L.A. Handbook

 

    The purpose of a bibliography (often called a List of Works Consulted) is to list all the sources used in preparing your paper or report.  List the sources used on a separate piece of paper at the end of your report.  On that page, you should list all your sources in alphabetical order by the first word of each entry (which will usually be the last name of the author).  Indent the second line so that the author’s name stands out when reading the bibliography.  If a source does not have an author (example:  an unsigned newspaper article), list it under the title of the article.  Use the examples below to help you.  The pattern you follow is given first, followed by some examples.

Books

Author.  Title.  Place of publication:  Publisher, date.

Example:

Anderson, Marcie.  Exploring the 50 States.  St. Petersburg, FL:  Willowslip Press, 1997.

Another Example:

Marshall, Elaine (North Carolina Secretary of State).  North Carolina Manual 2004-2005.  Raleigh, NC:  North Carolina             Department of State, 2006.
 

Encyclopedias

Author.  “Title of article (in quotation marks).”  Name of encyclopedia. Edition (year).

Example:

Birdsall, Stephen S. and Harry L Watson.  “North Carolina.”  World Book Encyclopedia. 2007.
 

Magazines

Author.  “Title of article (in quotation marks).”  Name of Magazine  Date:  pages.

Example:

Morris, Bill.  “Redeeming the Past.”  Our State  August, 2007:  70-76.

Internet Sources

The most common types of electronic information students use are on-line encyclopedias, on-line periodical articles, and websites.  Here are patterns to follow for each type:

 

            On-line encyclopedias:

 

Author (if given).  “Title of article.”  Name of Encyclopedia.  Date of edition (or last update).  Publisher.  Your date of access <web address>.

 

You’ll find that some web addresses are very long and complicated.  According to the latest edition of the MLA guide, you may give the web address of the site’s search page, and your reader can take it from there (since you’ve given an author name, article title, or both).  For example, if you were using the Encyclopedia Britannica Online to find out what a fresco painting is,  the MLA suggests listing the source as follows:

 

            “Fresco Painting.”  Encyclopedia Britannica Online.  2002.  Encyclopedia Britannica.  18 August 2004

                        <http://search.eb.com/>.

 

Remember that all St. Leo students can use the World Book Online Reference Center from school or home.  Just go to www.worldbookonline.com and then enter the user name and password I gave you in class.  (If you’re working at school, our computers are set up to bypass this step).  You will notice that at the end of each article that you look up, there is a suggested bibliography!  So all you have to do is copy it (or cut and paste it), and you’ll be finished!

 

For example, if you use an article on North Carolina, they suggest the following bibliography entry:

 

Birdsall, Stephen S., and Harry L. Watson. "North Carolina." World Book Online Reference Center. 2006. [Place of access. Date of access.] <http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar394160>.

 

Since I live in Winston-Salem, I would use that as my place of access, along with the date I looked up the article.  So my bibliography entry would look like this:

 

Birdsall, Stephen S., and Harry L. Watson. "North Carolina." World Book Online Reference Center. 2006. Winston-Salem.  August 10, 2006. <http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar394160>.

 

 

            On-line periodical articles:

 

            Author (if given). “Title of article.”  Name of periodical  Date of publication.  Your date of access  <web address>.

 

 

            Markoff, John.  “The Voice on the Phone is Not Human, but It’s Helpful.”  New York Times on

                        The Web  21 June 1998.  25 June 1998 <http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/06/

                        Biztech/articles 21voice.html>.

 

Notice that, if an on-line article does not carry a date of publication, the only date given in the reference is your date of access.  If an article does have a publication date (which they commonly do in newspaper and newsmagazine websites, because the articles first appeared in paper format), you give the publication date followed by your date of access.

 

            Web sites:

                       

Web site name.  Editor or author of site (if given).  Date of publication or last update.  Sponsoring organization.  Your date of access <web address>.

 

Examples:

 

Trojan War.  Ian Johnston, Malaspina University College.  1996.  Amazon.com.  13 August 2004 <http://www.ancientgreece.com/html/wars_frame.htm>.

 

Chatham County.  January 12, 2002.  <http://www.co.chatham.nc.us/gov/index.html>.

 

(Note:  this last website did not have a specific author listed.  Since it’s a government site, it’s still a good, dependable website.  But when you don’t know the source, you must be very careful about using unsigned websites for your reports!)

 

Do you need a black-and-white printable version of this page?  Click here.

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This page was last updated on August 27, 2007.
For more information, please contact Mrs. Hurley:  churley@stleocatholic.com